Château Fougas
In Lansac, Fougas seeks freshness and finesse across a single-block vineyard. From Côtes de Bourg reds to Ensemble wines, the estate offers different expressions of one…
History
At Lansac in Côtes de Bourg, Château Fougas has stood among its vines since the eighteenth century. An early surveyor’s watercolour shows the château surrounded by a single block of land. The estate appears in the first edition of the Féret Bordeaux wine guide. Jean-Yves Béchet, from a Bordeaux négociant family, acquired the property in 1976. With Michèle Béchet, he follows work from vineyard to cellar. The 22-hectare single block is organic and biodynamic, Demeter-certified since 2010. The dossier records 5,000 vines per hectare and an average vine age of twenty-five years, maintained through regular replanting. Naturally drained iron-rich smectite clay lies over limestone. Grapes pass over two sorting tables, before and after destemming. Separate plot vinification uses Burgundian-style pigeage in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, followed by barrel ageing. The house favours finesse, floral aromas and spice rather than heavy concentration. The wines have received ratings from James Suckling, Yves Beck, Jeb Dunnuck and La Revue du Vin de France; individual scores are tied to the named wine and vintage. Maldoror takes its name from Lautréamont’s Les Chants de Maldoror.
Terroir
The single-block vineyard surrounds an eighteenth-century chartreuse above the hills leading towards the Gironde estuary. Iron-rich clay over limestone shapes deeply coloured wines with mineral freshness. The Béchet family favours silky tannins and violet aromas. The range runs from Ensemble to the selectively produced Forces de Vie; annual production is not a statement of stock.
Winemaking
Hand sorting, parcel vinification and punch-downs. Ageing periods and proportions of new oak vary by cuvée; details remain attached to the supplied wine and vintage sheets.