The Despagne family has been present in the history of Saint-Emilion since the 16th century as evidenced by genealogical writings. It was Louis Despagne, whose family was a sharecropper on Cheval Blanc, who acquired the first family parcels, at a place called Corbin in 1812. It is towards the end of the 19th century that Château Grand Corbin-Despagne appears. The property obtains the title of Grand Cru Classé at the first classification of Saint-Emilion wines. Today the seventh generation of the Despagne family is represented by François Despagne.
At the tasting, we discover a powerful wine, balanced and with a certain elegance. The fruit expresses itself and the tannic structure is solid. 5 to 10 years later, the tannins are refined and the wine expresses even more subtle flavors.
Blend of 75% Merlot, 24% Cabernet-Franc, 1% Cabernet-Sauvignon.
Surface area: 28,79 hectares (71 acres).
Terroir: clay-sand over iron deposits and ancient sands over clay.
Average age of the vineyard: 38 years old.
Vine-growing methods: ploughing or a grass cover crop without any use of weedkillers. An organically-grown vineyard and organic wine certified since 2013.
Canopy management practices: debudding, removal of double buds, de-leafings, crop thinning, de-suckering (lateral shoots).
Harvesting: manual with 5 consecutive sortings. Yield: 34 hl/ha.
Vinification: different operations that can vary according to plot batches and vintage: numerous short pump-overs, rack and return (delestage), punching down of the cap (pigeage).
Ageing : 50 % new barrels, 40% one year old barrels, 10% two year old barrels.
Bottling: 21 months after the harvest. Production : 84 000 bottles.