Ch d Issan

Château Cantenac Brown is a 1855 classified third growth, located in the Médoc appellation of Margaux.

Located in the heart of the Margaux appellation, Château d'Issan enjoys a privileged geographical location which explains the exceptional quality of its wines. The temperate climate, regulated by the proximity of the ocean and the estuary , offers the vineyards ideal conditions for development.  Ch. d'Issan has 52 ha in Margaux, 5 ha in Haut-Medoc and 10 ha in Bordeaux Superieur.  As for the soil, it is made up of gravel ridges and alluvial hills softened by erosion reaching a height of more than fifteen meters. This land quickly drains water: it thus pushes the vines to take root deeply in its terroir to draw everything that will make the typicality of Château d'Issan.

The Issan vineyard is the object of constant care in order to bring the grapes to perfect maturity . Everything is done so that each plot can be respected and offer the best of its fruits. In winter, the Médoc type pruning is carried out based on an intimate knowledge of the vines and enables future production to be regulated.  In spring, plowing is carried out in the traditional way : by creating better air and water circulation, they ensure an optimal and natural resumption of soil activity. Phytosanitary treatments are applied in a reasoned manner in order to prevent the plants from bacteria, fungi and viruses.  Then comes the time for suckering and splitting to promote the ripening of the fruit branches, stages which will soon be relayed, until summer, by the green harvest and leaf stripping which will guarantee the concentration of the bunches. The harvest is finally getting ready: carried out manually with double selective sorting , they welcome 80 people ready to harvest the work of a whole year ...

As soon as they are received in the vat room, a first sorting is carried out in bunches then the grapes are sorted a second time on a vibrating table and lowered, by gravity into separate vats to preserve the identity of the Château d'Issan plots. We have 37 thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks , with capacities varying from 70 to 200 hectoliters.  Thus begins the work of vinification and aging which combines tradition and innovation , thanks to the technical investments undertaken. The vatting time varies, depending on the year, from 18 to 24 days. During this period, pumping over and temperature controls favor the selection of the finest tannins and the preservation of the fruit.  Fermentations take place in two recently renovated vats, perfectly suited to plot vinification. After the vinification, the wines are taken out of barrels in the temperature-controlled cellars. Blending takes place between January and February, in the presence of Éric Boissenot, consultant oenologist of the property, Emmanuel Cruse, technical director Éric Pellon and cellar master Hervé Bunel .  Together, they select the vats that will make the future great wines of Château d'Issan. The slow 18-month aging phase can then begin, in the pure tradition of the Grands Crus Classés of the Médoc. Our wines are aged in French oak barrels and racked in a traditional way by candle every 3 months.