Chateau Peybonhomme les Tours

The Integrity Take

Rachel is the steward of her family's wine legacy after spending some time as a pharmacist. Her experimentation in the cellar give us not only traditional Merlot based Right Bank Bordeaux, but some really interesting Pet Nats and the spectacular amphora "Bordeaux adjacent" Energies.

The Hubert family came together from a sailor that transported wine on the Gironde and a woman from a winemaking family
Family acquired the Chateau in 1890 when it was classified as "Premier Cru Bourgois"
Rachel is the current proprietor returning to the family business in 2012 after a time as a pharmacist

The Story

Chateau Peybonhomme, one of two Chateau’s owned by the Hubert family (Chateau La Grolet being the other) and is among the most important producers in Premieres Cotes de Blaye. One stormy night in December 1999 was the impetus for Jean-Luc and Catherine Hubert to convert their two vineyards to organic and to use biodynamic methods. The storm had winds up to 200 km/hour, uprooted many trees and even damaged the tower of the castle they call home. Jean-Luc describes it as “apocalyptic” and as they listened to the winds howl, the next year they stopped using chemicals and started the transition to biodynamics.

Chateau Peybonhomme is in Bordeaux’s right bank of the Gironde, near Blaye. This organic/biodynamic vineyard is said to be on the best limestone and clay soils of the region. Jean-Luc Hubert’s desire has always been to create wines which embody the living memory of the terroir. Fifth generation winemaker, indeed, Jean-Luc Hubert is a viticulturist to whom the history and the life of the vineyard and the estate are a vital ingredient of the wine.

Weed killers are banned and products used to treat the vines are limited to sulphur and bacillus thuringiensis. The vines are only fed with natural fertilizer, rock powder, organic compost and green fertilizer. Insects help to reduce the use of fungicides including copper widely used in Organic Agriculture. The strategy focuses on maintaining biodiversity involving the auxiliary predators of vine parasites. Indirectly, the greater level of biodiversity, the lower the doses of treatment required.

Chateau Peybonhomme-Les-Tours consists of 64 hectares spread over the communes of Cars, Blaye, Plassac and Berson, with South/South-West exposure on the “premiers” slopes dominating the “Gironde” river. 75% Merlot, 10% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet-Franc, 5% Malbec. Average age of vines is 30 years. Manual sorting of the harvest, 100% de-stemmed, temperature control, approximately 3 weeks of fermentative maceration, the wine is aged for one year in oak barrels before being bottled.

Chateau Peybonhomme-Les-Tours Premieres Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux red, their flagship wine, Merlot 75%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%, Cabernet Franc 8% and Malbec 2%. Clay-rich soil with the highly chalky subsoil and moderate yields. Very gentle maceration and fermentation achieved with native yeasts and the wine is aged in barrels.