Chateau Rocher

The Integrity Take

Chateau du Rocher is a newer addition to the portfolio. I met the Comte and Comtess Bertrand de Sercey at their modest estate in St. Emilion last spring. I was immediately captivated by the land and their humble disposition. Over a lunch of bread and the most perfect pate, we decided to work together. In the land of expensive Bordeaux, and more specifically St. Emilion, Rocher is a value that captures more than 500 years of history.

Began in 1507 and is the oldest family run wine estate in St. Emilion
The estate is 16Ha and planted almost entirely to vine
Average age of vines on the estate is 60 years

The Story

ORIGINS

Initially founded on the basis of a gallo roman villa, Château du Rocher is one of the oldest growths of Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse.
Wine producing has been part of the Château ever since.

Originally named in after its noble XVth century owners of the Durocher family, it was first and foremost a summer leisure villa.

To date, it is the oldest family wine estate in Saint-Émilion.

HALF A MILLENIUM OF FAMILY PASSION

It has the particularity of having been always transferred by its proprietors either through marriage or in direct line.
Indeed, the du Rocher family who owned it already in the XVth century, passed it on in 1731 through the marriage of their only daughter into the illustrious de Grailly family.

After the Revolution, the estate passed through direct union from the de Grailly to the de Monteil, and then to the de Grateloup family from which the present owners are descendants.

DOMAIN

The various buildings, the château itself, the cellars, the outhouses, flanked by the dovecote on the foundation, the sign of a noble mansion, all lie on the terrace on which they were built, beside the road at the foot of the slopes, opposite the plain.
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The estate, which is 16 hectares in size all in one piece, is almost entirely planted to vines.
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The subsoil, ferruginous in many parts, gives the wine a powerful sève in their early years but as they age they acquire all the organic finesse and the characteristic bouquet of “Saint Émilion”.

TRIBUTE

Up until 2021, the property was family managed by Stanislas de Barthès, Baron de Montfort.
Despite his sorrowful loss, it has now been passed on to his niece the Comtesse B. de Sercey and her husband, whom had already been working alongside him for two decades.