History
The Cotes de Francs

“The smallest of the Bordeaux appellations – 450 hectares – resembles a small independent state and occupies the highest slopes of the Gironde, halfway between the valleys of the Isle and the Dordogne, to the east of Saint Emilion.
Polyculture leaves its mark everywhere and prairies, cereals and vines intermingle. Created in 1967, the appellation is very much part of the bordelais family, its wines having the precision of the best Bordeaux.
Humble pearl of the Bordelais vineyards, the Côtes de Francs is nevertheless one of its most precious stones.”
Nicolas Thienpont’s other sites
Château Pavie Macquin
Château Larcis Ducasse
Château Bellevue
Château Les Charmes Godard
Château Puygueraud
Château La Prade
 

The Thienpont Family

One name and one family have contributed to the breakthrough of the appellation: the “Thienpont tribe”. This family of negociants, originating in Oudenaarde (Flanders) also own Vieux Château Certan, one of the best known châteaux in Pomerol.

The patriarch, George Thienpont, bought Château Puygueraud, which dominates the whole appellation, in 1946. Upon his arrival he found the vineyards in ruins and set about revitalising them through the planting of cereals and raising of cattle. It was only at the end of the 1970s that he began replanting the vineyards and in 1983 his first wine was produced.

Today, the Château produces three wines: Château Puygueraud, Château Lauriol and Cuvée George and it is one of George’s sons, Nicolas, who manages the vinification at the different properties.

In 1988, Nicolas Thienpont and his brothers bought Les Charmes Godard, a property of 6,5 hectares, which produces both red and white wine and, starting in 2005, a dessert wine called “Aurea”.