Our Wines

The estate’s traditional wine is produced using vines aged 20 years on average and is usually made up of all the different grape varieties grown on the property:

Therefore, the blend is generally around :

This assemblage, however, varies according to the vintage in order to favor the most supple and aromatic cuvées.

Merlot gives it suppleness, fruitiness and roundness; Cabernet-Sauvignon provides structure and additional tannic density. The two complementary grape-varieties will give this wine a greater complexity. Cabernet Franc is particularly appreciated for its aromatic finesse, and Malbec for its colour and its spicy character.

Characteristics : This traditional Parenchère blend is generally very fleshy, with a very deeply colored robe. Characterized by a good balance between fruit and tannin, it displays distinct red fruit aromas with a long, sustained finish.

Ideal drinking period : from 4 to 7 years
This cuvee can be appreciated since its first year of bottling while improving for 7 years – and even ten years for the best vintages.

Cuvée Raphaël is the flagship wine of Parenchère.
It bears the name of Raphaël GAZANIOL, who renovated the Parenchère estate in 1958.

It is produced from a selection of the finest plots of the estate, from vines that are more than 40 years old on average.
The yields from the vines selected for this wine are particularly small: around 40 Hl per hectare.

It is usually a blend of :

This assemblage can, however, vary from vintage to vintage depending on the success of a particular grape variety.

Ageing : This wine is aged exclusively in barrels made of oak from the Forest of Tronçais, 25% of which are new on average depending on the vintage.

It is aged for 12 months on fine lees, without racking or exposure to air. However, we use the (“micro-oxygenation”) technique, sending fine bubbles through the barrels.
In this way, the wine’s fruit and elegance are perfectly preserved.

Characteristics : Our Cuvée Raphaël is always a very dense, very concentrated wine with elegant tannins that stand out, but are mellow and smooth. They are elegantly woody, but not excessively to leave plenty of room for the fruit.

Ideal drinking period : from 4 to 10 years
This wine can be appreciated since its first year of bottling, but will better express its elegance and complexity since its fourth year of ageing.
It can improve for about 10 – 12 years, and possibly more according to the vintage.

We wanted to demonstrate with this blend how our terroirs of the Sainte Foy la Grande region can be expressed, which, although little known, can hold their own alongside the finest Bordeaux wines.

“Esprit de Parenchère” is the Château’s exceptional cuvée, embodying the quintessence of our terroir. Produced in confidential quantities (6,000 to 8.000 bottles), this cuvée is elaborated only in the greatest vintages so that its unparalleled quality is ensured.
It is made from the two best plots of the estate with extremely low yields (about 3,800 litres per hectare).

The blend is usually composed mostly of Cabernet Sauvignon; grape which gives the most structure and a great aptitude for ageing.

Grape varieties :

Ageing : Aged in French oak barrels exclusively for 12 months on fine lees, without racking and with micro-oxygenation. The barrels are 90% new.

Characteristics : With this highly concentrated, very elegant wine, our aim is to show PARENCHERE at its best and to equal the greatest Bordeaux wines.
Power and finesse are in symbiosis to offer a wine with a very long ageing potential.

Ideal tasting period : In 8 to 15 years (can be kept longer by old vintages connoisseurs).

L’Equilibriste is a special cuvée produced aiming to magnify a very pure and expressive fruit, for an immediate pleasure.
Predominantly produced from Cabernet Franc, it is intended to be drunk in its early years and has been produced without added sulphites.

The name symbolizes our search for harmony between the classic structure of Bordeaux wines and great aromatic expression.
It also illustrates our progress towards organic conversion, as well as our unique geographical location ; on the exact border between Bordeaux and Dordogne.

The blend for this first vintage is :

Characteristics : Beautiful deep purple red colour. The nose reveals intense aromas of little black fuits (blackcurrant, blackberry, blueberry) and notes of peony, violet, and a slight note of liquorice. On the palate, the attack is round, with a crunchy and juicy fruit. Mineral and floral flavours continue the tasting on a subtle and silky tannic framework.
Thus, the wine reveals the balance between fruit and structure, between sweetness and liveliness, between finesse and intensity…

Ideal drinking period : from September 2021 until 2023.
This cuvee is designed to drink young, in order to get the full fruit expression

If Château de Parenchère is historically known for its red wines, it nevertheless enjoys a very beautiful terroir of whites thanks to the important presence of limestone in the soil.

The blend was guided by the wish to elaborate a bright and aromatic dry white wine, with however the beautiful roundness that is characteristic of our wines.
It is made from the three major Bordeaux white varieties :

This blend contributes directly to the balance of this wine. Indeed, if Sauvignon brings a lot of aroma and freshness, Sémillon will instead give the wine a certain fleshiness in the mouth. The Muscadelle comes to complete the aromatic range of sustained notes of white flowers.

Characteristics : A white wine with intense white and citrus fruit aromas, which is both fresh and round on the palate. Its balance makes it an ideal accompaniment for fish and seafood.

Best age for drinking : within two years after it is made.

This rosé wine, labeled in Bordeaux Clairet derives in individuality from its production technique.
This special style is called a rosé of “Saignées” as a longer maceration is operated before the start of the fermentation.

The Grape varieties is generally about :

However, it may vary from vintage to vintage to give preferentiality to the most aromatic grape variety.

The fruits steep in the juice at low temperature (“skin maceration”) for 48 hours in order to saturate the solids in the musts as much as possible without coloring them too intensely.
Then we run off the juice from each vat and the fermentation takes place at the very low temperature of 15°C to obtain as much fruit flavor as possible.

Bottling is carried out very early on within two months of the wine being made, so that a fairly high level of carbon dioxide from the natural fermentation process is retained, which contributes to this wine’s appealing freshness.

Characteristics : Our Bordeaux Clairet is particularly aromatic and has a very deep red fruit color. It is also more substantial than traditional rosés, with good body and exuberant fruitiness. This roundness and more pronounced structure makes it a perfect rosé for gastronomy.

Best age for drinking : In the year after it is made.

This rosé, produced from direct pressing was created with the aim of obtaining the finest and most delicate wine possible.
The name of this new wine was given in honor of the 18th century rose garden on the estate and perfectly illustrates this very light and subtle rosé.

The Grape varieties is generally about :

Tasting : A rosé of great freshness, with a rose petal colour and very fine and subtle floral aromas (rose, hawthorn and lychee).

Best age for drinking : In the year after its production.