Château de Cérons
A Bordeaux estate making Graves red and white wines alongside sweet Cérons made from Sémillon affected by morning mists from the Ciron River.
At A Glance
- Region
- Bordeaux, France
- Appellations
- Graves and Cérons AOC
- Village
- Cérons
- Main grapes
- Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Muscadelle
- Signature wine
- Sweet Cérons wine
- Historic property
- Chartreuse built at the end of the 17th century
The Producer
In 2012, Xavier Perromat and his wife Caroline took over Château de Cérons from his parents. Xavier represents the seventh generation of his family to make wine. The estate spans 30 hectares in total, with 27 hectares dedicated to vines.
The wines cover Graves red and white wines alongside sweet Cérons. The family estate combines a broad vineyard holding with a small Cérons AOC allocation, giving the range both dry wine categories and a sweet wine shaped by noble rot.
Place
Château de Cérons stands in the village of Cérons in Bordeaux. Its vineyard sits on a gravel plateau with marine limestone subsoil. Five hectares are dedicated to the sweet Cérons AOC.
The nearby Ciron River creates morning mists that facilitate noble rot in Sémillon grapes. Those affected grapes become the basis for sweet Cérons, while the Graves wines occupy the red and white sides of the estate's range.
Wines
The Graves red is composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot. It expresses intensity, tannins and mineral character. The Graves white is composed of 50% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Sauvignon Gris.
La Quille Rouge is a secondary label with red fruit expression. La Quille Blanc is a secondary label with minerality and citrus aromas. Sweet Cérons wines are composed of 95% Sémillon and 5% Muscadelle, and the 2018 Cérons bottling is a sweet wine from the château.
Final Word
The restored gravity fed cellar was built in 1960 and is one of the earliest gravity fed cellars in Bordeaux. Concrete tanks handle red wine fermentation, while small stainless steel tanks are used for white wines.