Winemaker Notes
Château Mangot is vinified by cépage, by parcel and by terroir to permit the use of only the best of the property to be used in the production of Château Mangot. Typically, the wine is made from Merlot (85%) with Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) finishing out the blend. Classic barrique ageing of 12 to 16 months, also by cépage, etc. gives the wine its balance, assisted by the meticulous and precise blending of the different cuvées by the producer.
This is a rich wine with a deep color that is at once full-flavored and warm. Deep fruit flavors so true to Merlot are enhanced by the soft and round tannins and the savory notes of the terroir. Well-structured and well balanced and rounded out by the addition of the Cabernet to the assemblage, Château Mangot is an extraordinary wine at an extraordinary price.
In 1980, Anne Marie, the youngest of the PETIT daughters, gave up her pharmacy studies to come back to the family property.
In 1981, she married Jean Guy Todeschini: a master stone mason by trade, and he gradually came to support her more and more at Mangot.
Until 1989, Anne-Marie and Jean-Guy would share the running of the two family businesses and bringing up their young sons, Karl (born in 1982) and Yann (1984): two budding wine growers…
From 1989 to 1998, they completely transformed the vineyards at Mangot (re-structuring, re-planting, terracing and drainage works) to bring on the quality in leaps and bounds, year after year, and finally obtain the GRAND CRU label for the estate’s 34 hectares.
In 2001, it was the turn of all the buildings to be modernised, a return to his roots for Jean Guy, a stone mason and architect at heart…
From 1996 to 2008, they travelled in France and abroad to promote the new face of Mangot and look for partners.
On top of their boundless energy and capacity for hard work, thanks to their perspective gained outside the wine world, Jean-Guy and Anne Marie have revived and renewed Mangot, restructuring the vineyards and the cellar, with a single goal in mind: Quality.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.