Château Grand Corbin-Despagne

AB - Agriculture Biologique, Best Of Wine Tourism, Vignobles et découvertes

From that time, each generation of the family enjoyed successful careers in the field of viticulture, before the family finally took up its vocation of wine production.

François Despagne, representing the seventh generation at the helm, takes great pride every day in working the lands of his ancestors and rising to the challenges of a unique and multi-faceted terroir. His inquisitiveness and passionate commitment to these lands led him to convert the vineyard to organic farming in 2004, an intuitive decision motivated by his respect for the eco-system in which the previous six generations had lived.

Conducted by qualified œnologists working at our estate, these workshops are much more than simple wine appreciation classes; they offer participants the chance to go behind the scenes and find out how wine is made at a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate, where the Despagne family, who have owned this growth for over two centuries and have been present in Saint-Emilion for almost 500 years, are wholly committed organic growers. Combining theoretical and practical aspects of wine production, the workshops take visitors through the fabulous history of wine and of Grand Corbin-Despagne.

Tours and tastings at Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
- Standard Tour: tasting of two wines. Duration 1 hour at 20€ per person (all taxes included)
- Exclusive Tour: tasting of three wines. Duration 1 hour 15 minutes at 25€ per person (all taxes included)
For private tours, please contact us.

The tour begins with a brief history of the Despagne family. This is followed by an explanation of the work done in the vineyard, to enable visitors to understand the importance of the different stages of the growing season and the jobs that are performed at each stage. The estate’s environmental philosophy and organic vine-growing methods are given special emphasis. While passing through the vat rooms and barrel cellars, information is also provided on the wine-making techniques for the different wines produced at the property. This is rounded off with a visit to the family’s private cellar, which contains bottles going back to 1926, as well as large format bottles.

b> Workshops on the skill of wine tasting and a tour of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
Tasting of 4 wines. Duration: 2 hours. Price: 35 € per person (all taxes included), group of minimum 8 people.
Price: 90€/guest for a group of two to three participants; 55€/guest for a group of four to five; 45€/guest for six to seven.
-Visit of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
-An introduction to wine tasting and the subtle aromas found in wine.
-A horizontal tasting of 3 wines coming from the same vintage and from two different terroirs -a “Grand Vin” and a Second Wine.
-A tasting of an older vintage of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne (7 years or older) to show the long ageing capacity of a Grand Cru Classé.

b> Half-day “Prestige” tasting workshops
Tasting of 6 wines. Duration: a half-day at 90€ per person (all taxes included), group of minimum 8 people. For fewer than eight participants, please contact the château.
-Visit of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne
-An introduction to wine tasting and the subtle aromas found in wine.
-A blind tasting of two Bordeaux grape varieties (Merlot and Cabernet Franc) and the process of blending the two.
Then, to help participants understand the influences that climatic variations and the passage of time have on wines, two types of tasting follow:
-A horizontal tasting of 3 wines from the same vintage and coming from 2 different terroirs –a “Grand Vin” and a Second Wine.
-A vertical tasting of 3 vintages of Grand Corbin-Despagne with a special selection of an older vintage included: one vintage from the 2010s, one vintage from the 2000s and one vintage from the 1990s.
-By the end of the session, during which tips on storage are offered and fun wine stories shared, each participant will have gained an appreciation, an understanding and an ability to analyse the wines of Bordeaux in general and those of Grand Corbin-Despagne in particular.
Not only a thrilling experience, but also a chance to discover some of the best-kept secrets about the wines and the growth!

b> Whole-day “Légende” tasting workshops
Tasting of 8 wines. Duration: one day at 250€ per person (all taxes included), group of minimum 8 people. For fewer than eight participants, please contact the château.
The session begins with a historical, geographical and economic presentation of the great wines of Bordeaux.
-Introduction to wine tasting techniques to learn how to analyse a wine and describe its colour and aspect, its aromas and flavours via aromatics exercises and a tasting of acid, sugar, bitter, tannin and alcohol solutions.
-A vertical tasting of 4 vintages of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne to reveal the diversity of Bordeaux vintages and how they are influenced by climatic variations and their development over time.
-A lunch at Château Grand Corbin-Despagne featuring local produce.
-During the course of the tour of Château Grand Corbin-Despagne, visitors learn about the challenges and adventures of organic farming and, while inside the cellars and vat rooms, they follow the different stages of the wine-making process at the estate. To round off the tour, visitors discover the family’s private cellar, which contains bottles going back to 1926 as well as large format bottles.
-Bordeaux’s diversity of terroirs, wine families and appellations are presented in detail with the aid of a map, while the specificities of each grape variety used in Bordeaux wines are explained together with the purposes of blending and the classification of the great wines of Bordeaux.
-The session continues with a horizontal tasting of 4 wines from different French appellations, which enables visitors to discover the influence of grape variety, terroir, appellation and wine region on the wines tasted.
-This is completed by tips on storage and serving wines, as well as on food and wine pairings that help showcase the wines that are served.
This workshop aims to provide visitors with the keys to understanding the mysteries of Grand Corbin-Despagne and the great wines of Bordeaux as well as helping them discover wine regions beyond Bordeaux.