Château Jourdan is in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux appellation, which produces tannic, deeply coloured, sappy, hearty red wines. It is in the commune of Rions, 33 km south-east of Bordeaux, and was known since Antiquity under the name of Ryuncium, a town built by the Romans. Situated on a large rock, it acted as a sentinel at the gates of Bordeaux and often had to cope with Barbarian, Saracen and Norman invasions, which explains the many remains of fortifications that have been found here. Château Jourdan was attached to Grande-Sauve Abbey as the Benedictine priory of Saint-Jean-de-Campaignes. The wine estate has had many owners since the Middle Ages, including Austen Jordan, “décimier” of kings Edward II and III of England. The château now belongs to the Guillot de Suduiraut family. The Grands Vins de Gironde group took over the tenancy of the vineyard and wine operation in 1993, setting up the subsidiary “Société Civile d’Exploitation Viticole Domaine de Gironde”.

The vineyards are planted in front of the château, covering 20 ha of south-south-west facing slopes and containing different grape varieties: 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The soils are “boulbènes”, i.e. silt and clay. The vines are grown in the traditional way, using “enlightened” methods of protection against disease. The harvested grapes are de-stalked and rigorously selected before going into the vat. After fermentation, the wine is matured for 12 months with a period spent in oak barrels. It is then bottled at the château approximately 18 months after the harvest.

Château Jourdan is a brilliant ruby colour with purplish tints. The pleasant, fine, fruity nose releases blackberry aromas with a light touch of vanilla. Fresh and complex, with well-rounded tannins, it evolves towards spicy, slightly peppery aromas with a touch of cloves. Serve it at room temperature with a grilled lamb chop, rib of beef with wild mushrooms or a reasonably strongly-flavoured cheese.

The second wine is Château des Douailles, which is a brilliant, intense garnet colour. Its warm, elegant nose reveals very ripe red berry aromas and notes of undergrowth. Smooth and well structured, it develops with good balance against a background of mellow tannins. The finish is long and pleasant, leaving a memory of ripe cherries. It may be served with most grilled or roasted red or white meats, or with reasonably strongly-flavoured cheeses.