Amélie Vignes-Aubert comes from a family of winegrowers that owns 280 ha of vines in the Bordeaux region and a Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Emilion, for which she is the technical manager. In 2004, she bought 2.30 ha of vines in the commune of Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, south-west of Saint-Emilion and created Château Abelyce from scratch, using the names of her two children, Jean-Abel and Alice.

The vineyards are all planted with Merlot and have clay and gravel soils. The vines are grown in an environmentally-friendly manner and the rows are grassed to ensure good water and mineral resources. The leaf growth is thinned and excess bunches of grapes are removed quite early to enable the remaining grapes to achieve a better level of ripeness. This is a current practice in the Saint-Emilion and Pomerol vineyards. The grapes are harvested in an “enlightened” manner, i.e. when they have reached maximum maturity.

Vinification takes place in small temperature-controlled vats with a capacity of 38 hl: there are six of these in the cellar. The juice is extracted gently out of respect for the product, but to the maximum. A third of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in new barrels, a third in barrels that have been used once before, and a third in vats. Maturing time varies from 16 to 24 months, depending on tastings.

The wine has an intense colour and a powerful, highly aromatic bouquet of dark berries, cherries and cocoa-flavoured wood. Full-bodied and pleasant, with a lovely structure and well-extracted tannins, persistent but not too sharp. A very harmonious wine for laying down.

The 2004 vintage was awarded a gold medal at the 2007 International Wine Challenge and a star in the 2008 Hachette Guide.