Château Rocher Lideyre, in the commune of Gardegan-et-Tourtirac, north of Castillon, is part of SCEA Vignobles Bardet. Philippe Bardet bought the château in 1979. At the time it was a tenant estate belonging to an owner who owned half the commune of Gardegan, and had been left abandoned, with only 7.84 ha of vines. It now has 35 ha. The Bardet family has worked in the wine trade since the 18th century, in waterway transport on the Dordogne or as brokers, but they have always grown vines. Philippe Bardet sees himself as the first real “farmer” in the family.

The clay-and-limestone soils drain automatically and the ‘terroir’ is an early-ripening one, which prevents Cabernet Sauvignon from developing to the full. It is therefore planted with 87% Merlot Noir and 13% Cabernet Franc. After the harvest, the grapes are cleaned and sorted in a sorting machine designed by Philippe Bardet in 2003. The machine is inspired by the ones used in the food industry and eliminates defective, damaged or insufficiently ripe grapes. This means that the harvest achieves a good level of maturity. The grapes are then put into the vats without being crushed. As a result of the machine there are fewer pips. Maceration is longer, concentrating more on the tannins in the skins than those in the pips.

The result is a highly colourful, well-rounded wine whose length varies according to how long it is laid down. It remains very stable over time.