Château de Candale
Sale of the Château de Candale and L’Atelier de Candale Restaurant
The announcement was made before Bordeaux EnPrimeur week on Facebook, Jean-Louis Vicard, co-owner of the famous vicard cooperage and the head of the Château de Candale since 2009 announced the sale of this SaintEmilion property to Thibaut and Magali Decoster.
Château de Candale is a property in AOC Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. It stretches over 13 hectares and is located in the commune of Saint-Laurent des Combes, below the Château Tertre Roteboeuf, on a very beautiful terroir of clay and limestone.The name of the property is a legacy of its founder (14th century) Lady Marguerite of Suffolk Kandall, descendant of Edward III King of England and the Duke of Aquitaine.
Thibaut and Magali Decoster, are a young couple of passionate winegrowers and entrepreneurs from the Bordeaux right bank, who already own two vineyards in Saint-Emilion: Clos des Jacobins (8.5 hectares) and Château La Commanderie (4 hectares), both Grands Crus Classés. For a few years these two properties have experienced a constant improvement in the quality of the wines thanks to the great rigor and quality requirements of the Decoster family. No doubt they will be able to apply the same qualitative requirements to Candale in order to continue to raise this property to meet the high values of Saint-Emilion!
Vertde Vin: Why did you choose to invest in this property? What attracted you to the Château de Candale?
T. & M. Decoster : Already the first thing is that it is Saint-Emilion. We wanted to acquire more in this name. We are always so passionate and delighted to be there.
Our choice is based on Candale because the acquisition of this property allows us to extend the vineyard significantly. Our other two properties do not have the necessary area for the development of our projects (economic, oenotouristic …). Château de Candale has a pretty young, modern and chic image!
Of course the quality of the terroir, these qualities are very important, decisive and unavoidable elements. This is why we have chosen Château de Candale for the quality of its wines and its terroirs. Located on the south-facing slope of the village, the vineyards extend from those of the more remarkable First Classified Growths of the appellation.
We wish to continue this work, continue the work of recovery started by Jean-Louis Vicard in order to restore all the prestige to the wines of Candale.
Stéphane Derenoncourt remains the consulting oenologist at Château de Candale to continue its work. When a man begins a work he must be given the time necessary to accomplish it.
V.d.V.: What are your long-term goals for Château de Candale and its restaurant?
T&M D.: Saint-Emilion is all about the passion of those who live there and of the millions of tourists who come to visit it to discover its varied terroirs, complex wines, gastronomy and to meet new and old friends.
The presence of the restaurant L’Atelier de Candale is a very good thing for the development of our oenotouristic plan and receptive projects which will enable us to make our Châteaux more widely known. This presence on the essential tourist route of Saint-Emilion is a strength for us. In the short term we want to expand the restaurant and create a shop. Of course, Cyrille Gallard, the chef and the co-owner will remain at the head of the kitchens of the establishment.The outstanding location and the restaurant will now allow us to structure the reception of visitors around the three vineyards, offering circuits that combine terroir diversity, typicity of wines and food pairings with an authentic art de vivre…
In the longer term the creation of some guest rooms would be a good thing. This would allow us to complete our oenotouristic ideal.
V.d.V.: The ranking as « Grand Cru Classé » is it an objective?
T&M D.: The ultimate goal is to obtain the rank of Grand Cru Classé. It is a continuation of the dynamics of our two other vineyards (Clos des Jacobins, Château La Commanderie). Candale has all the qualities and the ability to obtain the classification having as much to do with the quality of the terroir, its location, its environment as the reception.
Congratulations, all my wishes of success to Thibaut and Magali Decoster for this new challenge and all my wishes of success to Jean-Louis Vicard for his future projects!