From Périgord to New Zealand — and back to Pessac sur Dordogne
Château Carbonneau stands on one of the oldest cultivated hills on the eastern border of the Gironde, where the municipalities of Pessac sur Dordogne and Gensac meet, about 75 meters above the Dordogne valley. The Bachan family had the current castle building erected around 1860 — deliberately situated above a natural water source, with living rooms facing south and a wine cellar half-embedded in the hillside, which keeps the temperature constant all year round. After the economic crisis of the 1930s and the end of their own wine production, the estate supplied its grapes to the Gensac cooperative winery for decades.
The new beginning came in 1992 with the Franc de Ferrière family: Wilfrid Franc de Ferrière, whose family has been rooted in the Périgord for generations, and his New Zealand wife Jacquie returned with their three children after five years in New Zealand to take over the Château. They had the cellar completely renovated, installed new stainless steel tanks, and filled the barrel storage with new barriques for the first time in about 50 years. Today, their sons Pierre and Hugo are leading the winery into the next generation: Pierre is responsible for winemaking, Hugo for the commercial side.
Demeter path with cattle support: a farm thinks holistically
Château Carbonneau is not just a winery, but a managed whole-farm operation. In addition to the vineyards — located on a south-southwest exposed hillside — around 20 Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle graze on the more fertile areas. Their task goes beyond meat production: the farm uses exclusively self-produced natural fertilizer from cattle farming, without the external input of synthetic aids.
The ecological orientation follows a clear step-by-step plan. Since the 2019 harvest, Carbonneau has been working on organic conversion under the control of the Ecocert agency; from the 2022 vintage, the farm has carried the French AB seal (Agriculture Biologique). In 2020, the HVE3 label (Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3) was added. Since 2021, the conversion of the entire operation — vineyard and animal husbandry — to Demeter-certified biodynamics has been underway. The goal is explicitly long-term soil fertility, not just certification.
Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux: Merlot, clay-limestone, clear signature
The wines of Château Carbonneau appear under the Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux appellation — one of the easternmost corners of Bordeaux viticulture, which has belonged to the Union des Côtes de Bordeaux since 2016. The clay-limestone soil of the hillside gives the Cabernet Franc structure and spice, which serve as a framework for the Merlot-dominated cuvées. The Atlantic climate with hot, dry summers ensures that the grapes on these hills reach full maturity.
The Cuvée Séquoia — the estate's best-known line — combines Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon and matures for eleven months in American oak barrels. This results in soft vanilla tones and well-integrated tannins in a style that combines the classic Right Bank Bordeaux signature with the down-to-earth openness of a family business. For the estate's top line, only selected plots are vinified; the vintage selection is strict.
