This property has been in the Arnaud family since 1951 but its
history goes back to the 19th century where was owned by such
renowned proprietors such as the Estournel and Ginestet families.
The vineyard was classified as a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
in 1932. Monsieur François Arnaud, along with his children,
handles both the culture of the vines as well as the vinification.
The vineyard today is comprised of 9 hectares (~23 acres)
on gentle hills of deep pebbly clay, grouped around the specific
and named terroirs of "Pomys", "Marbuzet" and "la Pezelle",
in the heart of the St. Estèphe appellation. The vineyard
is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (30%) and Cabernet
Franc (20%) in the traditional Médocain fashion of low head
"cot" pruning (6 - 8 short branches with 2 - 3 buds each on
low trunks) to a density of 8000 vines per hectare with an
average vine age of 25 years.
All the grapes are harvested manually and de-stemmed before
the start of fermentation. After a long maceration of the
fruit and careful temperature control of the fermentation
to protect the freshness of the fruit, the wine is aged in
oak barrels (30 - 50% new each year) for 12 to 18 months depending
on the vintage.
According to Monsieur Arnaud, this is a wine, which can
benefit from 10 years of bottle age and even more for the
great vintages such as 1990 or 2000. Powerful and full-bodied,
this wine has a profound depth of fruit that is at the same
time elegant and generous on the palate.
Château Pomys makes an excellent companion to red
meats and game, as well as richer fowl such as goose, duck
or squab.
www.chateaupomys.com