Chateau Les Grandes Murailles

Château Les Grandes Murailles is a Saint-Emilion estate inextricably linked to the imposing remains ("murailles" means walls) of a medieval Dominican monastery on the western edge of Saint-Emilion town. The estate also covers production of Château Côte de Baleau, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé. The Château Les Grandes Murailles vineyard lies at the foot of the aforementioned remains, covering 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) immediately west of Saint-Emilion, and just over the road from the highly regarded Clos Fourtet vineyard. The vineyard is planted solely to Merlot on typical Saint-Emilion plateau soils of clayey limestone.

The resulting wine is 100 percent Merlot aged in predominantly new French oak barriques. Around 6,500 bottles are produced annually. The estate is a regular in the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru classification and has featured in every classification listing – bar the 1986 and 2022 edition – since the inaugural 1955 ratings.

Until 2013, both estates, under the Grandes Murailles company, were run by former lawyer, Sophie Fourcade, who oversees Clos St Martin, also a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru classé estate. In 2013, the Cuvelier family, which runs Clos Fourtet (and the Bordeaux left-bank Château Poujeaux in Moulis-en-Médoc) bought a majority holding in both Château Les Grandes Murailles and Château Côte de Baleau. The Cuveliers also took a minority holding in Clos St Martin, which Fourcade still controls.