Château Magdelaine

For over 200 years, the Chatonnet family has owned Château Magdelaine. For a great part of the 19th century, its reputation was renowned for producing one of the finest wines in Saint-Émilion. In 1952, JP Moueix purchased the château and invested heavily in the estate replanting the vineyards. Many of the vines were damaged in the destructive frosts of 1956, requiring even more work. The château was passed onto his son Christian and then Christian's son, Edouard. But for the 2008 vintage, the Moueix family decided to merge the vineyards of Magdelaine (10.5 hectares) with those of Château Bélair. They felt that the vineyards complemented each other and that they might be able to produce an even greater wine than if they had kept them separate. The wine is now called Château Belair-Monange, honoring Anne-Adèle Monange, spouse of Jean Moueix and the first woman of the family to settle in Saint-Émilion.