Château du Faure Haut Normand

With ambitions to produce a modern yet classic Bordeaux wine, our small, but beautifully formed, vineyard is the epitome of the new wave of vineyards in Fronsac dedicated to delivering wines that honour the traditions of the ‘Tuscany of Bordeaux’..

Our Vineyard

The Merlot vines of Chateau du Faure Haut Normand are on a gentle slope, looking down on Pomerol and St Emilion. This magnificent setting frames an estate whose wines were once amongst the greatest of the region. The vineyard had been somewhat neglected until we purchased it in 2018 and we have started a complete programme of investment in the land and its vines. New drainage and re-profiling of the land together with a programme of re-planting to optimise quality is just the start. The goal – simply to make great wine.

The vines are managed day-to-day by Eric Soulas; an artisan with 30 plus years experience and who has a real feel for “his” vines. From pruning them throughout the year to manual harvesting across the 4 parcels down to the use of the smallest crates possible to minimise bruising, these are vines that are treated like the pedigrees they are.

A “quality comes first and last” approach from the very first buds to the start of the vinification process, to barrel stock never more than one year old, Château du Faure Haut Normand is beginning to rise from the ashes and will once again become a marker for great Fronsac wines. To learn more about our wines click here.

The Château

Chateau du Faure Haut Normand was built sometime in the early 18th Century and extensively re-modelled in the mid-19th century. Until 2009 the Noel family owned the estate, when the last member of the family passed away it was given to a local charity who unfortunately had neither the knowledge nor the resources to maintain it. Since 2018 we have been involved in a major reconstruction project including the ongoing renovation of a 3-bedroom gite that was previously occupied by one of the vineyard workers. Watch this space for when this will be ready to welcome visitors!

We now live in the chateau, but we also use the space to host wine tastings and private events. If you are interested in hearing more about events at Chateau du Faure Haut Normand, click here and we will add you to our mailing list.

Chateau Du Faure Haut Normand in Saillans

About Us

Well, we are John and Penelope and we live in Chateau Du Faure Haut Normand in Saillans with our son, James and mad spaniel, Max. Our vision has been to combine a vineyard with a wine merchant business and that is exactly what we are doing now.

We believe that living in and being part of the winemaking community will put us in a unique position to be able to offer the best wines at the best prices; be they those that we make ourselves or from carefully selected partners that you will not find outside France.

Situated on a hill overlooking the small town of Fronsac sits Château du Faure Haut Normand. Our boutique vineyard stretches over 5 and a bit acres of gentle slopes leading down to the chateau. We produce only about 3,000 bottles of Chateau du Faure Haut Normand to ensure we get the best from the land and its vines.

We like to think we know a bit about winemaking but our knowledge is nothing compared to the Rolland family who we are proud to call our winemakers. Led by Dany Rolland and Eric Soulas we believe these guys are the best of the breed and the great wine they are making for us is all the proof we need. To learn more about our wines click here.