Discover Château Bonhoste

Château Bonhoste Crémant Rosé has been selected as one of the wines included in the 2020 Hot 50 selection that highlights the best Bordeaux wines available to buy in the UK with a focus on exceptional quality, diversity and affordability. We met up with Sylvaine and Yannick from Château Bonhoste, the 5th generation of winemakers, to talk to them about their wines and what they enjoy most about winemaking.

– How did you get into winemaking?

With my brother Yannick, we were born and grew up in this family estate, our parents passed on their passion for wine to us. We are now the fifth generation at the Château de Bonhoste.

– What do you love the most about your job?

Yannick: to carry out all the work in the vineyard from pruning to harvesting, to continue with the vinification, bottling and to exchange with the customers the wines produced. 

Sylvaine: sharing my passion for wine with others.

– A story, funny, surprising anecdote about you or your vineyard?

Bonhoste in Old French means good host, good welcome and this is naturally our daily philosophy.  For decades, we have been welcoming our customers to the friendly atmosphere of our vineyard offering lots of fun activities like guided tours in a golf cart, wine tastings and wine store, farm market, food/wine meals, accommodation in a large barrel (Coup 2 Foudres), escape game in the underground cellar carved in stone.

– What is your favourite wine and why?

Yannick: The Cuvée Prestige Rouge, because it is a wine made from old vines planted in the past by our parents, we try to have a wine that is both concentrated and silky.

Sylvaine: The Cuvée Prestige White – it was initially a very small cuvée with only 2 barrels.  When we were young we would come home from school and would stir the barrels for this cuvée. Today it is a very successful cuvée: an atypical one with Sauvignon Gris, full barrel vinification – alcoholic fermentation in barrels with stirring of the barrels for 6 months.

– What kinds of wines are produced in your estate and what methods are used to produce them?

We produce Bordeaux Blanc, Bordeaux Rosé, Bordeaux Rouge, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux Blanc, Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé, Grape Juice. We use traditional methods in our vineyards. We have received High Environmental Value (HVE) certification level 3 since 2013. In 2017 we produced our first sulphite-free Cuvée de Rouge.   

– What are your favourite food pairings for your wines?

Bordeaux blanc cuvée Classique: seafood platter, smoked salmon, grilled turbot.

Bordeaux Blanc cuvée prestige: John Dory fillet, cod cooked with cream, monkfish skewers with bacon, poached salmon steak, pike-perch with butter.

Bordeaux Rosé: Tomato mozzarella salad, grilled food, skewers, carpaccio, fish, raw vegetables, exotic dishes, summer salads, savoury pies – so many pairing options!

Bordeaux red: Stuffed squid, mallard duck with olives, beef bourguignon, braised pork roulette, roasted rabbit.

Bordeaux Supérieur red: Lamprey à la bordelaise (traditional stew from Bordeaux), beef steak with pepper sauce, braised veal paupiettes, lamb navarin, hot roast pork, roasted duck, tarragon chicken, roasted quail.

Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge Cuvée Prestige: grilled beef ribs with vine stock, quail stuffed with grapes, beef tourtière (beef pie), veal marengo (veal stew), lamb skewers à la provençale, cheese platter – ewe’s cheese, beaufort.

Bordeaux Rouge SO2 Libre (sulfite-free): aubergine à la provençale, pumpkin pie, beef tournedos, roasted quails, roasted rack of lamb, grilled beef flank.

Bordeaux Supérieur Coup 2 Foudres: braised shoulder of lamb, beef tournedos, duck breast and grilled rib of beef.

Crémant Blanc:  shrimp tempura, tapas, oysters, smoked salmon, cheeses.

Crémant Rosé: melon balls, tapas, desserts, fresh fruit salad, pear pie and almond cream.