Châteaux La Grande Métairie and Haut Dambert are located in the southern part of the Entre Deux Mers, around 40km to the south-east of Bordeaux
Today, we produce around 1300 hl and provide approx. 170 000 bottles per year, divided into 6 appellations:
Our commercial focus lies on the sale by the bottle - both for the export and the domestic French market.
The main goal is the creation of high quality wines at a fair price.
For 4 generations, the Ithier-Buffeteau family has combined tradition and state-of-the-art technology to produce elegant and racy wines with a taste of terroir.
At the end of the 1920s, Yvonne Ithier owned a small farm in the village of Castelviel, combining polyculture with a vine nursery. Over the years, the farm was transformed to become a ten-hectare winegrowing estate in 1960.
After his daughter Huguette married Jean-Paul Buffeteau, the vineyard was reorganized and restructured with the acquisition of a ten-hectare estate in the neighboring commune of Gornac. This step created an 18-hectare vineyard comprising two blocks of equal size with different terroirs. The vinification and storage cellars were moved to Gornac, while the family home and administrative offices remained in Castelviel.
An important landmark was the arrival of Huguette's son Jean-Luc, who took over from his father and conducted his first vinifications with the 1998 vintage. As a graduate oenologist from the University of Bordeaux, he spent 15 years making wine for several Bordeaux wine merchants, for whom he also acted as buyer.
New projects were born. Restructuring the vineyard, changing marketing methods and renovating the winery led to the expansion of the business to a total surface of 22 hectares.
In 2012, Jean-Luc joined the Bordeaux Wine Environmental Management System (SME).
Two years later, the property expanded to 29 hectares with the purchase of a 7-hectare section neighboring the Gornac property.
The year 2015 was marked by the arrival of Jean Luc's daughter Claire, who took over administration and sales. At the same time a new 2,200 hl, stainless-steel and fully temperature-regulated winery was built in Gornac.
With rolling green hills, vines, groves and breathtaking sunsets, the Bordeaux hinterland, is also home to a few historical gems, including bastides, windmills and mighty abbeys from the 12th-century.
Planted on some of the highest slopes of Gironde, our vines enjoy excellent sunshine and temperature. Their good exposure to prevailing winds, brings both optimal maturity and disease resistance.
The watershed between Castelviel and Gornac divides our vineyard in two. On one side, high clay soils provide freshness and fruit, on the other, a plateau of asteriated limestone lends complexity and minerality to our wines.
19 hectares : 66% of Merlot, 25% of Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% of Malbec
10 hectares : 75% of Sauvignon Blanc, 7% of Sauvignon Gris, 14% of Muscadelle and 4% of Semillon.
1.5 hectares of neighboring plots (similar terroir) with white grape varieties: 55% of Sauvignon Blanc, 33% of Sauvignon Gris and 12% of Semillon
