| The Château Barateau vineyard existed in the 18th century. Abbot Barateau, priest of Saint-Laurent, came in 1820 to bless the first stone of this winemaking estate. The owners of the time took the blessing to the extreme, giving their château the churchman's name. The service of wine has remained its only creed over the years. The vineyard, planted on a good chalky-clay south-facing hilltop, is on the road to Saint-Julien. This nicely structured wine attracts the attention of all enthusiasts. Its straightforward aromas, fully blending after five years, make it one of the good Saint-Laurent crus.  This cru, with a regular quality over several years that is often cited as an example of the likeable products of Haut-Médoc, can display an impressive list of medals, including four gold ones from the Aquitaine regional wine competition.
The spectacular recovery of Château Barateau is the work of the Leroy family. To diversify their activities, they decided to invest in wine-growing in 1987. And if the new owners spent a great deal on modernising and rebuilding the estate, they got their reward a few years later, joining the leading producers in the "appelation".
Château Barateau is on side of a hill, providing it with plenty of sun, at a crossroads of the road linking Saint-Julien to Saint-Laurent, after Châteaux Lagrange and the Tour Carnet, and the national highway linking Bordeaux to Pointe de Graves.
A second piece of land on the Saint-Sauveur plateau, near Parillac, was bought in 1989.
Area: 24 hectares (12 hectares in Saint-Laurent and 12 hectares in Saint-Sauveur), Grape varieties: 48.3 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 47.8% Merlot, 1.9 % Petit Verdot. Average age of vines: 24, Soil: Chalky clay in Saint-Laurent and gravelly sand in Saint-Sauveur.
Pruning: Guyot double and Cordon de Royal
Planting density: 6,500 and 8,000 vines to the hectare
Care of the vineyard: working the soil, weeding / manual removal of side shoots / excess leaf removal / disbudding / partial green harvest.
Harvest: Largely mechanised with picking table at the point where the harvest is brought in.
An average of 160,000 bottles a year.
| | Traditional
Frequent pumping over
Controlled fermentation temperature of 28 °
Automatic thermo-regulation by condenser
Good period of fermentation on skins (about 3 weeks) in concrete/epoxy and stainless steel tanks
Little chapitalisation, sometimes none
First pressing included
Different, depending on the wines
In French oak barrels for the “Prestige” and "Cru Bourgeois" cuvées, with a greater percentage of new oak and a longer period of maturing for the “Prestige” cuvée
The second wine is kept in tanks for 6 months, with appropriate techniques to ensure it becomes rounded and supple more quickly
Fining entirely with egg white
Filtering on bottling
Bottled at the Château in "heavy" bottles
Fining is carried out entirely with egg white. It is an ancient practice essential for clarifying the wine by eliminating particles in suspension and excess coloured material.
La revue du Vin de France
2000: Work of art of the month
1994: Investment: "One man and his vineyard"
1993: Médoc Special - Crus Bourgeois - Château Barateau 1990
Le Point
1999: Wine Special / Les Crus Bourgeois du Médoc (selection)
1999: Good stuff: Château Barateau (15/20)
La Côte des Vins - Gault Millau
1996: Château Barateau 1995 Rating: 17.5/20 Nice Matin
1991: "When chefs sit down at the table"
Selections Yves Michaud
1989 Vintage "A superior, gentlemanly cru bourgeois" Wine Business Club
1999
Germany: Weinwisser 1996-2003
Belgium: In Vino Veritas - Cru bourgeois Médoc 2002
Le Grand Bernard des Vins de France
Editions de Fallois
1988 - Encyclopédie des Crus Bourgeois du Bordelais
Editions Dussaut
1987 - Les grands vins de Bordeaux
Editions Féret
Bordeaux et ses vins
Le Médoc et ses crus bourgeois
Guide Hachette
Guide Gilbert et Gaillard 2005
Vinalies Internationales
| | 1999: Vermillion red colour, delicate nose with grapey aromas, rounded, fresh attack on a fine, elegant body, traditional wine showing a soft side and whose peak will be in a few years time. | | 2001: A lovely purple colour; a very pleasant nose with aromas of jammy blackberry and morello cherry, with toasty and chocolaty notes and a hint of mint; the attack is fresh and clean, the finish is long and pleasantly toasty. Made for keeping. | | 2003: Pretty dark purple colour. An expressive nose with well ripened red fruits followed by more discreet woody notes. The attack is honest and the powerful feel in the mouth remains fresh, with the fruits dominating well-integrated woody touches. Already very pleasant and with a good length, this wine needs a little time to allow the tannin structure to break down. | | 2005: Fruits and fruits ! From nose to mouth. It gives a great complexity to the wine. It’s a powerful wine, with a very rich tannins structure and an exceptional roundering. The finish is long, with cassis and chocolate aromas who gives a extraordinary flavour. Made for keeping ! | | 2006 : D’une robe brillante rubis aux reflets pourpres, il présente un nez fin et complexe, le fruit domine et se marie harmonieusement avec les notes de pain d’épices, de caramel salé et de chocolat apportées par l’élevage en barriques. La structure est souple avec des tanins ronds et l’ensemble présente une belle longueur en bouche. Un cru bourgeois de belle facture. | |
Coming from the best plots and subject to the most attentive care, benefiting from a long period in new barrels, this Cuvée is an exceptional wine to be kept for long periods: concentrated, rich and with a generous finish, showing beautiful balance. Every year the label shows a different painted scene on the theme of wine. This cuvée is available for the vintages from 1994 to 2003. 1998: Magnificent ruby and garnet colour; vanilla, cinnamon and slightly licorice nose; rounded, opulent attack with mature, rounded tannins; a persistent finish with a pleasant sweetness; a certain winner | | 1999: A lovely dark ruby and garnet colour; ample, generous nose; firm, well presented attack with an excellent structure on rounded, mature tannins; a generous wine with great potential. | | 2000: Dark ruby colour with touches of violet; an intense, balanced nose with aromas of very ripe red fruits and slight licorice and minty notes; the attack in the mouth develops power and roundness and the perfumes of morello cherry or blackcurrant are enveloped in notes of toasted vanilla. This wine, which brings together power and complexity, will benefit from being kept to obtain the quintessence that will be achieved when everything blends together. | | 2001: Pretty cherry red colour slightly tinged with purple; fresh, minty nose, opening on notes of cherry and raspberry, then plums; the attack is clean and powerful, with licorice notes blending with the fruity aromas; the finish is long and intense, with vanilla. This is a wine with great power which will need a few years maturing to develop its potential and become supple. | | 2002: Pretty ruby red colour with nuances of purple; powerful nose of rose, raspberry and blackberry, accompanied by toasted woody and chocolaty notes mixed with notes of cherry and kirsch. In the mouth, the tannins are already rounded and supple. This vintage achieves a great deal of power, breadth and body. It needs keeping for five or six years before its true value can begin to be appreciated. | | 2003: With its intense red colour this "Vin du Soleil" blends power and finesse. The well ripened notes of red fruit blend with toasty, fine tobacco touches provided by well blended woody tones. The impressive substance develops on soft, silky tannins with a well-rounded balance of plumpness and sweetness. To keep and decant young. | | 2004 : La robe est sombre Le nez complexe aromatiquement avec une matière première bien mure. La bouche reflète cette maturité par une structure souple, ample et ronde. Une bonne vivacité en attaque donne du caractère au vin. C’est un vin riche laissant entrevoir de très belles perspectives | | 2005 : Belle robe pourpre sombre. Nez puissant et expressif sur des fruits rouges murs et confits. Les tanins sont riches, soyeux, charnus donnant beaucoup de volume et une belle longueur en finale. Les notes de confiture de mûre, de cassis se mêlent très bien aux notes torréfiées et chocolatées du boisé. Un vin d’une grande puissance et d’une richesse aromatique exceptionnelle. | |
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