The current estate

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Château Malfard / The current estate

Replanting the estate:

Château Malfard has been a wine-making estate dating back to ancient times. During the 19th century, vineyards (white) extended over 60 hectares. Yields were very small, numerous diseases existed and wine-growing/wine-making methods were rudimentary.

Wine-making and storage remained empirical until the oenological revolution of the 1970s, set off by Professors Ribereau, Gayon et al. Emile Peynaud.

Phylloxera devastated the region at the end of the 19th century but was saved by American stock which rescued Bordeaux from ruin. Alas, Malfard was also hit by this catastrophe from which it slowly recovered during the 20th century. However, after WWII, the vineyards fell into disuse up to the 1960s when they were totally neglected. For nearly thirty years, music no longer arose from fermentation in the Malfard cellars whose towers, in turn, collapsed amid complete indifference…

After a fashion, the vineyards were replanted little by little in the 1990s. Wild vines, which had spread throughout the AOC brush among the oak trees and stakes, were pulled out and old stock was uprooted. Once again, proud, vigorous rows of Merlot and Cabernet extend along the clay plateau overlooking the Isle river valley.

Vineyards

Ripening Merlot

Repairing the buildings:

Wine-making buildings : two buildings were used for wine-making a fermenting cellar, called the “Médocain” cellar, and a barrel cellar.

The original fermenting cellar dates back to circa 1860 and contained six 150 HL wooden casks on a rounded stone base. The trodden earth floor no longer met current hygiene nor wine-making standards. The fermenting section’s northern section, modified in the early 20th century, was rebuilt according to gravitation principles.
3 floors are dedicated to the wine-making process :
- the top floor where the harvested white grapes arrive in wooden containers attached to ropes and a pulley : the grapes are crushed and destemmed
- on the second floor, the crushed grapes are funneled directly onto the presses via wooden chutes. One crusher feeds 3 presses. The press wine runs from this watertight floor to fermentation tanks on the ground floor.
- the harvested red grapes undergo the same processes except that the unpressed grapes are put into vats via track-mounted trolleys on the first floor.
The structural features were maintained, including the COQ cast-iron hydraulic press dating back to 1907 but still in service…
However, the vats needed to be modernized : six stainless steel thermoregulated 140 HL vats were installed on a tiled floor. Drainage water goes directly into a specially-built water treatment plant.
The roof of the barrel cellar had partially collapsed and the trodden earth floors had become damp and unhealthy. Repairs included replacing the roof structure and roof tiles, rewiring the cellar and resurfacing the floor ad hoc.

Fermenting cellar

Fermenting vats

Cellar

Estate buildings:

A huge slate-roofed agricultural building with a trussed roof structure : this may have been one of the first of its kind in the region.
A U-shaped building lay-out dating back to the 19th century, including workers’ quarters, equipment sheds, bread ovens and ancient stables. The roofs and walls were rebuilt and are in the process of being converted into luxury self-catering cottages.

Agricultural buildings

The Chapel:

Renovation has begun on the chapel, built in 1877 at the same time the orange grove was planted. The reconstructed main door is identical to the original and still bears the original metal fittings. On the other hand, the roof was modified. Currently, the floors and stained glass windows (which were broken) are being worked on.

Lastly, at the estate’s entrance, an 18th century farmhouse, which had lost its roof and fallen into ruin, is being converted into a self-catering cottage.

Chapel