Château Lestignac
The modern history of Château Lestignac begins in 2008, when Camille and Mathias Marquet decided to recover the 13 hectares of vines from Mathias' grandfather. The estate has been in the family since 1617.
The three blocks of plots are located in the Bergerac appellation, at the confluence of the Dordogne, the Lot and the Garonne and the couple then decided on a new philosophy for this area: produce less but better. The decision is made, they therefore part with 5 ha and then find themselves with 7 ha including 2.5 ha of Merlot and 4.5 ha of white grape varieties (Sémillon, Sauvignon, Muscadelle and Trebbiano). Following their logic, the couple will switch the estate to organic and then biodynamic farming with a high priority on work in the vineyard: the healthier and more beautiful a vine is, the more good grapes they will have…. logic !
In addition to perfecting their work in the vineyards, they will also seek to anticipate the future and begin to explore agroforestry, so each year they plant trees, shrubs and flowers in order to increasingly develop biodiversity in their area. They are also often accompanied by their two goats Manu & Brigitte, invaluable help with weeding if ever there was one, and their two horses Paco & Marquise. In the cellar everything is also worked in the most natural way possible, without any inputs, except sometimes a slight dose of S02 on certain whites.
The frost, however, did not spare them in 2017 and that is when they made the decision to set up their own business “Hors les Murs”, where they only buy grapes grown biodynamically, seeking to produce vintages of thirst-quenching wines accessible to as many people as possible. Camille and Mathias are two characters with inexhaustible energy, and this energy can be found in their vintages and estate wines.