Château Rocheyron 2012 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

The château is named for a Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes hamlet whose winegrowing family appears in local records from 1565. Since 2010 Silvio Denz and Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck have directed the property together, drawn to an overlooked corner of the limestone plateau at Saint-Émilion. The compact vineyard covers a little over eight hectares of asteriated limestone, with Merlot and Cabernet Franc sharing the shallow, naturally regulating ground. Biodynamic farming has guided the vineyard since the middle of the last decade, with close observation of each vine treated as a safeguard against standardized Bordeaux character. Hand picking and exacting selection lead into gentle, low-temperature vinification in concrete, followed by French oak used to shape the wine without obscuring the limestone's freshness. Old place and modern restraint define Rocheyron: a small Saint-Émilion project built around limestone, patient farming and finely judged structure rather than sheer force.