Château Malescot St. Exupéry is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

History

Château Malescot St-Exupéry owes its name to two former owners: Simon Malescot, a royal councillor to the Bordeaux parliament, who acquired the estate in 1697, and Count Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Exupéry, who owned it from 1827 to 1853. 

Paul Zuger and his son, Roger, purchased the château, located in the middle of the town of Margaux, in June 1955. After more than thirty years of unstinting efforts, Malescot St-Exupéry’s coat of arms has never been truer: Semper Ad Altum (“Ever Higher”). The 45-hectare estate has 23.5 hectares of vines on a fine terroir that “overlooks the river” – indicative of the best vineyard sites according to an old local saying.

Vineyards

The vineyards are planted with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, at a density of 10,000 vines/hectare, with an average age of about 35 years.

Wines

To produce the wine of Chateau Malescot St. Exupery, vinification takes place in a combination of 22, temperature controlled, concrete vats and stainless steel tanks. These are divided into 6 concrete vats and 16 tanks of stainless steel that range in size from 80 hectoliters up to 160 hectoliters. Malolactic fermentation takes place in either tank, vat, barrel, or a combination of any of those vessels. They can use concentrators or reverse osmosis machines, as well as bleeding of the vats to increase the concentration of the wine. Those decisions are left up to the vintage according to Jean Luc Zuger. The wine of Chateau Malescot St. Exupery is then aged in between 80% new and 100% new, French oak barrels for between 14 to 16 months before bottling. There is a second wine, La Dame de Malescot. On average, production is about 9,000 cases of wine per year.