Gracia is located in Saint Christophe des Bardes, in the Saint-Emilion appellation.

When he inherited a 1.34 hectare plot of vines in 1994, Michel Gracia had no clear idea of what sort of wine he wanted to make. However, as the C.E.O. of a well-known renovation company, Michel Gracia had often worked for some of the most famous wine estates in Bordeaux (Angélus, Ausone, Léoville Las Cases, etc). He had also befriended Jean-Luc Thunevin (of Château Valandraud) and Alain Vauthier (of Château Ausone), who convinced him to produce his own hand-crafted "garage wine". His first vintage in 1997 was praised by many international critics.

Gracia added another hectare of vines by purchasing an adjoining plot, whose wine has been included in the final blend of Château Gracia since the 2007 vintage. This also enabled the percentage of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon to be increased.

Gracia is located in Saint Christophe des Bardes on the northern end of the plateau and has a fine clay-limestone subsoil.

In the Bottle

While overripeness, heavy extraction and plenty of new oak were the bywords for the initial garage wines, things are much different today. The goal now is to pick at just the right time, lock in the fruit, adapt maceration to each vintage, age the wine a little less long, and retain only those barrels that contain the fruitiest wine. The 2005 and 2006 vintages confirm that the Gracia is definitely on the right path. The quality is excellent. The estate also produces two other wines: Les Angelots de Gracia is made from a 1.38 hectare plot between Angélus and the Castillon road. Purchased from Château Lucia, this plot has a soil and subsoil with ferruginous sand. The third label, De Nerville, is the second wine of Gracia and Angelots de Gracia (often bled off from vats of young Merlot).

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Chateau Gracia, De Nerville, 2e vin, Les Angelots de Gracia,