Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry's history goes back at least as far as 1608, when records show that 30-40 barrels of wine were produced on an estate belonging to the Escoussès, a family of royal notary publics. Wine has been produced there without interruption ever since. In 1697, Louise Escoussès sold the estate to Simon Malescot, a member of the Bordeaux Parliament and councillor of Louis XIV. His descendents gradually expanded it and went on to build a country manor and wine cellar. In 1827, Count Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Exupéry the great-grandfather of the famous aviator and author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, purchased Château Malescot. Unfortunately, due to his profligate lifestyle, the estate had to be sold at auction by Jean-Baptiste's widow in 1853. At the time, the poster announcing the sale said that Malescot was a third growth, and this was born out in the famous 1855 classification. The buyers, Mr. Fourcade and Mr. Boissac, built a château in keeping with the château's reputation in 1870. They also built the region's first two-story cellar, prefiguring winemaking relying on gravity flow that only became widespread in the late 20th century. The estate was sold again in 1901, and was maintained in a fairly poor state by a succession of owners for the next 50 years, until it was acquired by Paul Zuger and his son Roger in 1955. By that time, Malescot Saint-Exupéry had just 7 hectares of vines! It took them 30 years to restore Malescot's reputation. It is worth noting that the present layout of the vineyards is 80% faithful to that of the 1697 boundaries.

In the Bottle

Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry is much appreciated for its aristocratic bouquet, ripe fruit, full body, and fine tannic texture. While quality has been excellent over the past decade, the was not always the case, when overcropping tended to dilute the wine's character. The best recent vintages of Malescot Saint-Exupéry are 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, while the 2003 and 2008 are among the best in the Margaux appellation.

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Château Malescot Saint Exupéry, La Dame de Malescot, (second wine)