The little brother amidst the grands crus classes
For some 40 years, the vines of Mancèdre, totally destroyed by the terrible frosts of the winter of 1956, were left entirely abandoned. The grandparents of the present owner, Jean Trocard, were too old to undertake the replanting of their vineyard; In 1994 Jean Trocard decided the take up the challenge. The task was overwhelming:
Literally everything had to be rebuilt. His determined will showed the way.
– The will to create a wine Château in the young, dynamic appellation of Pessac-Léognan.
– The will to produce a new wine from this terroir, surrounded by the great classified wines of Pessac-Léognan
– The will to pursue a family history built on 15 generations of growers
– The will to see the land brought back to life and not surrendered to real estate developers

And not surrendered to real estate developers
Over those long years, the vines had become overgrown by wild vegetation. Everything had to be uprooted, cleared, levelled; the future rows had to be laid out, the old stumps removed, the land drained over every rod, pole and perch. The first plot of 500 square metres of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes was planted on a fine gravel outcrop in 1994. Since then, and every two years up until 2006, Jean Trocard patiently continued to replant plots of vines. He decided to pursue the adventure by planting an additional 3 hectares with white grape varieties up until 2012.

And a birth of a Château
In 2001, alongside the little house, which was in the past the home of the family estate, Jean Trocard has cellars built in stone set off by red brick, reminiscent of the houses of the winter town of the Bay of Arcachon, close to Pessac-Léognan. The light shines through the wide windows on all four sides, highlighting the barrel cellar on the one hand and the vat room on the other. This little brother has set its sights really high, aimed at becoming the best of the unclassified growths.