The Estate

For the best part of the 18th century, Jacques de Canolle owned the Edmus land, and it was he who planted the first vines here.

Wines from this terroir already commanded prices 3 to 4 times higher than average, suggesting that they were discernibly better than elsewhere. The terroir was one of the first to make reds only. But although the wines were widely recognised for their quality, it wasn’t until 1936 that this beautiful vineyard was awarded AOC Saint-Emilion status; a further 18 years elapsed before it became a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.

Jean-Baptiste Villemenot, wine merchant and settler from the French West Indies, owned Edmus for around 30 years from 1792, at a time when just 13% of its 200 hectares were used for winegrowing. By making judicious land purchases, Jean-Baptiste built up a sizeable farming business, but sadly, over the 12 years following his death in 1812, his heirs abandoned the estate little by little. 

In 1824, all 200 hectares of Villemenot’s land around the village of Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens were acquired by the Duke of Descazes, then Minister of State. He bought the land as an investment and leased it to the Bonnet family for farming, requesting that they re-plant the vineyards.

In 1833, the estate was purchased by Romain-Bertrand and Ferdinand de Lur-Saluces, owners of the iconic Château Yquem. They initiated some major renovation works, overseen by Garros, the Lur-Saluces’ business manager. It was a bold project by any standards, bringing the land back to life and restoring the estate to its former glory. Costs were high, but it was the right choice to make, and the estate wine was quickly re-established as one of the “better” wines, on a par with Ausone or Beauséjour.

The presence of the Lur-Saluces family in Saint Emilion had a clear impact on the quality of the wine produced, and hence on Edmus wines today. It took 30 years of toil to grow the estate to 370 hectares and totally restructure the vineyards, but their efforts were handsomely rewarded, greatly improving the quality of the wine.

“As you descend the slopes of Saint-Emilion, you see a difference in wine quality. Each wine has its own distinctive features. At the top of the hill, the wines are robust, high in alcohol and take time to reach their peak, while on the sandy soils of Saint-Sulpice we find finer, more elegant wines with a distinctive bouquet; these are ready to bottle after three years.” (Féret, 2nd Edition). The Edmus land produced 100 barrels of wine from 40 hectares of vineyard, making it the largest local producer by volume. In terms of value, the price was only 25% lower than Saint-Emilion’s Premier Crus, and well above the price of other wines from the same village. The owner at the time was Emile Fornerod.

25 years after powdery mildew was inadvertently introduced into France, the vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera. Very little of the land was spared. Saint-Sulpice, however, remained relatively unaffected, notably on the alluvial plains which were prone to winter flooding, and the sandy zones whose rainfall created an inhospitable environment for the phylloxera aphid. Their porous soils also made vineyard maintenance easier. So the vineyards, which would a century later become part of Château Edmus, survived; and although yields were low, wine quality remained high. The land was owned by Comte de Roquette-Buisson, who upped the winegrowing area to 70 hectares. The estate wines were promoted to Crus Bourgeois status and prices skyrocketed, sometimes to twice or even two and a half times the original figure.

The estate moved effortlessly into the 20th century. Yields were reduced, but the quality of the wines was widely appreciated, and they were highly prized. Wines made under the new owner, Baron Arthur de Brezets, commanded the highest prices.

The “old château” named in the deeds of sale from the Duke of Descazes to the Lur-Saluces family gave way to the term “château,” denoting a wine of quality, longevity and nobility.

After World War I, the estate was acquired by the Chariol family, who had worked on the land for three centuries. War, coupled with an economic crisis and torrential spring rains, had completely changed the face of the estate, drastically reducing the number of vines.  It was time for the phoenix to rise from the ashes; it was time for Edmus

In 2007, Philip Edmundson and Eric Remus acquired 5.8 hectares of vineyard on this historic land, and set out to restore the estate and its wines to their former glory. Their mission was aptly illustrated by the estate motto, “Renascetur Gloriosius” (reborn more gloriously), with the phoenix logo chosen to symbolise rebirth. As soon as the estate was in their hands, the pair called in Stéphane Derenoncourt to help them achieve their dream.

After much intense, meticulously-managed teamwork, their mission has clearly been accomplished. Château Edmus wines can be found in the finest restaurants, gracing some of the most prestigious tables of Paris, Boston, London, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Istanbul, Helsinki, Sofia and beyond.

On October 25th 2019, Château Edmus welcomed the arrival of Laurent David, marking the start of a new era. Laurent, originally from Bergerac, has been passionate about wine since his early childhood, and having initially forged a successful career in the tech industry, has managed to find a, (slightly unusual!) way to combine his two passions: wine and technology.

Laurent took on only 1.6 hectares of the estate’s vineyards, and kept the same expert team as before to oversee the future of this unique terroir, where he continues to make beautiful wines. His approach to viticulture is simply to keep things natural.