A famed Bordeaux chateau breaks with tradition to combat climate change | Canada Voices

Hot and dry growing seasons used to be celebrated by winemakers. Now they are cause for concern. At Château Lafleur, ripe bunches of merlot were ready earlier than usual this year, following heatwaves and drought conditions that affected yields across Bordeaux and the rest of France.

To maintain the quality and style of their celebrated wines in the face of shifting weather patterns, Sociéte Civile du Château Lafleur owners, the Guinaudeau family, have abandoned the Pomerol and Bordeaux appellations. They will release wines from the 2025 vintage under the humble Vin de France category, the least restrictive of the country’s classification system.

“We change to remain the same,” Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau explained in a three-page press release that outlined how established regulations don’t allow estates to combat accelerating climate change. Specifically, the move will allow them to irrigate as needed without having to seek permission from appellation authorities. (They also look to farm differently by reducing the amount of vines planted per acre and lowering the height of their canopy to shield the grapes from the sun and slow down transpiration (water loss) from the vine.)

Lafleur’s international reputation has made the news a flash point for discussion. While winemakers in Bordeaux might be stripped of their appellation status for not following the rules, it’s uncommon for an estate to opt out in such a dramatic fashion.

The family’s stand is stirring up debate in the same way that producers of top-quality super-Tuscan wines challenged traditions to allow for greater flexibility to produce quality wines with unconventional grape varieties and modern techniques. In that instance, regulations were relaxed (in 1992) to ensure some of Italy’s most collected wines wouldn’t be sold as basic table wines. The maverick producers adopted more specific and prestigious Indicazione Geografica Tipica (acknowledging the wine is typical of its region) or DOCG (the highest quality designation for Italian wine) labels.

In the past, authorities were concerned growers would irrigate to increase yield. But, in the wake of dry growing seasons in Bordeaux in 2015, 2019 and 2022, added water is required to maintain the health and productivity of the vines. The Guinaudeaus, who say their vineyards suffered from water stress throughout the 2025 growing season, insist there’s a need to change practices to reflect the new norms of shifting weather patterns.

Selling wine with a Pomerol label is a sign of prestige, but only if you have healthy grapes to harvest. The same goes for winemakers around the country, which is consistently one of the world’s largest wine producers.

The 2025 grape harvest in France is expected to be down 13 per cent from the five-year average, according to figures released by the French ministry of Agriculture and Food.

Founded in 1872 and owned by the Guinaudeaus since 1985, Château Lafleur is a five-hectare estate (12 acres) of cabernet franc and merlot vines beside Petrus, the world’s most celebrated red wine made from the merlot grape.

One of the most expensive wines produced in Bordeaux, Château Lafleur 2024 sells for $1,610 per bottle as part of the LCBO Bordeaux Futures offering, which sees consumers purchase wines that are still aging in the cellar. Purchasers will receive their bottles, the last ones with labels featuring the Pomerol appellation, in 2027.