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Chateau Hosanna

The story of Hosanna, a property in Pomerol for many years known as Certan-Marzelle and then Certan-Giraud, begins with the Sertan estate of the late-18th century. Sertan, or Certan as we would think of it today, was a property in the hands of the Demay family, wealthy landowners and négociants who originated from Scotland. During the 19th century small parcels of the estate were sold off, the divisions creating not only one of Pomerol's most admired estates Vieux Chateau Certan, but also Certan de May and the property that interests us here, Certan-Marzelle. This latter property, which must have started out with at least 11 hectares, was renamed Certan-Giraud by new proprietors, the Giraud family, who made the purchase in 1956. Were these new owners in any way related to the Giraud family of Trotanoy? It is certainly plausible, as the periods of ownership are contemporaneous, but I can find no evidence to confirm this. And whereas those at Trotanoy were royal courtiers, the Giraud family at Certan-Giraud were best known as simple vignerons associated with several properties in St Emilion, and they vinified the Certan-Giraud wines at one of these estates, Chateau Corbin. Perhaps it is not the same family, after all.

The wines of the Giraud era tend to gain unmitigated praise or a desultory metaphorical shrug of the shoulders, depending on which critic you are reading. Most, however, would say that the quality of the wines in the immediate decades prior to 1999, when Certan-Giraud was acquired by the Moueix family, was in decline. The deal involved a joint purchase with the Delon family, recently arrived on the right bank as proprietors of Chateau Nenin, but of course very well known for their successful tenure of Léoville-Las-Cases. The property was divided, giving the Delons another 4 hectares - a portion of the estate called the Clos du Roy - to incorporate into their new Pomerol domaine, whilst Christian Moueix took what remained.

It was Christian's intention to rename what came to him simply Certan, removing the Giraud appendage as per the wishes of the vendors, but being a prudent businessman he first called upon the proprietors of similarly named Pomerol estates, including Vieux Chateau Certan and Certan de May, to ascertain whether this would be viewed as an infringement. There were no objections from Alexandre Thienpont at the former, but at the latter Madame Barreau-Bader was not content. The only solution would be a completely new name, and thus Chateau Hosanna was born, although this was a very much smaller Hosanna than we might have expected. As well as the 4 hectares taken by the Delon family another 2 hectares of purely Merlot were cleaved off to recreate Chateau Certan-Marzelle, the name an acknowledgement of the proprietors prior to the pre-Giraud era. What was left for Hosanna amounted to not quite 4.5 hectares. Mouiex thus added two distinct and new properties to his portfolio.

The Vines and Wines of Hosanna

In the vineyard, Moueix installed two wells, each more than 20 feet deep and equipped with pumping equipment, thus dramatically improving the drainage of water. The vines naturally abut those of neighbours Vieux Chateau Certan and Certan de May, with Petrus just across the road. The Hosanna vineyard sits at a slightly higher elevation than those of Certan-Marzelle, in a section that Robert Parker has delightfully termed the "tenderloin" of the original Certan-Giraud estate. The soils have a typical Pomerol terroir, a blend of clay and a red gravel, and the vines are 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. These have an average age of 40 years, ranging between 25 and 50 years for individual vines. After a manual harvest the fruit is fermented in concrete vats, quite the norm for Pomerol, and thereafter may see 18 months of élevage in oak, 50% of the barrels new each year, with a racking every three months.

When tasting Hosanna under the auspices of Christian Moueix in his quayside offices in Libourne, the wine tends to be offered for tasting towards the end of the line-up, an indication of how the Mouiex clan see this wine within their portfolio. It follows a number of other notable names, including the cleaved-off Certan-Marzelle and La Fleur-Pétrus, and only Providence and neighbour Certan de May sit between it and the coup de grace at this annual tasting, the Trotanoy and Petrus twosome. Putting 2007 aside for one moment, a vintage where success stories are very few and far-between, I generally find the wines of Hosanna to be successful, albeit in a rich and substantial style. The 2008 was perhaps a step up, providing fabulous clarity and polish, a seamless texture alongside the substance. Having said that, I have usually found that I prefer the finesse of La Fleur-Pétrus when the two are tasted side-by-side. Nevertheless, both undoubtedly have the potential to be great, and any choice between the two would have to be made on a point of style. (27/1/10)

Contact details:
Address: 54, quai du Priorat, 33502 Libourne
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 57 51 78 96
Fax: +33 (0) 5 57 51 79 79
Internet: www.moueix.com

Chateau Hosanna - Tasting Notes

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Chateau Hosanna (Pomerol) 2009: A Mouiex wine. A dark and glossy cherry red. Deeply fruited on the nose, plum skins and damsons, with darker notes too, a meaty richness, an element of tar. Beautifully creamed stance on the palate, with plenty of fine grip. The fruit and fresh acidity combine to give this wine a particularly succulent presence on the palate. Supple, ripe, approachable, but with a quick round of tannins showing at the end, this wine has much promise for the future. I really like this. From my 2009 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 17.5-18.5+/20 (March 2010)

Chateau Hosanna (Pomerol) 2008: Fine fruit on the nose here, crystalline, gently sweet, with a lovely sweet and broad texture to the fruit on the palate. Good, nicely polished tannins, very firm acids, An aromatic finish, quite seamlessly textured, with very good potential. Really attractive and full of promise. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 17-18+/20 (April 2009)

Chateau Hosanna (Pomerol) 2007: This sample doesn't seem so expressive on the nose as some. It has some sweet and rather gritty fruit, although on the palate it shows a more creamy, flashy, rounded quality than I was perhaps expecting. A lovely overlay of fruit, soft and plummy, with a gentle structure of pillowy tannins and moderate acidity. It has perhaps less vigour than some others, and a gently fading finish, but overall it is good. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 14.5-15.5+/20 (April 2008)

Chateau Hosanna (Pomerol) 2004: This wine has a dense and meaty character on the nose, with a little trace of high-toned balsamic. Very ripe in style, somewhat unfocused at present, certainly unintegrated on the palate. The tannins are dense and fairly chewy, with a lot of grip at the finish, but there is good acidity here too. It is a very rich and substantial wine that I suspect my come together in the cellar. From a 2004 Bordeaux tasting at four years of age. 16-16.5+/20 (November 2008)

Chateau Certan-Giraud (Pomerol) 1998: The final vintage before this property changed hands and was divided, creating Chateaux Hosanna and Certan Marzelle. There is elegance on the nose here, showing a restrained but characterful wood-spice and plum. It is softly composed on the palate, gently gliding and somewhat detached which I like. There is a little grip through the midpalate, and good extract underpinning a nice texture. Nicely composed but not a very firm style. I think this will be drinking well very soon. From the 2007 CIVB tasting. 16.5+/20 (October 2007)