France, Bordeaux

St Julien Quatrième cru 1855 At 17ha Château Saint Pierre is the smallest classed growth estate in St Julien. The name is derived from the Baron de Saint-Pierre who owned the estate at the tail end of the 18th Century. He left Saint-Pierre to his two daughters who, after running the estate together for a while, divided Saint-Pierre in two in 1832. The Dutch company, Van den Bussche bought both bits of Saint-Pierre in 1923 and re-united the estate. In 1982, Henri Martin (the man who assembled the Château Gloria from bits of vineyard purchased from various St Julien estates, including Saint-Pierre) bought the estate and he, and his daughter and son-in law Françoise and Jean-Louis Triaudand, have done much to raise the profile of this oft over-looked château. The vineyards are planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, with the wines being made at Château Gloria. Although renewed reputation has pushed the price up a little in recent years, Saint-Pierre still represents quite good value for some nicely made darkly coloured St Julien.