Château Dassault
Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé
It is with this estate that it all began. The year was 1955, and Marcel Dassault purchased Château Couperie, a wine estate founded in 1862. He gave it his name and then quickly enlarged and modernised the vineyard, before the estate gained promotion to the rank of Grand Cru Classé in 1969.
In 2022, the neighbouring vineyard of Faurie de Souchard, also a Classified Growth, was incorporated into the production of Château Dassault. This increased the total surface area of the estate to 40 hectares (99 acres) and resulted in wines of ever-higher quality.
The character of the wines of Château Dassault is honed from Saint-Émilion’s most emblematic terroirs.
The specific soil-types and exposures of the plots bring an ideal, natural coolness of temperatures, while enabling the vines to adapt to climate change.


Precise and fleshy, the wines of Château Dassault are typically elegant and aromatic. While they can be enjoyed young, the wines reveal their full expression after 10 to 15 years of ageing, depending on the individual vintage.
First released in 1995, the estate’s Second Wine, D de Dassault, is produced from selected plots in the Dassault vineyard and offers lovely aromatic freshness together with a soft, smooth mouthfeel. This very fruity wine can be enjoyed during its first years after bottling.
Château Dassault has enhanced its vineyard and vine-growing practices. Keen to protect the environment, its teams have implemented a programme of sustainable vine-growing practices based on agro-ecology. This includes the growing of cover crops in the vine rows, which are seeded with legumes and grasses, and the use of vegetal cover crops as green fertiliser. As a consequence, the estate was awarded the HEV Level 3 seal in 2016 and the Bee Friendly label in 2021.
In 2015, a ten-year plan was undertaken to restructure 25% of the surface area of the Château Dassault vineyard. A precise mapping of the terroirs and a detailed soil study were carried out beforehand to enable the selection of appropriate grape varieties. As a result, it was decided that the proportions of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon would be increased, while keeping a large proportion of Merlot. The aim was to anticipate evolutions in the climate by planting later-ripening grape varieties that are better suited to hot conditions, while at the same time carefully preserving the identity of the wine.
Château Dassault also makes regular investments in the vinification and ageing processes. In 2022, the estate inaugurated innovative technical production facilities on three floors, covering a total area of 3,500m2. First of all, a gravity-flow system in the vat cellar was installed to enhance plot by plot vinifications carried out in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats of different capacities.
In parallel, a dedicated area for research and development was set up to carry out studies linked to our on-site vine nursery, established within the Château’s grounds. Finally, the barrel cellar, which is located underground and includes foudres and amphoras (especially chosen for their ability to preserve the wine’s fruit character) benefits from optimal conditions of humidity for the ageing of the wines.
Soil map
The wines produced at Château Dassault are grown in Saint-Émilion’s emblematic terroirs: clay-limestone on the slope, clay over a limestone base, clay-sand and sandy-clay. Planted on the appellation’s north-facing slope, the estate’s vines benefit from cooler temperatures that favour the vine cycle in accordance with today’s changing climate.

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Château dassault
Estate
Surface area
40 hectares (99 acres)
Geographical situation
North-facing slope of Saint-Émilion
Soils
Clay-limestone on the slope, clay over a limestone base, clay-sand and sandy-clay.
Grape composition
66% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Average age of the vines
27 years
Château dassault
Vine-
growing
Pruning system
Double Guyot
Soil maintenance
Shallow ploughing and sustainable cover crops
Vine canopy management
De-budding, de-leafing on the east-facing side of the canopy and, if required, also on the west-facing side
Harvesting
By hand, sorting using a densimetric sorting line
Château dassault
Vinification and Ageing
Vinification
Plot by plot in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats
Ageing
In new barrels, foudres, amphora and concrete vats
Length of ageing
14 to 18 months depending on the vintage