A brief history
It is a very old estate that was cited on Belleyme’s famous 18th century map. Camensac means “on the water’s way”, and comes from the words camens, which means “path” or “way” and ac, which means “water” in local dialect. In the 17th century, monks dug ditches along the bottom of the gravelly rises. These contributed to the quality of the terroir by draining excess rainwater.
The Merlaut family acquired Camensac in time for the 2005 vintage. Céline Villars and Jean Merlaut are now in charge of the estate. The niece and uncle are also the respective owners of Chasse-Spleen and Gruaud-Larose. Éric Boissenot is the consulting oenologist. Cabernet Sauvignon now plays a greater role at Camensac. This variety is ideally suited to the deep gravel soil, producing wines with depth, fruit, elegance, and minerality. The old Merlot vines are totally complementary, yielding wines that add volume and body to the final blend.
