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Château La Pierrière, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2016
RedFrance2016
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-21 · Published 2026-09-15 · Updated 2026-09-15
At a glance
In one line
3.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 3.5 average · world avg price US$12 · A vineyard handed over as a dowry in 1607, a château built from limestone the family quarried themselves.
One critic score on file on Vivino — 87 points from 2017 (bronze), publication not named
Market note: Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux is a "human-scale" appellation of roughly 230 farming families averaging 10 hectares each. At 41 hectares, La Pierrière is well above the local average, and ranks 3rd out of 127 wines from its winery on Vivino.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Purple color, plum, earthy, minerals. Extremely dry. So I blended with ice wine. After breathing two days much softer and easier to taste.”
What I learned today: with a bottle that's too dry, you can add sweetness, or you can add time.
Sundays the bar is closed. At closing on Friday, Master Seo pushed the cork back into a half-finished bottle of red and handed it to me. "Drink it Sunday. Two days is enough." This afternoon, at the desk by my window, I pulled that cork again.
Deep purple. Plum, earth, a stony minerality. One sip and it was so dry my tongue curled. My whole face scrunched up before I could stop it.
That dryness opened the drawer. December when I was twenty-one, a Saturday night, the day before the winter solstice. The wind was strong outside and the kitchen went dark early. Father, too, pressed his lips shut at the first sip. Then he took a small glass of golden sweet wine from the fridge and tipped a little into the red. I asked if that wasn't cheating. Without a word, he slid the mixed glass over to me. I don't know the bottle's name.
The notebook doesn't hide the cheat: "So I blended with ice wine." And on the next line he wrote that after two days of breathing it was much softer. Father tried mixing, tried waiting, and wrote down both.
In the evening I went for a walk and bought a warm soy milk in front of the convenience store. The glass I poured when I got back was much rounder than in the afternoon. What I learned today: with a bottle that's too dry, you can add sweetness, or you can add time.
What this wine is
The oldest section of La Pierrière is said to date to the late 13th century, built by a local lord named Izambert. Then in 1607, the family's ancestor François de Lageard received La Pierrière as a dowry and expanded it into the château it is today — the family's own website puts it plainly: this is the year "our family's story began being written here." A round tower was added in 1865, and the property passed to the present-day de Marcillac family in 1930; today Christine and Olivier de Marcillac, with Valérie Dardeau, run 41 hectares as the third generation on the land.
What's distinctive is the stone the château itself is built from. The family quarried limestone from their own land to build it, and that same limestone soil is credited today with giving the wine its mineral character. The vineyard is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and some Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on clay-limestone.
The name Castillon itself carries real weight in Bordeaux wine history. On 17 July 1453, the last major battle of the Hundred Years' War was fought near this very town. English commander John Talbot misjudged the French position and charged head-on; some 300 French cannon tore through the advancing English ranks — each shot reportedly killing six men. Talbot and his son were killed, and England lost nearly all its continental holdings in the defeat, effectively ending a war that had run 116 years. That's why the town's official name today is Castillon-la-Bataille — "Castillon of the Battle."
What the world says
The Vivino community rated this 2016 vintage 3.5 on average from 550 ratings, and 3.5 across the whole label from 2,018 ratings. Looking at the distribution, 4-star-and-up ratings make up only 35% against a dominant 57% at 3 stars — the numbers back up the impression of a perfectly serviceable, unremarkable Bordeaux blend. Only one critic score is on file — 87 points (bronze) from 2017 — so there's no wider critical consensus to compare against.
The flavor keywords lead with black fruit — plum and cassis (64 mentions) — followed by tobacco and oak (35), earth and leather (24), and cherry and other red fruit (18). Structure: acidity 3.7/5, intensity 3.7, tannin 3.5 — both acid and tannin run firm, as you'd expect from a young Merlot-led blend.
"Still on the Eiffel Tower dinner, we tried this basic Bordeaux Blend. Limpid red color. Nose of plum and blackcurrant as primary, tobacco and herbs as secondary, finishing with subtle chocolate." — Vivino review, Apr 2018, 3.5 stars
"Need to be highly breathed and then become pleasant. But in any case it has been drunk too early. 2 years are definitely not enough for any Bordeaux and this one as well." — Vivino review, Oct 2018, 3.5 stars
That second quote stands out — as early as 2018, someone was already flagging that it had been opened too soon. My own bottle came a full year later, in December 2019, and I still found it 'extremely dry.'
How I drank it
"Purple color, plum, earthy, minerals. Extremely dry. So I blended with ice wine. After breathing two days much softer and easier to taste." 21 December 2019, 3.0 stars.
Of every note in this magazine, this is the only one where I cut a wine's tannin with ice wine — an improvised move to fight the dryness with something sweet and acidic. And the observation two days later, that it had turned 'much softer and easier to taste,' lines up exactly with the Vivino review that flagged it as drunk too young: this Castillon Merlot needs air, or more bottle age, to shed a tannin that leads the wine when it's young.
The 3.0 sits about where I'd expect against my other Bordeaux reds. On the very same evening, 13 November 2019, I gave Mouton Cadet Bordeaux Rouge 2016 the same 3.0 ("Ordinary bordeaux"). Two months earlier, on 28 October, I'd given Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 3.0 as well, while Almaviva from Chile got 4.5 that same November 13th. Unless it's a grand cru or an icon wine, my Bordeaux scores mostly cluster around 3 — and this Castillon fits right into that pattern.
Where this wine shows up
The last major battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought near this winery's town. Some 300 French cannon annihilated the English army, ending 116 years of war, and the town was renamed Castillon-la-Bataille.
Wikipedia — Battle of Castillon · Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux official — An appellation with a character
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (550 ratings, average 3.5)
| 5★ | 36 (7%) | |
| 4★ | 159 (29%) | |
| 3★ | 316 (57%) | |
| 2★ | 30 (5%) | |
| 1★ | 9 (2%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Black fruit | 64 | plum 25 · cassis 11 · dark fruit 8 · blackberry 7 · black fruit 6 |
| Oak | 35 | tobacco 11 · oak 8 · chocolate 5 · vanilla 4 · cedar 3 |
| Earth | 24 | earthy 10 · leather 8 · minerals 4 · game 1 · mushroom 1 |
| Red fruit | 18 | cherry 10 · red fruit 6 · strawberry 2 |
| Spice | 4 | pepper 2 · musk 1 · savory 1 |
Structure: Acidity 3.7/5 · Intensity 3.7/5 · Tannin 3.5/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 2018 ratings, average 3.5)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3.5 | 34 |
| 2020 | 3.7 | 119 |
| 2019 | 3.8 | 324 |
| 2018 | 3.4 | 189 |
| 2017 | 3.4 | 214 |
| 2016 | 3.5 | 550 |
| 2015 | 3.5 | 152 |
| 2014 | 3.5 | 118 |
| 2013 | 3.0 | 50 |
| 2012 | 3.4 | 86 |
| 2010 | 3.3 | 48 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Château La Pierrière Castillon 2016?
A Merlot-led red (80%) from the de Marcillac family's 41-hectare estate in Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, on Bordeaux's Right Bank. The family received the land as a dowry in 1607 and built their château from limestone they quarried themselves. Vivino: 3.5 average from 550 ratings on this vintage; my own score is 3.0.
How much does it cost?
World average price not yet confirmed for this piece (US$12 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Aug 2026)). Castillon is one of Saint-Émilion's satellite appellations, generally known for value Bordeaux.
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, veal, poultry and game (deer, venison). With tannin at 3.5/5, it suits rich red meat dishes well.
Where does the name Castillon come from?
On 17 July 1453, the last major battle of the Hundred Years' War was fought near this town. French artillery — some 300 cannon — annihilated the English army and killed their commander, John Talbot. The victory effectively drove England off the continent, and the town became known afterward as Castillon-la-Bataille.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Château La Pierrière official — History
- Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux official — producer page
- Wikipedia — Battle of Castillon
- Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux official — An appellation with a character
- Vivino — wine page and community data
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