We had a great experience in Cantenac.Surely one of best ones you can have in the area. Audrey was realy nice and very knowledgable, which is a big difference vs other wineries.Besides, some details such as tasting the grapes was also great.Very recomendable!
If you want to learn about how they make wine and want to listen to someone without the (sometimes) difficult French accent. This is the place to go. We really enjoyed the tour and all the stories about wine making. The tasting was great and couldn't leave without buying some very nice wines.
In April of 2013 my wife and I went on a Viking River Cruise to Bordeaux. I arranged for a private tour at Chateau Cantenac rather then going on a truffle tour. I am really glad I did so. Chateau Cantenac went out of its way to accommodate us. The small family winery is owned by a mother and her three sons. One of the sons picked us up at the dock in Libourne and took us to the winery even though the ship was delayed in arriving. His wife, who was raised in San Francisco and graduated from U.C. Davis, took us on the tour of the vineyards and the winery and conducted the wine tasting. The tour and tasting was one of the highlights of our the trip. We loved their 2008 Saint Emilion Grand Cru and their 2010 Selection Madame. The latter was named in honor of the mother who did the blending. She is one of the few female wine makers who belong to a prestigious, ancient society of French wine makers. We would have shipped a case, but the owner explained why it was cost prohibitive to buy and ship from the winery versus through a wine broker. As a result the 4 bottles we brought back from all the wineries we went to were from Chateau Cantenac. We highly recommend the tour and tasting
I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit Chateau Cantenac. The Roskam family are super nice and friendly people. Don't miss this winery if you are in the Saint-Emilion area!
We stopped at Chateau Cantenac on our way to the village of St. Emilion and it was a lovely, welcoming start to our wine tours. It is an easily accessible and beautiful property. The hostess AJ was very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to, and gave us a thorough and understandable explanation of the wines and the wine making process. She encouraged us to try different wines and different vintages and was very pleasant to talk to about her own experience of being educated at UC Davis and doing her stage in Bordeaux, where she met her husband. She was also very accommodating about helping to select wines for purchase and during the shipping process, which can be a bit difficult to my state. I highly recommend a visit.
We were greeted in a very friendly manner. Things were clearly explained to us about how the Chateau operated. We were then shown around and we saw how the wine was made and we went out to the vineyard for further explanation of how they tended the vines. We then dranck a small glass of their wine which was delicious. It was a very pleasant visit.
An informative, intellectual, engaging and friendly experience. AJ was a superb guide who was quick and concise when answering any of our questions. We can't imagine anybody not walking away having learnt something worth remembering, because after all wine is special! The tasting was unbiased with an intriguing range of lovely wines that the family produces. Madame Roskam Brunot was very inspiring, kind and attentive especially the following day when we picked up our wine, we had bought the day before and left to drive north.Highly recommended (cycle through the little roads that meander through their vineyards).'Long Legs'!Gwen & Richard
We turned up ad hoc, wanting to have an insight into all the aspects that turn grape to wine.What we left with was far and away much more than that.. AJ, wife of one of the son's whose family have owned the vineyard for many years, gave us a fantastic welcome, a fabulous insight into all aspects of grapes, vines, terroir, harvest, and production.Not to mention sampling 5 or 6 fabulous, reasonably priced wines, back to back, with full explanation and a no rush, enthusiastic and passionate commentaryWe had 4 young kids in tow, and they were encouraged to go and play within the grounds with the owners daughter, leaving the adults to enjoy without distractionFabulous! Martyn UK
Excellent visit at this Chateau thanks to the guide who is a member of the family. She was extremely hospitable and very knowledgeable about wine making. It was my first stop in St. Emilion and a great foundation for all my later visits to other chateau in St. emilion and the Medoc. While the other chateau I visited were some more well known ones with impressive history and wine, this small family run was a true gem with lovely wine and a more personable, down to earth approach to wine tourism.
I went to visit Chateau Cantenac with my wife and 4 of our friends in early September. We were blown away by the hospitatlity and the great wine. I preferred the Chateau Cantenac while my wife's preference was the Selection Madame. The guide was American and married to one of the sons of the owner which made for a very easy time communicating. They also responded to our reservation request online which was nice since I tried a number of other places that never got back to me.