Having spent most of their summer holidays from 1990 onwards in the Aquitaine, Tony and Youmna Asseily (both Lebanese) developed a passion for the region and its wines. They acquired Château Biac in 2006 and immediately took on the challenge of restoring the vineyard and its winery to the highest standards, freshening up le Vieux Biac guesthouses, whilst turning the manor house into a family home.
With the vineyard rolling down towards the river, ideally facing south, south west, giving it maximum sunlight exposure as well as an astonishing diversity of soils (clay, gravel, chalk, silt and sand on a chalky base), the Biac terroir offers the perfect opportunity to develop fine wines based on a “micro parcellaire” vinification philosophy . Having secured the help of oenologists Patrick Leon for their red wine (formerly technical director of Mouton Rothschild for 19 years and creator of Opus One) and Christine Sourdes for the sweet wine ( Mrs Sourdes is consultant to Château Guiraud, and Chateau de Myrat) , as well as Gilles Rey , their agricultural engineer (also from Mouton Rothschild), the Asseilys are replanting some of the 9 hectares over a 12 year period . Each varietal and rootstock is thus chosen according to deep soil analysis; this has allowed for the introduction of the Petit Verdot as a complement to the Cabernets Sauvignons, Cabernets Francs and Merlots, a rare feat in the Côtes de Bordeaux.
A touch of Sauvignon blanc, from a carefully selected source, has been planted to complement the old Semillons vines, when needed for the blending of the sweet wine “Secret de Château Biac”.
With the traditional Bordeaux varietals at hand, the vineyard has an excellent range from which to create Château Biac. Fermented separately, the wines are aged for up to 16 months in French oak barrels, of which 40% are newly acquired annually. They are blended to create the particular identity sought for Château Biac. Once the Château Biac blend is achieved, there may remain, some years, excess wines from the different lots. This allows for another expression of this most diverse terroir to be blended : B de Biac.