Home
Sarah and Éric welcome you to Fronsac, at the heart of a small family estate where every wine comes from a specific plot, attentive handwork and deliberately limited production.
This page brings together the essentials of the château: the setting, the vines, the winery, the spirit of the estate and the moments that shape each wine’s personality.
Château Franc Capet lies amid the rolling landscape of Fronsac, with limestone slopes, narrow vineyard roads and nearby rivers. The estate deliberately remains small, allowing every row to be monitored with precision.
Visitors receive a warm, informal welcome, with time to discuss the plots, our winegrowing choices and the available vintages.
Our work in the winery enhances the character of the wines without masking it. Ageing is designed to preserve their body, freshness and precision, with particular attention paid to the Canon Fronsac lots.
Limited production allows us to follow every wine carefully, from grape to bottle.
Capet embodies the estate’s historic roots in Fronsac, while Palaka expresses the more exclusive identity of Canon Fronsac. The two plots offer different interpretations of the same area, combining Merlot’s roundness, depth and ageing potential.
Working a small surface area keeps us close to the vines and lets us adapt each intervention to the rhythm of the vintage.
Château Franc Capet is also a story of sharing: a family heritage carried forward, a Right Bank terroir still waiting to be discovered, and conversations with visitors, wine lovers and loyal customers.
Every bottle extends this direct bond between the estate, its history and those who taste its wines.
History
The story of Château Franc Capet began with Uncle Philippe, passed to Gérald Risser-Maroix in 1981 and has continued with Éric Risser-Maroix since 2008.
The origins
The story begins in 18XX with my uncle Philippe Marroix at a place called “Capet”, in the commune of Fronsac. My uncle owned a large vineyard, producing both white and red wine. He was also a beekeeper and made mead. We have kept his old labels.
His only son was accidentally killed while hunting. Philippe then began selling the estate plot by plot, until the day he discovered that he had a nephew: my father, Gérald Risser Maroix. By then, only one tiny plot remained, named Capet. My uncle kept it and made his wine there: Château Franc Capet.
1981
When my uncle died in 1981, my father inherited the estate. A technology teacher in Toulouse, he could not manage it himself and leased it to a friend. When he retired, he took the vineyard back and began working the land.
He learned about viticulture and winemaking. The first year was not very successful, but he persevered and continued learning. From the second year until his death, he obtained the coveted Fronsac Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. Château Franc Capet AOC Fronsac was then sold to friends and family.
Since 2008
I worked in IT in Paris before leaving the profession in 2008 to take over the estate. Like my father, I began with almost no winegrowing knowledge. I also expanded the estate in the hope of making a living from it. It was a considerable challenge.
In 2008, I trained for a year at Château La Tour Blanche, a Sauternes Premier Cru Classé, alternating with practical experience at a friend’s estate in Fronsac. In 2009, I earned a vocational qualification in viticulture. In 2010, I founded my business, bought half a hectare in Canon Fronsac, removed the abandoned vines and replanted in July. The plot produced its first wine in 2012, earning a Gilbert & Gaillard Gold Selection.
There was no production in the disastrous 2013 vintage. To pay the bills, I returned to IT. Since then, I have worked at a computer during the week and at the wine estate on Saturdays and Sundays. Time flies.
Terroir
Fronsac and Canon Fronsac form a landscape of hillsides where limestone, clay and rivers give the red wines their balance of depth, freshness and ageing potential.
At the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne rivers, Fronsac and Canon Fronsac lie on limestone plateaus, clay-limestone slopes and occasional clay-silica foothills. Asteria limestone defines the mounds and plateaus, while Fronsadais molasse shapes the slopes and valleys.
This clay-limestone combination provides a steady water supply without excess or sudden stress. The hillsides enhance natural drainage, contributing richness, depth and complexity to the wines.
The temperate oceanic climate is slightly more continental here than in other parts of Bordeaux. Long summers, mild autumns and the influence of the Isle and Dordogne promote ripeness while limiting spring frosts.
Merlot is by far the dominant variety in both appellations, thriving in the cool clay-limestone soils. Cabernet Franc brings finesse, freshness and structure, while Cabernet Sauvignon is best suited to the warmest, driest plots.
Fronsac covers around 800 hectares across seven communes. The smaller Canon Fronsac appellation spans approximately 250 hectares around Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, with particularly pronounced limestone subsoil.
Appellations
Fronsac and Canon Fronsac share an ancient history, pronounced relief and a strong Right Bank identity. At the estate, they are expressed through two plots: Capet in Fronsac and Palaka in Canon Fronsac.
Located northwest of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the Fronsac appellation extends across seven communes in the Libournais. Its landscape of mounds, plateaus and hillsides overlooks the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne rivers.
The Tertre de Fronsac holds an important place in local history: once a Gallic market, then a Roman site and later a fortress attributed to Charlemagne. In the 18th century, the growing reputation of Fronsac wines accompanied the rise of the Bordeaux wine trade.
Canon Fronsac is generally considered the most demanding and sought-after area of the Fronsadais. Smaller than Fronsac and centred around Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, its limestone plateaus and hillsides produce dense, precise and expressive wines.
Its history is closely linked to the Tertre de Canon and the great limestone terroirs of the Right Bank. The appellation was officially created in 1939 as Côtes de Canon Fronsac, before becoming Canon Fronsac in 1964. It has no official château classification: its reputation rests on the quality of its terroirs, its limited area and the work of its winegrowing families.
Each lot now brings together all the useful information: appellation, vintage, ageing, tasting notes and ex-cellar prices.
For each vintage and appellation, when the harvest is large enough, we make one wine in stainless steel and another aged in oak. One quarter of the barrels used for the oak-aged wine are new, preventing the oak from overpowering the fruit.
Since 2017, stainless-steel coils have regulated the temperature during fermentation. Yeasts convert sugar into alcohol while releasing heat and carbon dioxide: approximately 17 g of sugar is required to produce 1% alcohol by volume. At 14% ABV, the yeasts have consumed 238 g of sugar per litre.
This heat must be dissipated: without temperature control, the vat can rise above 30°C and fermentation may stop. Once the sugars have been consumed, fermentation ends. The vat is then warmed to around 27–28°C for maceration lasting roughly 15 days to three weeks, before run-off, pressing, bottling and tasting.
Our Fronsac is made primarily from Merlot with Cabernet Franc. The estate’s Canon Fronsac is 100% Merlot.
Gold medal from 70 Millions de dégustateurs, score: 91/100.
Videos
Discover the different stages of our work in the winery, vineyard and winemaking process.
Contact
Château Franc Capet, 3 lieu-dit Capet, 33126 Fronsac, France. Please include your telephone number or email address so that we can reply.
From central Libourne, head towards Fronsac, then follow signs for the hamlet of Capet.
From Saint-André-de-Cubzac, head towards Fronsac, then follow signs for Capet.
