Fronsac · Bordeaux
A small family estate, two Right Bank terroirs and wines made in deliberately limited quantities.
Sarah and Éric welcome you to Fronsac. Here, every cuvée comes from a specific plot and attentive work, from the vineyard through to the bottle.
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.
Here I am, in the centre of the second row, on 23 April 2026, at my induction into the Confrérie des Gentilshommes de Fronsac.
Our 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. A family story shaped by transmission, learning and a lasting attachment to the terroir of Fronsac.
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.
Our wines
Each lot brings together the useful information in one place: 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.
Before making wine, we first had to rebuild a working winery. These videos retrace the transformation of the buildings, the installation of the vats and wine press, and the practical choices that shaped today’s Château Franc Capet winery.
In 2005, the old wine press and vats were demolished with plans to build a swimming pool and hammam. In 2008, everything changed: Sarah and I decided to create our own wine estate. The future swimming pool then became the new vat room at Château Franc Capet.
After demolishing the old press, a new wine press had to be installed in the adjoining barn. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in the estate’s winemaking activity. Many thanks to our friend Serge for his help.
Before the first harvests, we collected some old vats from our friend Rémy, a winegrower in Saint-Aignan. They enabled us to receive and vinify the first crops of this new chapter in the estate’s history.
As the estate expanded from around a quarter of a hectare to two hectares at that time, the small vats were no longer sufficient. Thanks to Rémy, we bought two larger vats. Installing them in the winery required the help of a whole team.
The press was used in the barn only for the 2008 harvest. Moving the grape pomace to the press and then returning the press wine to the winery proved impractical. We therefore decided to move the press back into the winery, to its original position. Thanks again to Serge.
Wine begins in the vineyard. From winter pruning to harvest, these videos show the seasonal work carried out on our small plots: soil cultivation, vine training, replacing missing vines, canopy management and the many precise gestures required throughout the year.
In 2008, we arrived at Capet to begin a new life. I later bought the vineyard opposite the house, which had once belonged to my uncle Philippe: it thus returned to the family estate. Replanted in 2010, the Palaka plot produced its first harvest in 2012, and the wine received a Gilbert & Gaillard gold medal.
Earthing up consists of bringing soil towards the base of the vines using a soil-working implement. The turned soil covers the weeds beneath the row and limits their growth. When vegetation returns, earthing down reverses the operation.
Earthing down is carried out with an inter-vine cultivator that works the soil beneath the row and between the vines. A feeler detects each vine and causes the blade to retract. Properly securing the vines is essential, as a poorly supported vine may bend under pressure and be damaged.
From early December to late February, the vines are pruned using the double Guyot method. Two canes are retained on each vine to prepare the following season’s growth. Bud removal then encourages more upright shoots and good ventilation around the bunches. After pruning, the cut canes are removed or shredded, while a few are kept for barbecues.
Securing the vines means firmly attaching each vine to the lower wire. Broken or weakened ties are replaced so that the vines can withstand the passage of soil-working equipment, particularly the inter-vine cultivator.
After pruning, the two retained canes are bent and tied to the fruiting wire. This distributes the future shoots along the row and encourages even growth and better distribution of the grape bunches.
The canes removed during pruning are placed in the centre of the row and shredded by the tractor. Once broken down, they gradually decompose and return organic matter to the soil.
Every year, dead or accidentally damaged vines are replaced to keep the vineyard complete and regular. In our narrow rows, where driving the tractor requires considerable precision, replacing missing vines is particularly important.
Trimming controls the height and width of the vine canopy during the growing season. The blades rotate at high speed, so this operation requires great care and suitable protection against flying branches and debris.
The harvest is the culmination of a full year’s work in the vineyard. Carried out in a friendly atmosphere, it brings together family, friends and participants to pick the grapes that will become the new vintage.
Once the grapes reach the winery, a new stage begins. Destemming, alcoholic fermentation, running off, emptying the vats and pressing gradually transform the harvest into wine. These videos offer a simple look behind the scenes at how our vintages are made.
The grapes arrive at the winery in a trailer and are unloaded into the reception trough. The bunches then fall into the destemmer, which separates the stems from the grapes. The berries are carried to the must pump and pushed through the large red hose into the vat, where winemaking begins.
During alcoholic fermentation, yeasts consume the sugars naturally present in the grape juice and convert them into alcohol, carbon dioxide and heat. Approximately 17 g of sugar per litre are required to produce 1% alcohol by volume. For a wine at 15% ABV, this represents about 255 g of sugar per litre of grape juice. Careful temperature control is essential to support the yeasts until fermentation is complete.
Once alcoholic fermentation and maceration are complete, the tap at the bottom of the vat is opened to recover the liquid part. This first wine is known as free-run wine. It is pumped into another vat to continue the next stages of winemaking and ageing.
After the free-run wine has been drained, the vat still contains the grape pomace, including the skins and seeds. The vat door is then opened and the pomace is removed and transferred to the wine press to extract the remaining wine.
We use a ratchet wine press. Under pressure, the wine flows through the openings in the press: this is the press wine. It is generally more tannic, denser and more structured than the free-run wine. It is then pumped into a vat and, depending on the tasting, may be blended with the free-run wine.
During the summer months of June, July and August, the “Apéros Fronsac” take place once a month on a Thursday. Visitors buy a ticket that allows them to discover and taste wines from the different participating châteaux in a friendly and relaxed evening atmosphere.
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.
