Antoine Laumet was born in St. Nicholas de la Grave in France in 1658. Once he arrived in the new world, he developed a terrific knowledge of the coasts of New England and the Great Lakes.
This earned him various favors, including the Order of Saint Louis from King Louis XIV of France.
When he got married in 1687 he was listed as Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, son of Jean de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac, de Launay et de Semontel and Jeanne de Malenfant.
Later he wrote “I did not create this identity out of nowhere”, although many historians suggest this is pretty much what he did. Antoine Laumet likely remembered Sylvestre d’Esparbes de Lussan de Gout, baron of Lamothe-Bardigues, lord of Cadillac, Launay and Le Moutet; adviser to the Parliament of Toulouse. He knew him for at least two reasons: Bardigues, Cadillac, Launay and Le Moutet all are villages and localities close to his birthplace, St Nicolas-de-la-Grave, and his father Jean Laumet was a lawyer in the Parliament of Toulouse. [wikipedia]
When Henry Leland and the board of directors of the car company he was helping save were looking for a name for the new company, they named it after the Founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, or Cadillac. So the car company was named after the founder of Detroit, who took the name of a French nobleman Lussan de Gout, baron of Lamothe-Bardigues, lord of Cadillac, whose name refers to a location in France in the Bordeaux region.
Chateau Cadillac
Cadillac France was founded in 1280 to act as a river port for a nearby Castle of Benauges. Chateau Cadillac is one of the oldest chateaux in the Bordeaux region. Cadillac is located southeast of the city of Bordeaux.
Geographically, Cadillac is a logical part of the large Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux appellation, but the presence of chalk and gravel soils here mark it out as a distinct area, capable of producing wines of particular character. [wine-searcher.com]
Chateau Cadillac wine in barrels
The official website of Chateau Cadillac wine notes (translated poorly from the French):
On the land where the king is Merlot, Chateau Cadillac is a quality reference.
Propriété viticole du XIIIème siècle située près de Fronsac dans l’axe géologique de Saint-Emilion, Château Cadillac possède deux types de terroirs : un plateau argilo-calcaire (20%), des coteaux sur Molasses du Fronsadais (80%).
Property Wine thirteenth century near Fronsac in the geological axis of Saint-Emilion, Chateau Cadillac has two types of soils: a clay-limestone plateau (20%), the slopes on Molasses Fronsac (80%).
64 hectares de rouge : 84% Merlot 16% Cabernet Sauvignon
~158 acres of red: 84% Merlot 16% Cabernet Sauvignon
11 hectares de blanc : 70 % de Sauvignon blanc
~27 acres of White: 70% Sauvignon blanc 30% de Sémillon
Age moyen des vignes : 25 ans.
Average age of vines: 25 years.
Les vins blancs, secs, aromatiques et très fruités bénéficient d’une macération pelliculaire en cuve Elite, d’une fermentation à basse température et d’un élevage sur lies fines.
The white wines, dry, aromatic and very fruity enjoy skin maceration tank Elite, a low temperature fermentation and livestock on the lees.
Les vins rouges sont soit longuement élevés en cuve, soit pour certaines cuvées élevées partiellement ou totalement dans les 500 barriques de chêne que compte le chai et qui sont renouvelées par tiers chaque année.
Red wines are long or high the tank is for certain vintages high partly or wholly in the 500 oak barrels that make up the cellar and are replaced each year.
I have in my hand a bottle of the Chateau Cadillac 2006 Bordeaux Superieur.
Chateau Cadillac Bordeau courtesy Cadillac Club Sweden
The label notes:
Grape Varieties:
-80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wine Chateau Cadillac Red shows fine aromatic intensity, lots of fruit and is well balanced.
It is recommended that this wine be served with meats such as lamb, fowl, or game birds (pheasant and partridge).
My bottle also has a lovely ribbon tag along the bottom (as shown in the picture), noting that it was imported to Sweden by the Cadillac Club Sweden. It is a lovely gift to receive, it arrived here in Texas intact, and I am very happy to have it. You can find the Cadillac Club Sweden Wine Page here.
According to Wine-Searcher, “Cadillac” is also used with French wines as an appellation.
There are now two controlled appellations which apply to wines made here – AOC Cotes de Bordeaux – Cadillac, for red wines and straight AOC Cadillac for sweet white wines.
The area is more famous for its AOC Cadillac wines. These are sweet or medium-sweet white wines, made from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, which by law must reach specific levels of residual sugar, and minimum alcohol levels of 12%.
To qualify for the AOC Cadillac label, wines must be made from grapes be grown in the communes of Baurech, Beguey, Cadillac, Capian, Cardan, Donzac, Gabarnac, Haux, Langoiran, Laroque, Lestiac, Le Tourne, Monprimblanc, Omet, Paillet, Rions, Saint-Germain-de-Grave, Saint-Maixant, Semens, Tabanac, Verdelais et Villenave-de-Rions.
Certainly Chateau Cadillac wines made from grapes grown in the Cadillac region seem to be the “Cadillac of Wines“.
