Château Haut-Brion is a French wine, rated a Premier Cru Classé (First Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of the wine-growing region of Graves. Of the five first growths, it is the only wine with the Pessac-Léognan appellation and is in some sense the ancestor of a classification that remains the benchmark to this day. In addition to the grand vin, Haut-Brion produces a red second wine. Formerly named Château Bahans Haut-Brion, beginning with the 2007 vintage, it was renamed Le Clarence de Haut Brion. The vineyard also produces a dry white wine named Château Haut-Brion Blanc, with a limited release of the second dry white wine, Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion, renamed La Clarté de Haut-Brion for the 2008 vintage. Since 2003, Domaine Clarence Dillon’s daughter company, Clarence Dillon Wines, has also released the Bordeaux brand wine named Clarendelle. The annual production ranges from 10,000 to 12,000 cases (900 to 1,080 hL) of the red grand vinChâteau Haut-Brion, and from 650 to 850 cases (59 to 76 hL) of Château Haut-Brion Blanc. Of the second wines, the red Le Clarence de Haut-Brion previously named Château Bahans Haut-Brion, has a production of 5,000 to 7,000 cases (450 to 630 hL), and the white La Clarté de Haut-Brion, previously named Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion, has a production of 1,000 to 1,200 cases (90 to 108 hL). read more…
Château Lafite-Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild are legendary wine estates located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux. Their red wines of the same names are regarded as one of the world’s greatest clarets. Château Lafite-Rothschild was the property of Gombaud de Lafite in 1234. In the 17th century, the property of Château Lafite was purchased by the Ségur family, including the 16th century manor house that still stands. Although vines almost certainly already existed on the site, around 1680, Jacques de Ségur planted the majority of the vineyard. The estate is owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century. The name Lafite comes from the Gascon term “la hite” meaning “small hill”. read more…
Pauillac is a commune in the Gironde department, Aquitaine, Médoc region in southwestern France close to Bordeaux. The town of Pauillac is the largest in the Médoc, with a population of over 5000. Pauillac is somewhat more elevated than the surrounding area, rising to a peak of nearly 30 metres above sea-level in the region of Château Pontet-Canet. The soil is gravelly, as with most of the Haut-Médoc. The forest to the west shelters the vines from the Atlantic winds. read more…
