Château Haut-Brion
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Château Haut-Brion is a First Growth in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. It is one of the most expensive and prestigious wines in France. It is located in Pessac, Graves just one mile (2 km) from the city of Bordeaux. The vineyard consists of 109 acres (441,000 m²) producing 12,000 to 15,000 cases of wine each year. Located in the Graves region, it was the only non-Medoc estate to be included in the famous 1855 classification.
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[edit] History
Although grapes are thought to have been grown on the property since Roman times, the earliest document indicating cultivation of a parcel of land dates from 1423.[1] Bordeaux's first internationally acclaimed winemaking estate, Château Haut-Brion dates back to 1525 when Jean de Pontac married Jeanne de Bellon, who brought to him in her dowry the land of Haut-Brion. Illustrious owners have marked Haut-Brion for more than four centuries: admirals, an archbishop, a Grand Marshal of France, a Governor of Guyenne, three mayors of Bordeaux, Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord (at the time he was Minister of Relations for the Consulate), and more recently the Ambassador of the United States in Paris, C. Douglas Dillon, who was Secretary of the U.S. Treasury when John F. Kennedy was President.
Today the Duchesse de Mouchy, granddaughter of Clarence Dillon, is chairperson of the public limited company of Domaine Clarence Dillon, making Haut-Brion the only first-growth to be American-owned.
In the 1960s, Haut-Brion was the first of the great growths to innovate with new stainless steel fermentation vats. In 1976, the 1970 vintage placed fourth among the red wines in the Judgment of Paris wine tasting event.
[edit] Winemaking
Château Haut-Brion is planted with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Average age of vines is 30 years.
The Grand Vin at Chateau Haut-Brion is fermented in stainless steel vats and aged in new oak barrels for 24 to 27 months, and clarified with six egg whites per barrel. The winemaking is managed by Jean-Philippe Delmas, who believes in a controlled but rather hot, short fermentation.
The wine has a complex bouquet of ripe fruit, tobacco, mineral, and earthy scents. The wine is rich, ripe, medium to full-bodied, and well-structured. It is a wine that seems to balance power and elegance and richness, going very well with beef, lamb, veal and game.
Diarist Samuel Pepys (who called it "Ho-Bryan"), Philosopher John Locke, Cardinal Richelieu and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson all wrote about the special quality of wine produced at Haut-Brion.
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