Chateau Haut Brion
Château Haut-Brion is a First Growth in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. 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-Médoc estate to be included in the 1855 classification.
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.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.
Haut-Brion was the first recorded First Growth to be imported to the United States, when Thomas Jefferson purchased six cases during his French travels and had them sent back to his estate in Virginia.
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 American banker 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 ten French and California red wines in the historic Judgment of Paris wine competition.
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.
Bottling
Curiously, the bottle shown above more closely resembles the shape traditionally used for Burgundy wines, rather than the usual Bordeaux shape. |
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