Bahans Haut Brion is aged partly in new barrels and partly in barrels that have beenused for the previous year's First Growth.
Undoubtedly, this Second Wine of a First Classified Growth, Château Bahans Haut Brion, is a great wine on its own merits.

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The winner of many medals and the subject of many illustrious French singers such as Louis Jouvet, Maurice Chevalier or Gilbert Bécaud, the wines of Château Bouscaut were recognised and consecrated in 1953, when it was awarded the envied status of Graves Cru Classé, for both its white and red wines.

 

In early 1960, the château was completely destroyed by a fire and only the cellars were left in tact. The owner, Victor Place, oversaw its reconstruction, to the exact original plans, before selling it to a group of investors from New York. The new owners brought in the directors of Haut-Brion to manage it, and they in turn undertook many renovations to both château and vineyards.

Bouscaut was then acquired in 1979 by Lucien Lurton, a well known Bordeaux winemaker who already owned at least ten other prestigious châteaux in appellations such as Margaux (Brane-Cantenac) and Barsac (Climens). This man with the soul of a winemaker recognised the potential and exceptional terroir of Château Bouscaut.

Today the fourth generation, in the form of Sophie Lurton, Lucien’s daughter, is in charge. She inherited the estate in 1992, and Laurent Cogombles, her husband, an ENITA graduate, has been very involved with Bouscaut since 1998. Apart from this activity, Laurent is also very actively involved in the wine trade bodies, like the ‘interprofession’ and is the president of the appellation Pessac-Léognan.

 

For 37 years now, the family has made numerous improvements to the cellars (with a circular tank room in 1990 and a concrete tank room in 2002), the barrel maturation room (completely new), replanting the vineyards, buying the neighbouring Lamothe-Bouscaut property in 1990 and renovating the residential buildings. The domain continues its journey, led with enthusiasm and innovation by its owners.

The Bouscaut terroir is mainly made up of clayey-gravelly soils, on a calcareous base.

 

That of Lamothe is more gravelly, and that of Valoux is very similar to Bouscaut’s soils.  

 The clayey-gravelly soil being the major component of Château Bouscaut’s terroir, gives the white wines a beautiful silky texture as well as a very expressive aromatic nature to both the Sauvignon Blanc and the Sémillon. This terroir also provides the white wines with outstanding aging potential, with the older wines evolving towards floral, dried fruit aromas with a smoky character… These same soils also produce excellent red wines, being particularly well adapted to Merlot. The resulting wines are deep in colour and particularly rich and powerful with good tannins. Bearing in mind the low yields that we obtain, especially on the old vines, our wines are silky with a beautiful, very elegant tannic structure. The current replanting programme aims to complete this basis of Merlot with high quality Cabernet Sauvignon to be planted on the more gravelly soils.

 

Château Bouscaut is unique in the Pessac-Léognan appellation in that it produces red wines with a dominant of Merlot (a little more than fifty percent), the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, or Cot (with only 5%). Merlot gives the wines of Bouscaut their smoothness, in conjunction with their power derived from the terroir. The Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure and the Malbec a hint of exoticism with it exotic peppery aromas to the wine. As for the vines for the white wines, we have equal amounts of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. At Bouscaut, we are particularly fond of Sémillon, as it is a wonderful varietal that gives rise to very complex wines with great aging potential. In fact, we have magnificent vines which are over 100 years old, which provide us with the heart of the white Bouscaut every year. The Sauvignon Blanc, more crisp and expressive when young, is absolutely essential to bring balance and pleasant accessibility while still young.

 At Bouscaut we pride ourselves in producing wines that express their terroir in the purest tradition of the Classified Growths in our beautiful region. The Bouscaut reds have a strong Merlot character which makes them unusual for the region. Cabernet Sauvignon does however make up 40% of the blend, endowing it with a lot of sappiness. As for the Cot or Malbec varietal, it adds to our wine’s originality with its hint of easily distinguishable spiciness. Over the last few years our wines have become more accessible and pleasant when still young, than previously. They are of course also wines with great aging potential that remain attractive and exciting well beyond fifteen years, should you have the patience to wait for them.

 

Our reds make a harmonious match for rare roast beef, herbed roast lamb accompanied with vegetables or creamy oven-baked potatoes… They can also hold their own with various types of game.

 

The whites are gorgeous and very elegant. Made of a blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Sémillon, with small variations depending on the vintage, they show perfect balance. These are wines with excellent aging potential, wines to savour with refined cuisine. The Sémillon evolves superbly and is capable of infinite refinement, whilst providing beautiful opulence. The Sauvignon, on the other hand, provides the wines with a defined, lively and sappy character, with precise, upfront attractive aromas, right from the start of the wine’s life. Our vinification and aging techniques also contribute to the quality of its flavour profile and aging potential.

 

We always take great pleasure in savouring our young white Bouscaut as an aperitif with goats’ milk cheese or shrimp and prawn snacks. It is stunning with oysters.

 

Once it has a little more bottle age, we happily serve it with queen scallops and cep mushrooms, smoked eel terrine, lobster bisque, seafood and fish in sauces, poultry and it goes equally well with many cheeses

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In the latter part of the 19th century, phylloxera struck the Bordeaux vineyards, causing a long period of upheaval (Great Depression of 1929, two world wars).For all these reasons, Carbonnieux was not in top form at the end of the 1940s.

There were only 29 hectares of vines left in the early '50s, compared to 60 hectares two centuries earlier. Furthermore, the vineyards were not well-tended, with far too many old and missing vines. The chateau had been uninhabited since the First World War and was in very poor condition. The wine making equipment was in much the same shape. Furthermore, the market for fine wine was hardly buoyant during this period.

There was very few distribution networks in France and export sales were only just starting up again after the war.

This was the situation when the Perrin family purchased Chateau Carbonnieux in 1956.

Nevertheless, it was not easy for Marc Perrin at the beginning. Indeed, the first year, the vineyard was totally ravaged by the cold. Marc Perrin decided to replante the vineyards to the way they were laid out in the 18th century, when the estate was at its peak.The estate really took off in the 80’s.

Today, Anthony, the son of Marc, manages the estate.

Chateau Carbonnieux is a Classified Graves Growth.

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Robert G. Wilmers took over this estate in 1998, determined to pursue the verydemanding quality based policy that has established the reputation of thiswine in its position among the best of Bordeaux.
To ensure maximum quality, the vines are cultivated without the use of weedkillers, yields are restricted by vigorous pruning and the grapes hand pickedand selected to eliminate any imperfect bunches. To maintain the ChateauHaut-Bailly high standing, the wines of younger vines or batches lackingsufficient concentration are, since 1967 offered as a second wine under the La Parde de Haut-Bailly label.
The terroir enjoyed by Chateau Haut-Bailly, together with expert cultivationand use of the grape varieties grown, produces wines of fine character andbeguiling flavor. The wines are elegant in style, with modest acidity andsuppleness that in no way lessens their considerable ageing potential.
Alcide Bellot des Minières was a scientist known for his viticulturaldiscoveries, purchased the estate in 1872 and built the chateau. Thanks to hisknowledge, his energy and his determination, Château Haut-Bailly raised to acomparable level to those of the Bordeaux First Growths: Latour, Lafite,Margaux and Haut-Brion.
In 1955, Daniel Sanders took over the property and undertook a completerenovation of the estate. Sine 1979, his son, Jean Sanders, has been makingevery effort to ensure that the wines of Haut-Bailly once again achieve thequality and prestige they enjoyed in 19th century. In 1998, the estate waspurchased by Robert G. Wilmers and his wife, Elisabeth. They fully determinedto pursue a policy of careful quality, which had allowed the Growth to featureamong the great wines of Bordeaux.Véronique Sanders, Jean’s grand-daughter, still manages the estate.

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