Guy Collins
Bordeaux Wine Insight
The Fine Wine Market for Bordeaux and Beyond
Overview
Appellation
Pessac-Leognan
Classification
Premier Grand Cru Classe (first growth) since 1855
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Owner
Domaine Clarence Dillon SAS
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Vineyard Area Planted
48.35 hectares (119 acres)
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Planted Grapes
45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon,
10% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Contact
Chateau Haut-Brion is situated in what are now the south-western suburbs of Bordeaux, and has one of the longest track records of any Bordeaux wine estate in shipping its wines to the English market. King Charles II's cellar book from the period of his restoration to the throne in 1660 following the English civil war refers to the purchase of the wine, while the century's most famous diarist Samuel Pepys is also on record as having enjoyed a glass of it in a London tavern.
It was included as a first growth in the Medoc classification of 1855 for the Paris Universal Exhibition, even though geographically it lay well to the south of the main Medoc vineyard area.
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The estate was acquired by U.S. banker Clarence Dillon in the 1930s and is now owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon SAS under the stewardship of his descendant Prince Robert of Luxembourg.
The Domaine also owns neighboring Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion as well as the newly created Chateau Quintus in Saint Emilion. Haut-Brion is as noted for its white wines as its reds, and prices for rarer vintages of the whites frequently exceed those for the red wines.
Haut-Brion's standout red wine over the past 30 years was its 1989 vintage, as reflected in its consistently high auction prices.
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Vineyard
Location
On the southwestern edge of the city of Bordeaux, inside the Rocade.
White Wine
Haut Brion also makes a white wine, Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc, from 2.87 hectares (7 acres) of vineyard planted with 53% Semillon and 47% Sauvignon Blanc.
Winery
Maturation
18-22 months in 80% new oak casks
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Second Wine
Le Clarence de Haut-Brion (since 2007)
Prior to that year, the second wine was Chateau Bahans Haut-Brion
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