Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

in the

Pauillac Pauillac (; ) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Population Acces ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is also the name of the red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen ''Cinquièmes Crus'' (Fifth Growths) in the

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the Exposition Universelle (1855), 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III of France, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordea ...

. The name Haut-Bages-Libéral is derived from the estate's location and historical owner, with Haut-Bages referring to its position at the top of the Bages plateau between Pauillac and St Julien and Libéral referring to the family who owned the estate during the 18th century. The estate is run by

Claire Villars-Lurton Clair or Claire may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claire (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Clair or Claire * Clair (surname), a list of people with the surname Clair or Claire Pl ...

, manager of

Château Ferrière Château Ferrière is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeau ...

and Château La Gurge, and wife of Gonzague Lurton, owner of

Château Durfort-Vivens Château Durfort-Vivens is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux region of France. It is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classi ...

History

The Libéral family settled on the estate in the 1700s. The family's business, working as an intermediary between wine producers and the market, enabled them to build a fortune and acquire vineyard land. By the 1800s, the wine's reputation was quite good, enough so that the estate was classified Cinquième Cru Classé in the Classification of 1855. During the next century, the estate's reputation and quality waned, as

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

, war, and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

took their toll. The Société Civile Charreules (owned by the Cruse family) purchased the estate in 1960, and during the next decade, some of the vineyard plots adjoining

Château Pontet-Canet Château Pontet-Canet is a winery in the Pauillac Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France. Chateau Pontet-Canet is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was c ...

were transferred to Pontet, which was also under the Cruse's control. In 1982, several years after selling off Pontet-Canet, the sold the estate off to Jacques Merlaut, head of the Taillan Group. Merlaut was owner of

Château Chasse-Spleen Château Chasse-Spleen is a winery in the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation of the Bordeaux region of France, just north-west of Margaux. Château Chasse-Spleen was selected as one of six ''Crus Exceptionnels'' in the ''Cru Bourgeois'' classificat ...

; the Taillan Group would later acquire Château Gruaud-Larose,

, Château Citran, and

Château La Gurgue Château La Gurgue is a wine from Margaux AOC. The actual owner is Claire Villars-Lurton who own also Château Ferrière Château Ferrière is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of F ...

. Merlaut's granddaughter, Claire Villars-Lurton, runs the estate today.

Vineyards and winemaking

The estate has three

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s; the largest is adjacent to

Château Latour Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with ...

, with a smaller plot down the road adjacent to Château Pichon-Lalande. Both of these plots are relatively close to the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

; the third plot is further inland, adjacent to

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighte ...

. The soil consists mainly of a deep bed of gravel over limestone affording drainage. The total area under vine is , with an average vine age of 40 years. Vines are replanted individually, with the varietal mix being approximately 70%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

and 30%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

. In 2009, the final blend of the ''grand vin'' was 68% Cabernet, 32% Merlot. For the ''grand vin'', grapes are hand-harvested and

fermented Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

in temperature controlled steel tanks.

Barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

aging occurs over 16 months in 40% new oak, with

malolactic fermentation Malolactic conversion (also known as malolactic fermentation or MLF) is a process in winemaking in which Tart (flavor), tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation ...

occurring during this time. A

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

is produced under the labels ''La Fleur de Haut-Bages-Libéral'' and ''La Chapelle de Bages''.Suckling, James, '' Wine Spectator'' (March 31, 2007). "50 Best Bordeaux under $50" pp. 77-80

Technical informations

Visit

Château Haut-Bages Libéral is open from Monday to Friday from 10 am to 5:30 pm.

References

External links

Château Haut-Bages-Libéral official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haut-Bages-Liberal, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers