Château La Louvière is a Bordeaux wine producer from the

Pessac-Léognan Pessac-Léognan () is a wine growing area and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, in the northern part of the Graves region of Bordeaux. Unlike most Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan is equally famous for both red and (dry) white wines, althou ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. The

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

is located in the commune of

Léognan Léognan (; oc-gsc, Leunhan) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Its inhabitants are called ''Léognanais''. Wine It is located in the Graves area of the Bordeaux county, known for its ...

. It was owned by

André Lurton André Lurton (4 October 1924 – 16 May 2019) was a French winemaker and winery owner. It is also the name of his eponymous winemaking group in Bordeaux which was mostly owned by him and after his death only by his children. Lurton originates fr ...

from 1965 to his death in 2019.

History

The first small vineyard on the estate was planted in 1476, in a location named ''La Lobeyra'', on land owned by the Guilloche family since 1398.Château La Louvière
accessed 2017-02-24 During the period from 1510 to 1550 many land plots were acquired by Pierre de Guilloche and his son Jean de Guilloche. Lady Roquetaillade, the heiress to the Guilloche family, sold La Louvière in 1618 to Arnaud de Gascq, abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Ferme. He donated it in 1620 to Notre Dame de Miséricorde, a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

Order in Bordeaux. At this stage the property was in a poor state, but was restored by the monks. Under the monks' management, both red and white wines were produced during the early parts of the 17th century, and shipped to customers in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. In November 1789, following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the ''Assemblée Nationale'' confiscated all church property, which included the Carthusian-owned La Louvière. Following the confiscation, it was auctioned off to the Bordeaux wine merchant Jean-Baptiste Mareilhac in 1791. Marheilhac also built a modern château building on the estate. The château, designed by François Lhote, is a listed historical monument since 1991. The Mareilhac family continued as owners for most part of the 19th century. From 1911 to 1944, La Louvière was run by Alfred Bertrand-Taquet, who was also mayor of Léognan from 1919 until the start of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, it had absentee landlords and was neglected for a long period. In 1965, it was purchased by

, who embarked on restoration of both the château and of the vineyards.

Vineyard

Château La Louvière has planted to red grape varieties (64%

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 Lebanon' ...

, 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 ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

, 3%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

and 3% Petit Verdot),Château La Louvière Rouge
, accessed 2012-04-08 and planted to white grape varieties (85%

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and 15% Sémillon).Château la Louvière White
, accessed 2012-04-08

Wines

Château La Louvière is produced as both a red wine and a white wine. Both are vinified 12 months in oak barrels, of which 50-75% new for the red wine 50% new for the white wine. The

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 called L de La Louvière and is also produced as both a red wine and a white wine. The second wine is also vinified 12 months in oak barrels, but with slightly less new oak.

References

External links

Château La Louvière official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau La Louviere Bordeaux wine producers

La Louviere LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

1476 establishments in Europe 1470s establishments in France Monuments historiques of Gironde