Château Laville Haut-Brion was a

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 prefect ...

dry white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

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, altho ...

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 ...

, which was ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' in the

Classification of Graves wine The wines of Graves in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1953 by a jury appointed by Institute National des Appellations d'Origine, and approved by the Minister of Agriculture in August of that year. The selection was revised w ...

of 1953. The estate is located in close vicinity of the city of

, in the commune of

Talence Talence (, ; oc, Talança, ; ca, Talença, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side. It is ...

. Since 2009, the fruit from Laville Haut-Brion has been used in the production of Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc.

History

Originally acquired in 1611 by Marie de Laville, widow of Sir de Queyrac, the estate remained in the family for over a hundred years, until it was sold in 1717 to Bernard Gaussens. The winery changed ownership several times until 1931 when Leopold Bibonne sold the property to the Frédéric-Otto Woltner, owner of neighbouring estates Château La Mission Haut-Brion and Château La Tour Haut-Brion. His sons Fernand and Henri Woltner were innovative vintners and produced a dry white wine considered the best in Graves, among the reasons behind the latter's reputation as a "wine-making genius". Henri Woltner described the wine as able to be drunk after five years, but seldom at its best before ten years. Its slow-maturing characteristics have been compared to the best of white Burgundies, and the richness akin to a fine

Montrachet ''For the restaurant, see Montrachet (restaurant)'' Montrachet (pronounced ''Mon-rashay''; ) is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for white wine made of Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune subregion of Burgundy. ...

. In the 1953 classification of Graves, Château Laville Haut-Brion was rated a ''Premier Cru'' as the only of the classed chateaux to be exclusive producers of white wine, and by the mid-1960s, the estate amassed and produced 2,400 cases annually. Following the death of the Woltner brothers in 1974, the production was managed by Françoise Woltner and Francis DeWavrin until the family eventually sold their estates in 1983 to the Dillon Family, owners of

Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Brion () is a French wine, rated a ''Premier Grand Cru Classé'' ( First Great Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of ...

since 1935, uniting four Haut-Brion chateaux under Domaine Clarence Dillon. Managed by Jean-Bernard Delmas the reputation of the estate was preserved, and he was succeeded by his son Jean-Philippe Delmas.

Discontinuation

In March 2010 it was announced that wine would cease to be bottled under the name Château Laville Haut-Brion, and beginning with the 2009 vintage, the wine be labelled as Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc.Anson, Jane, ''Decanter.com'' (March 10, 2010)
La Mission Haut-Brion white changes name

Production

During the final stage of the Laville Haut-Brion era, the vineyard area extended with a grape variety distribution of 70%

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémil ...

27% Sauvignon blanc and 3%

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unid ...

. Of the ''grand vin'' Château Laville Haut-Brion there was annually produced an average of dry white wine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laville Haut-Brion, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers