Château Prieuré-Lichine
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Château Prieuré-Lichine, previously Château Le Prieuré and Château Prieuré-Cantenac, is a
winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
in the
Margaux Margaux (; oc-gsc, Margaus) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.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 ...
of the
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 ...
region of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, in the commune of
Cantenac Cantenac () is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...
. The Château produces a second wine under the label Château de Clairefont (also called Confidences de Prieuré-Lichine since 2008), and a Haut-Médoc, Le Clocher du Prieuré.


History

Originally a
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
of
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monks who cultivated grapes for service at dinner and at religious ceremonies, practices gradually evolved by the 18th century to establish sales of the wine under the name Le Prieuré de Cantenac. As a consequence of 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 property was seized, divided and sold in 1789 to several surrounding estates, including
Château Palmer Château Palmer is a winery in the Margaux AOC, Margaux appellation d'origine contrôlée of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine ...
. A portion was bought by Monsieur Pagès who passed on the estate to his widow, when due to its reputation and broker prices received a fourth growth classification in 1855. Several changes in ownership resulted in changes to the name, such as Le Prieuré and Prieuré-Cantenac, and when the late wine writer and authority
Alexis Lichine Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine and a share of Chât ...
arrived to buy the estate it consisted of 11 hectares of neglected vines. Alexis Lichine bought the vineyard in 1951 (shortly after having purchased the Margaux estate
Château Lascombes Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Seconds Crus'' (Second Growths) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. ...
with a consortium) and work began to group and reconstitute the property on the ideal slightly-rising ground. With the money he was garnering from the import business and a few partners, Alexis Lichine bought the Prieure for £11,000, at the time about $16,000. In 1953, with the help of Count Lur-Saluces of
Château d'Yquem Château d'Yquem () is a '' Premier Cru Supérieur'' ( Fr: "Superior First Growth") wine from the Sauternes, Gironde region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves. In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Ch ...
, Lichine renamed the Prieuré to Château Prieuré-Lichine.Hennessy, Leslie A. (2009). ''The Pope of Wine -A Biography of Alexis Lichine''. SF: Montrachet Publishing With the estate renamed in 1953, the following year Cantenac wineries were entitled to use the appellation of Margaux. Sacrificing quantity for quality, trades in portions of desirable land at a loss of two to one were made with third growth neighbours Palmer, Ferrière, Kirwan, Giscours,
Issan Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...
, Boyd-Cantenac and second growth neighbours Durfort-Vivens and Brane-Cantenac, adding up to of vineyards by the mid-1960s. With an aim to produce a wine well beyond its classification, Lichine undertook extensive replanting, repairs and investments and brought in oenologists Emile Peynaud and Patrick Léon to advise on vat selection. By the 1970s the estate amounted to 58 hectares dispersed across the communes Cantenac and Margaux. After Lichine's death in 1989, the estate was run by his son Sacha for several years, with
oenologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
Michel Rolland Michel Rolland (born December 24, 1947) is a Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries and influencing wine style around the world. "It is his consultancies outside France that have set him apart from all but a handful ...
acting as consultant, until the estate was sold to the Groupe Ballande in 1999. The winery currently employs
Stéphane Derenoncourt Stéphane Derenoncourt is a French ''vigneron'' working as a consultant for numerous estates in Bordeaux and other wine producers worldwide. With his wife, Christine Derenoncourt, he runs Vignerons Consultants and owns Domaine de l'A in the Côt ...
as its consulting oenologist.Suckling, James, ''Wine Spectator'' (March 31, 2007). "50 Best Bordeaux under $50", p.86


The vineyard

The soils of Château Prieuré-Lichine are essentially made up of gravel deposited by the river during successive glacial floods in the Quaternary era. Streams resulting from the floods then cut up these sedimentary soils into well drained mounds, which today look out over the Gironde estuary.


Production

Château Prieuré-Lichine currently consists of about planted with 50%
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' ...
, 45%
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 ...
, 5%
Petit verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, c ...
. After fermenting in concrete vats, the wine is aged for up to 16 months in 50 percent new oak barrels.


Technical Improvements

Since 1999, many technical improvements have been adopted. The winery is now working with 34 concrete vats from 80 to 120 hectoliters allowing to improve the plot selection. The main vatroom is equipped with a pneumatic pigeage machine, and the reception area has been modernized to allow gravity vatting.


References

;Footnotes


External links


Château Prieuré-Lichine official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prieure-Lichine, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers