Château de Malle is a sweet white wine ranked as Second Cru Classé (French, "Second Growth") in the original

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 ...

. Belonging to the Sauternes

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 ...

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

, in the region of

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...

, the winery is located in the commune of Sauternes. The gardens of the chateau are classified among the

Notable Gardens of France The Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the more than three hundred gardens classified as ''"Jardins remarquables"'' by the Ministry of Culture (France), Ministry of Culture and the Comi ...

by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture.

History

The estate has, over the centuries, known numerous trials and tribulations. Both good and bad fortune. The Château was not inhabited regularly for practically two generations. In the early fifties Pierre de Bournazel took over the property inherited from his uncle and godfather, Pierre de Lur-Saluces. He was a man possessed by a love of the land and of stone and he decided to re-instil life into the buildings and vineyards which undeniably were in a state of considerable neglect. He rebuilt the fermentation cellar, studied estate management, followed a course in oenology and together, with the help of his wife, made it a point of honour to re-establish the initial shape and form of the rooms of the Château whilst retaining their original appearance. In 1956 he replanted the entire vineyard which had been destroyed by frost. Pierre de Bournazel became, as time went by, a major figure in the viticultural world of Bordeaux. He became the president of the Classified Growth Association of Sauternes and Barsac and in 1959 created the “Commanderie du Bontemps de Sauternes et Barsac”. Since the death in 1985 of her husband the Countess de Bournazel has taken great pains to continue the magnificent task which he commenced. Whilst continuing with the work of renovating to its previous splendour both the Château and the gardens, she has also managed to surround herself with an efficient team, responsible for continuing the task of enhancing the quality and value of the vineyard. She is today seconded by her sons. Château de Malle produces three excellent and prestigious wines - Château de Malle, Sauternes, “Grand Cru Classé” Great Classified Growth in 1855, Château de Cardaillan, a red Graves, and the M. de Malle a dry white Graves.

Gardens

The gardens of the château were created between 1717 and 1724 by Alexandre Eutrope de Lur Saluces. They were inspired by the gardens that he saw in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

during his grand tour of Italy and his time spent at the court in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. The park has a wide central axis and two terraces, with groups of statues and vases. The statues were done by Italian artists brought there for that purpose in the early part of the 18th century, and represent figures from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

Cephalus Cephalus (; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος ''Kephalos'' means "head") is a name used both for the hero-figure in Greek mythology and carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. ''Mythological'' * Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse. * Ceph ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

(

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

, and

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

, the goddess of flowers and gardens. Other statues represent wine-making, the joys of the hunt and fishing, wine and intoxication. To the east of the first terrace is a small theater, decorated with figures from the Italian

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

Pantalone Pantalone , spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in . With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the commedia world. His full name, including fam ...

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; from Italian Scaramuccia , literally "little skirmisher") is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the ...

and

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

. A stairway leads to a second terrace, where there are statues symbolizing of earth, wind, air and fire.

Production

Château de Malle owns a total of vineyards in the communes of

Preignac Preignac () is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Preignac is located in the Sauternes wine appellation of Bordeaux. Preignac station has rail connections to Langon and Bordeaux. Population S ...

, Toulenne and Fargues. Of these, are in the Sauternes appellation, are dedicated to the production Graves Blanc and to Graves Rouge. In the Sauternes appellation, production consists of the classified growth Château de Malle, as well as the unclassified Château de St Hélène. The composition of Château de Malle is 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 Sémill ...

, 28%

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 2%

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 ...

, and one-third new oak is used for the barrels. A dry white wine called M de Malle is produced in the Graves appellation. It is composed of 70% Sauvignon blanc and 30% Sémillon, and is aged 6–9 months in oak, of which 30% new oak. Red Graves wine is produced under the names Château de Cardaillan (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' ...

and 50%

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 ...

) and Château Pessan (60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet SauvignonChâteau Pessan 2007 - fiche technique
accessed 2012-04-22 ).

References

External links

Château de Malle official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malle, Chateau De Bordeaux wine producers Châteaux in Gironde Gardens in Gironde Historic house museums in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Museums in Gironde Monuments historiques of Gironde