Château Brown is a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

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, alth ...

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 ...

, unranked 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 ...

. The

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 ...

and

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 are located south of the city of

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 ...

, just north of

Château Olivier Château Olivier is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Crus Classés de Graves'' for red and dry white wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1953 and 1959. The winery and vineyards are located south ...

with property within the communes of

Gradignan Gradignan (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux and is located on its southwest side. Thus, it is a member of the Bordeaux Métropole. Population Education institutions ...

, Villenave-d'Ornon and

Léognan Léognan (; ) 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 red wine ( Pe ...

. In addition to a red and dry white ''Grand vin'' the estate produces red and dry white

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 ...

s under the label Colombier de Château Brown.

History

Evidence points to cultivation of vines since the 12th century, although the modern history begins with the purchase of the estate by the Scottish trader John Lewis Brown (with ownership history of the present day estates

Château Cantenac-Brown Château Cantenac Brown is a winery located in Cantenac in the Bordeaux region of France. As a wine of the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation, it was classified as one of fourteen Third Growths (''Troisièmes Crus'') in the ...

and

Château Boyd-Cantenac Château Boyd-Cantenac 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 ...

) near the end of the 18th century. In 1939 Château Brown was bought by André Bonnel, but viticulture was stopped in the 1950s and for nearly twenty years there was no winemaking until the vineyard was replanted. Due to the pause in activity the estate was ineligible for consideration in the Graves Classification of 1953 and 1959. Sold by Jean-Claude Bonnel to Bernard Barthe the estate saw large investment and effort, and in 2004 it was acquired by the Mau family of Yvon Mau Négociants and the Dutch liquor company Dirkzwager, with Barthe retaining 20% interest in the estate. Château Brown is currently managed by Jean-Christophe Mau with

Stéphane Derenoncourt Stéphane Derenoncourt is a French people, French oenologist, ''vigneron'' working as a consultant for numerous winery, estates in Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux and other wine producers worldwide. With his wife, Christine Derenoncourt, he runs Vignerons ...

as consultant

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 ' ...

of the vinification of the red wines and Philippe Dulong in charge of

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

Production

From a 50

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

estate, the vineyard area consists of 23.5 hectares of which are planted with grape varieties of 65%

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 ...

, 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 ...

and 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, ...

. The remaining 4.5 hectares are cultivated with white varieties of 70%

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

and 30%

Sémillon Sémillon () is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in French wine, France and Australian wine, Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region S ...

. Of the ''Grand vin'' Château Brown there is annually produced around 80,000 bottles of the red wine and approximately 20,000 bottles of the dry white. The second wines Colombier de Château Brown typically have an annual production of 25,000 bottles of the red and 5,000 bottles of the dry white.

References

External links

Château Brown official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers