Chateau Carbonnieux ｜Pessac Leognan

Chateau Carbonnieux

The name Carbonnieux is said to come from a family called "Carbonius" or Carbonnieu who cleared and cultivated land near Léognan at the beginning of the 13th century. The name Ramon Carbonnieu, the owner of vines at Léognan in 1234, is indeed mentioned in the archives of Bordeaux. The medieval origins of the estate were confirmed by a deed of exchange dated April 2, 1292 signed by two monks from the powerful Sainte-Croix abbey in Bordeaux. In 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II and so Aquitaine became part of the kingdom of England and was called Guyenne. Trade flourished, wine sales multiplied and Bordeaux prospered until the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). After this long troubled period which resulted in shortages, ruined harvests and epidemics, the Benedictine monks were forced to give up their Carbonnieux vineyard.

In 1519 after the difficulties of the Hundred Years War, the Benedictine monks from Sainte Croix sold the Carbonnieux land to Jean de Ferron. Jean de Ferron who came from a powerful Bordeaux bourgeois family, that already owned vines, had recently been ennobled and to glorify his rank had to own a great vineyard in the Graves region. As new Lord of Carbonnieux, he started a land purchase and consolidation policy which continued under his successors for two and a half centuries. Formally a fortified farm, the Ferron noble house gradually became the great domain that it is today with its inner courtyard, high towers, outhouses, cropland and great vineyard. During the reign of Louis XIV, after several Ferron generations, Carbonnieux reached its first peak.

Although raised to the status of “Lords of Carbonnieux” the Ferron family ran into debt and sold the estate to the monks of the Sainte-Croix abbey in Bordeaux. After two and a half centuries in the Ferron family, a new era began for Carbonnieux. Initially purchased to be ‘a mother earth’ for the abbey, the Carbonnieux estate soon became the major investment of the Benedictine monks who did not hesitate to borrow huge amounts of money to take their Carbonnieux growth to the very top of white Graves wine ranking. Don Galléas was one of the first to blend varieties and to bottle wine which made it easier for it to be transported and kept for longer before being drunk. His vinification methods and his cellars were among the most modern in the region. In the ranking of the Guyenne Intendance , published in 1776, the white wines of the “Aux Bénédictins de Carbonnieux” were very much appreciated. Although the “premier cru de Pontac”(Haut-Brion) was the reference for red wines at the time, Carbonnieux by far led the ranking of white wines from Guyenne.

Thanks to the talents and entrepreneurship of the Benedictine monks from the Sainte-Croix abbey for half a century , the domain flourished and the famous bottle with the Saint Jacques shell attained worldwide renown, from Constantinople to the United States. In fact, during the 18th century when times were particularly good for the port of Bordeaux, the monks managed to introduce the clear white wines of Carbonnieux, with their pale colour into the palace of the Ottoman Sultan and called them “the mineral water of Carbonnieux”. The trick worked because one of his favourites was a woman from Bordeaux who had been captured by pirates and given to the Prince of the harem. The legend even goes so far as to say that the Prince asked “why do the French make wine when they have such delicious mineral water ?”

In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, the future president of the United States, a gastronome and great wine lover went on a grand tour of France to discover its vineyards. In Bordeaux he selected a few famous estates and his diary shows that he came to Carbonnieux to taste the “Wine of the Odalisques” as it was then called in the United States. Thomas Jefferson also left his mark by planting an American pecan tree in the Château park. This tree, over two centuries old, still takes pride of place in the inner courtyard today.

During the French Revolution (1789) the state confiscated all clerical property In January 1791, after a fierce auction, Carbonnieux was sold as a “national property” to Elie de Bouchereau for 366,000 livres ,which was 170,00 livres above its estimated worth. Back from the Indies, the Bouchereau family settled at Château Carbonnieux for 87 years. Prior to the phylloxera attack of 1871, the estate comprised 137 hectares, half of which were planted in noble Bordeaux grape varieties, painstakingly selected thanks to the ampelographic research carried out by the Bouchereau brothers. Between 1828 and 1871, Henry-Xavier Bouchereau built up at Carbonnieux a unique collection of French and European grape varieties that included up to 1,242 different specimens. Like most landowners during the “disease crisis”, the Bouchereau family had to sell their estate in 1878. At the dawn of the 20th century and up to 1956, the estate changed hands many times before the Perrin family eventually took it over.

After the suffering of two World Wars, Bordeaux viticulture had reached its lowest ebb. There was a terrible frost in the winter of 1956 and it was in this same year that Marc Perrin who had bought the estate, set to work on the renovation of the château and its vineyard. With the help of his son, he first started a significant replanting campaign that took the estate to 45 hectares in 1970 then to 70 hectares in 1980, to reach almost 95 hectares today. When his father passed away, Antony took over, he built a new fermentation cellar and modernized the cellars to adapt to new vinification methods. He continued the restoration of the château and the vineyards and focused on increasing the renown of Carbonnieux and Bordeaux wines throughout the world. He was president of the “Union of Grands Crus de Bordeaux”, president of the “Crus Classés de Graves” as well as being one of the forerunners of the Pessac-Léognan appellation, created in 1987. Over the years he passed on the family winemaking heritage and his skills to his children Eric, Christine and Philibert Perrin. Today the torch has been passed on to them and once again the estate has reached a peak. In the footsteps of their father, Eric held the office of president of the "crus classés de Graves" between 2012 and 2015 and since 2017, Philibert has been that of president of the Pessac-Léognan appellation. In 2019, The family has grown, Eric's eldest sons join the work teams. Marc for a commercial part and Andréa as an oenologist in charge of the winemaking.

Grave Grand Cru Classe 16家格拉夫列級酒莊

Chateau Carbonnieux 酒款：

Chateau Carbonnieux

Château Carbonnieux red has for centuries been a great classic from the region of Bordeaux. With its high standard of quality, it is the smooth result of an excellent blending of grape varieties from this region.

The vinification, both modern and traditional of red wines, is carried out by slow and gentle extraction in order to preserve the roundness of the wine and the mineral features of the soil. The tannins are well balanced and silky in harmony with red fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry, cherry…) and reveal toasted notes from ageing in the finest quality French oak barrels. Only the very best batches tasted are selected for the final blending of Château Carbonnieux red wines.

Chateau Carbonnieux Blanc

Château Carbonnieux white is a legendary wine. It is said that in the 18th century it was introduced to the Sultan of Constantinople’s palace because of its clarity and was called “mineral water from Carbonnieux”, thus defying the Islamic law.

The clay–limestone of Garonne gravel found in the Pessac-Léognan Appellation certainly produces the best dry white wines in the Bordeaux region. When young, Carbonnieux white wines are delightfully refreshing and pure with a fruity, floral intensity. When mature they develop hints of dried and candied fruits giving scope for a large range of gastronomic pairings. The batches which will form part of this “cru classé” will be blended so as to induce an excellent complicity between the grape varieties. The chosen Semillon grapes will add structure to the liveliness of the Sauvignon grapes by giving them roundness and volume on the palate.

In order to keep a healthy vineyard, Château Carbonnieux replants at least one or two plots of vines each year. For several years, these young plants will produce almost nothing, then they will produce grapes whose aromatic characteristics are not sufficiently rich to be included in the composition of a “cru classé” like Château Carbonnieux. This is why the juices of these young plants (for about 12 years) are used to craft second wines. The wines of Château Tour Léognan are blended from young Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines of Château Carbonnieux, they are made with the same cultivation and winemaking care as their elder. These are gourmet and tasty wines, decidedly very pleasant and easy to drink young.

Chateau Tour Leognan

Château Tour Leognan is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that stands out for its combination of strength and finesse. It is round, fruity, slightly woody and subtly toasted as the wines of this terroir are appreciated.

Chateau Tour Leognan Blanc

Château Tour Leognan is a wine of pleasure, an assemblage characterized by Sauvignon which delivers notes of citrus fruits as well as a fleshy and elegant mouth. This lively and fruity combination is rounded by the sweetness and fatness of Semillon.

La Croix de Carbonnieux wines are a tribute to the Benedictine monks from the Sainte Croix Abbey in Bordeaux who owned the property in the 13th and 18th centuries. The monks, great wine-makers gave Carbonnieux its international reputation and a push towards modernity. Their emblem, the “S” around the Sainte Croix, punctuates the Château landscape in various places and seals on our bottles the trace of their passing in the long history of the estate. Crafted from selections of Château Carbonnieux Cru Classé, the red and white wines from La Croix de Carbonnieux are very appreciated second wines made with all the care devoted to a grand cru.

La Croix de Carbonnieux

has a fine ruby colour and a nose of red fruits with that smoky touch in the wines from Léognan that is so pleasant on the palate. A little less powerful than Carbonnieux and greatly appreciated in gastronomy it can be drunk young and lends itself to a large choice of wine and food pairings.

La Croix de Carbonnieux Blanc

has a pale yellow colour typical of our varieties and a freshness subtly impregnated with aromas of exotic fruits and grapefruit. These wines benefit greatly from the wonderful minerality characteristic of Carbonnieux and the Pessac-Léognan soil. The white Croix de Carbonnieux is a wine for Epicureans.