Chateau Carbonnieux

Chateau Carbonnieux has its history dated back to the 13 century, when the originators - the Carbonnius family - cleared the land there. The Benedictine monks held tenure in the area afterwards, with records of viticulture already at that early stage. The chateau began construction around 1380, but falling into the hands of the Bordeaux Hospices in 1424, changing hands to Jean Dupuyau after the Hundred Years’ War.

After Jean’s death his widow sold the estate to Jean de Ferron, a wealthy bourgeoisie, maintaining ownership for two centuries. Jean’s son Jean-Charles gradually increased the holdings in the area, and took the title of seigneur of Carbonnieux around 1540. Charles de Ferron, a descendant, was later forced to sell the property because of financial difficulties, acquired by the same Benedictine monks from Sainte-Croix in 1741.

The monks enlarged the estate, planting new and replanting old vines, and secured the status of the property as a vineyard. The estate grew from 115 to 160 hectares, selling the wine in France and international markets, and the reputation increased. By 1776 the whites were some of the most highly regarded wines in the region, considered equal to the reds of Chateau Haut-Brion.

After the Revolution, the estate was confiscated by the government and sold to Elie de Bouchereau in 1791, who resided there for close to a century. The operation was under Henri-Xavier Bouchereau, who established a red vineyard but still the white were more renowned. When Henri-Xavier died in 1871, the estate was passed to another family member but due to the phylloxera it was sold to the Labarre family, and then to Georges Martin, a local doctor.

Georges sold the estate to Ernest Doutreloux in 1920, and in 1930 changed hands to Jean-Jacques Chabrat. By 1956, the present owners, the Perrin family, took over. The Perrin family could be traced to Nuits-Saint-Georges in Burgundy and was not new to viticulture. In 1839 Philibert Perrin left for Algeria and his son Anthony established a very large vineyard there named Chateau Tirenat-les-Pins, and when the situation in Algeria deteriorated decided to return to France, and acquired Chateau Carbonnieux.

At the same time, they also acquired the neighboring estate and rechristened it La Tour-Leognan, to avoid confusion with Chateau Latour. The property was in a poor condition then, having contracted to only 29 hectares. Anthony’s son Marc Perrin decided to replant the vines in 1957, shortly before the chateau was listed in the Graves classification of 1959, and by 1962 the family moved into the chateau.

The vineyard was expanded and by 1983 a new cuvier was built alongside the refurbished chai, with the facilities further expanded in 1990. Marc’s son Anthony inherited the estate, and it is now run by the next generation, Philibert and Eric. The vineyards are on gravel-rich soils typical of the area, covering 92 hectares, the largest of all the Graves estates classified in 1959. It produces both red and white cuvees under the Pessac-Leognan appellation, and is both classified.

The area under vine is divided roughly equal between red and white, but the red has recently dominated slightly at 50 hectares, planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated around the chateau, with Merlot (30%) on the peripheral with the soils more on sand and clay. Some small plots of Cabernet Franc (7%), Petit Verdot and Carmenere (3%) are intermingled with the Cabernet Sauvignon to the west of the chateau.

The whites are better known, which are dominated by Sauvignon Blanc (65%) on the gravel soils to the north of the chateau, Semillon (35%) on the more clay-rich soils. Average vine age is 27 years for white, 32 years for red. The philosophy for the Perrins is sustainability, with the soils ploughed and worked to reduce herbicide use, using pheromone capsules to confuse grape moth, but spraying was still used to control fungal diseases especially in wetter years.

Yields are reduced by green harvesting if required, with manual harvesting. The white are picked first, with a three-day maceration which is not very common. The must is then fermented in vat using indigenous yeast, and then transferred to barrel to complete fermentation for about nine months with batonnage. The reds are fermented under temperature control, with maceration up to four weeks. Pumping over is used to break the cap and then put into oak barrels for 18 months where malolactic fermentation took place, with a third of new barrels each vintage.

The wine is blended at the end of the elevage. Before bottling it is fined and filtered. The grand vin is Chateau Carbonnieux, and a second wine La Croix de Carbonnieux. Chateau La Tour-Leognan is labeled for the young vines less than 15 years of age and no longer reflecting the original part of Chateau La Tour.

I have recently tasted the 2007 red and 2008 white and below are my tasting notes:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of deep ruby color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (-) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant, dark plum and blackberry, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of mocha, mineral notes of earth, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf. The wine is youthful.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, medium tannin of ripe and integrated texture, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry and dark cherries, oak notes of cedar, kernel notes of mocha. The wine has a medium (-) finish.

Conclusion
Acceptable quality Pessac-Leognan with a nose lacking concentration and fairly simple, the wine is showing a bit of unripe characters. On the palate it shows balance and reasonable intensity, but not having much length. Overall a wine that is not of much interest. Ready to drink now and not suitable for further ageing.

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of medium lemon color, with legs.

Nose
Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of citrus fruit such as lemon, green fruit of grapefruit and gooseberry, floral notes of acacia, MLF notes of beeswax and cream, maturity notes of honey, oak notes of smoke. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry with medium acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and is of medium (+) body with medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lime, green fruit of grapefruit and gooseberry, dairy notes of cream, maturity notes of honey. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Very good quality Pessac-Leognan white with an intense nose showing plenty of complexity, the wine has a good structure, in balance, and provides an enjoyable palate which is concentrated and having similar flavors. If only the length can be longer the wine would be even more exceptional. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.