Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion

Paul Claudel once said of wine that pleasure should take precedence over prestige. This is a well-known maxim at the Château Larrivet Haut-Brion estate, where boldness and creativity are harnessed to craft great wines. 

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion, acquired in 1987 by the Gervoson family, has regained the wine-growing unity it once had at the turn of the century: the château, its 13-hectare park, its farm buildings, and 42 hectares of vineyards in production, as well as 18 hectares that were formerly planted with vines and have been gradually replanted.

Backed by a team of enthusiastic specialists, the expert team at Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion has thus restored this estate—the jewel in the crown of the Pessac-Léognan appellation—to its former glory. The vineyard at Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion is characteristic of the middle terrace of the Graves region of Bordeaux: heavily gravelly with an extremely sandy matrix. Driven by a passion for their wine, the team at Larrivet-Haut-Brion oversees its production on a daily basis, from the rigorous and meticulous care given to the vines to the harvest of healthy grapes that have reached perfect ripeness. Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion is an associate member of the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux, a member of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, and a member of the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves de Sauternes et Barsac.

This renewed revival has restored the Larrivet Haut-Brion estate and its 75 hectares of vineyards to their former glory as a flagship of the Pessac-Léognan AOC appellation.

Located northeast of Léognan, the estate boasts optimal conditions for producing great wines. With clay-gravel soil with a sandy matrix—perfectly exposed and well-drained—the production potential is vast, yielding elegant wines with strong character. With a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc for the red wines, and Sauvignon and Sémillon for the white wines, there are no fewer than 7,700 vines per hectare. After harvesting at perfect ripeness, the winemaking process proceeds as follows:

• d in small temperature-controlled tanks for red wines, followed by aging for 14 to 18 months, depending on the desired vintage

• : vinification in new barrels, decorated concrete eggs, or small wooden vats for white wines. Aging lasts 10 to 11 months, with regular stirring.

Since the Gervoson family acquired the estate, no fewer than twenty vintages have been produced from the estate’s vineyards. This rich and opulent production generally yields red and white wines with great personality. Since the 2010 vintage, the wines have improved, gaining elegance and depth in the reds and exuberance in the whites. The estate has also turned its attention to producing second wines, with “Les Demoiselles de Larrivet Haut-Brion” and “Les Hauts de Larrivet Haut-Brion” leading the way. These fresh, very fruity wines, made from young vines, can be produced on a larger scale and are therefore accessible to a wider audience.