France, Bordeaux

Château Carbonnieux has a long history stretching back, at least, to the 13th Century. The house itself started as a fortified farm back in the 14th Century. As with many a Bordeaux estate, the end of the 19th Century through to the middle of the 20th Century was not a good time for Carbonnieux with the devastating onset of phylloxera, two World Wars and the Great Depression to suffer. Consequently, by the early 1950’s Carbonnieux was in a sorry state. Salvation came with its purchase, in 1956, by Marc Perrin. Much replanting and investment eventually restored Carbonnieux to its rightful place among the best that Pessac-Léognan has to offer. Today Château Carbonnieux is still owned by the Perrin family, with Marc’s grandsons Eric and Philibert at the reins. Château Carbonnieux is situated on the classic Graves gravel outcrop allowing good natural drainage. “Above and beyond preserving our natural environment, our objective is to come as close as possible to organic-type farming”, says Philibert Perrin. Chemical insecticides and weed-killers are banned. White grapes are grown in a fairly typical Bordeaux ratio of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Semillon; whilst red grapes are, of course, dominated by (60%) Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc; the remainder being small but important plantings of Petit Verdot and the all but forgotten (in Bordeaux) Carmenère. Vines are 27 to 30 years old. On the creation of the Graves Classification in 1959 Château Carbonnieux was awarded Cru Classé status both for its red and white wines.