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历史
Château Prieuré-Lichine, a large 4ème Cru Classé Margaux estate, is one of the most fragmented in the Médoc with as many as 40 separate parcels of vines scattered throughout the Margaux appellation. The history of Prieuré-Lichine dates back, rather unsurprisingly, to the existence of a Benedictine Priory that owned this land during the Middle Ages. As is the case with a number of other Bordeaux estates, such as Boyd-Cantenac and Haut-Brion, as well as many further afield, including numerous domaines in Burgundy and along the wine rivers of Germany, the origin of Prieuré-Lichine is an ecclesiastical one. The Benedictine monks first cultivated grapes for service at dinner and at religious ceremonies. But as the centuries passed, the wine was also sold to laymen, providing a very useful source of income for the monks. It is at this time that documents of sale demonstrate the existence of Le Prieure de Cantenac, the forerunner of today's Prieuré-Lichine, selling for up to 1000 livres per tonneau (one tonneau is 900 litres), a price comparable with other estates today ranked as troisièmes crus, including Palmer.
As the 18th Century drew to a close, France was in turmoil as the Revolution took a firm hold. The vineyards that interest us here, however, were purchased by a man named Durand, who subsequently sold it to a gentleman named Pagès, who bequeathed it to his widow, who saw the estate classified as a quatrième cru in the 1855 classification. The consequences of such a rapid succession of owners, together with the disasters of the day, namely vineyard diseases such as oidium and phylloxera, and depression and war, are, with the benefit of hindsight, obvious.The Prieuré-Cantenac estate, gradually deteriorated. In 1951,Alexis-Lichine following the advice of his many acquaintances in Bordeaux and bought Cantenac-Prieuré by the asking price of £8000. In 1953, the Syndicate of Classified Growths officially ratified a change in name to Prieuré Lichine. By more than 60 purchases or exchanges taken from second or third growths, Mr. Lichine, who was a great traveller and an untiring propagandist for the wines of France in foreign countries, author of “On the Wine-Routes of France” and “The Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits,” was able to considerable enlarge this vineyard stretching on the five communes of the Margaux appellation: Margaux, Cantenac, Labarde, Arsac and Soussans.He wasted no time, quickly expanding the estate, purchasing plots of vines from Issan and renting others. He also expanded and repaired the chai, a significant investment considering the state it was in, and he lavished attention on the chateau, which includes sections dating back to the 14th Century, and parts of the original priory that once stood here. In 1989 Alexis Lichine died, bequeathing the estate to his son, Sacha, who at first continued in the same vein as his father. In 1990 the chai saw a significant extension, and the vineyard area climbed higher, to 70 hectares. Another new addition that year was Michel Rolland, as Sacha then engaged the services of the famous consultant oenologist. Despite this apparent enthusiasm, however, the estate was sold in 1999 to the Ballande Group, a mining, agricultural and transport firm based in New Caledonia, for the sum of $28.5 million, and the estate remains in their hands today.
Nowadays’ Owner: Ballande et Meneret
CEO: Louis Ballande
Technique Information
Location: north of the village of Cantenac near the town of Margaux.
Appellation: Appellation Margaux Controlee
Neighboring Chateau: Chateau Brane Cantenac(2nd Growth of Margaux in1855)
Chateau Palmer(3rd Growth of Margaux in1855)
Acreage: 70 ha, area under vines 69 ha.
Soil: gravel and gravelly-sand over an iron-pan and gravel layer.
Grape Varietals: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.
Average age of vines: 25 to 30 years.
Cultivation Density: 10000 et 7500 Vines/ha
Viticulture: Traditional of culture raisonnée. Vintage of vert pour limite production. Harvest by manual and sort on the sorting table.
Winemaking:
Chateau Prieuré-Lichine (First Label): They are harvested by hand, sorted and crushed before fermentation in temperature-controlled concrete vats with a maceration lasting between three and four weeks. The must is pumped over twice daily to submerge the cap. The wine is then transferred into oak for up to 16-18 months, with 55% of the oak replaced each vintage. It is racked every three months, before bottling.
Chateau de Clairefont (Second Label): Traditional and microbullage( micro- oxygen) and put in barriques for malic -acid fermentation. Ageing in barriques for 12 to 18 months.
Yield: 35-40 hl/ha.
Brands:
Chateau Prieuré-Lichine(First Label)(A.O.C. Margaux)
Le Cloitre du Prieuré-Lichine(Second Label)(A.O.C. Margaux)
Chateau de Clairefont(Second Label)(A.O.C. Margaux)
Blanc de Chateau Prieuré-Lichine(White Wine)(A.O.C. Bordeaux)
Annually production: 240000 bottles
Chateau Prieuré-Lichine(First Label): 20,000 cases
Chateau de Clairefont(Second Label): about 7,000 cases
Character:
Chateau Prieuré-Lichine(First Label): Prieuré-Lichine's relatively high Merlot content gives the wine suppleness and elegance with the wines from the best years possessing a beautifully perfumed nose with a firm structure and good depth of fruit on the palate.
Chateau Clairefont(Second Label): Same basic qualities but with somewhat less intensity and aging potential. Made from younger vines or from wines not selected for the primary wine. This rich wine is a little less tannic and more supple than the Grand Vin - a truly delicious treat.
Best vintages: Chateau Prieuré-Lichine(First Label): 2000, 2003, 2004
Award: 4th Grand Cru Classe in 1855 Margaux
Source: http://www.thewinedoctor.com/bordeaux/prieurelichine.shtml
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85%, 15℃
Serving Temperature: 18℃
Optimum Drinking and Aging Potential: 8-15 years, 15-20 years.
Food match:
Chateau Prieuré-Lichine (First Label):
Beef, pourlty, cheese, pasta with cream sauce, hearty stew, pizza, pork, veal, game, gilled sirloin, braised abalone, roasted rib-eye, roasted rack of lamb, gilled duck breast.
Chateau Clairefont (Second Label):
This wine is a great match for full-flavored meat dishes such as calf's liver with bacon or roast rib of beef. Tournedos Rossini, beef steak with ¨Périgourdine sauce, calf's liver with shallots, roasted chicken with chanterelle mushrooms, French cheeses: Camembert or Brie.
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