Château  Lanessan   Décoration Blason des Bouteiller Décoration   Home Page
  

A bit of History ...

1310: already a wine estate!
Thanks to carefully preserved parchments, we can go back with certainty to 15 January 1310. In the reign of Edward, King of England and Duke of Guyenne, Dame Paironne la Montagne, widow of Henry de Lanessan, sold the estate to Sieur de Blaignan.

1793: 17 May.
The Delbos family became the owner of this prestigious estate.		    

1855 – Left out of the rankings Louis Delbos didn’t send in any samples at a time when the critics all agreed that the château would have been ranked as a 5th growth.

1878 - Building
 Château de Lanessan was built by André Delbos, in a mock-Tudor style typical of the period, while the cellars were built in the traditional Médoc style.

 
 

The Bouteiller family, descendants of the Delbos, are still the owners of the estate and do their utmost to combine modernity and tradition in developing their wines. .
Find out more about the history of the Bouteiller Family

 

The vineyards...                                                                                       Technical information about Lanessan

The estate extends over 260 hectares, 40 of which are planted with vines around the outskirts of the village of Saint-Julien, on the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Haut-Médoc ‘terroir’.

The parcels of vines are situated on “Garonne gravel hill-tops”, which are typically those of the best ‘crus classés’ of 1855		    

Planting is traditional, approximately 8,500 vines per hectare; regular replanting ensures that the average age of the vines is kept to around 30 -32 years.


The vines are pruned very low to keep the grapes as close to the pebble-covered ground as possible. The pebbles are warmed by the sun during the day and thus maintain a relatively mild temperature at night, preventing the grapes from cooling too much
 

Find out more about the Domaines Bouteiller vineyards
 

In the cellars  ...                                                                                         Technical information about Lanessan

The grape varieties used to blend the wines are representative of the great wines of the Médoc: 60% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Francs and 5% Petit-Verdot. 

At Château Lanessan, we believe that it adds that “little extra” in terms of tannins, aromas and spices; even though it is difficult and costly to produce; it therefore takes up its rightful place in the final blend.  		      The wine is matured for 16 to 18 months in new barrels, 30% to 50% of which are renewed every year, allowing it to open out and develop a slightly oaky taste. The age of the barrels is particularly important to the development of the wines and differs from one year to another, depending on the characteristics of the grapes.
In the years in which the wine is not particularly powerful, the proportion of new wood is kept lower so that it does not “overpower” the wine and hide the characteristics of the ‘terroir’.
On the other hand, when the wine is highly structured, an extra addition of wood helps to give it outstanding laying-down potential.

Find out more about how the Wines are made
 

The wines ...                                                                                                               Technical information about Lanessan

Château Lanessan, ‘cru bourgeois supérieur’

The wine of Château Lanessan, approximately 220,000 bottles a year, can start to be enjoyed five years after the harvest and, depending on the vintage, reaches its best between seven and twenty years later. Some exceptional years can be left in the cellars for many a long year; for example, Robert Parker has said that he particularly enjoyed a Château Lanessan 1920!  		   

The characteristics of Château Lanessan develop with age:

When young, the wines of Château Lanessan are typically a deep, intense ruby colour, with an elegant nose and fruity, floral aromas. On the palate, the structure is complex and dense, melting away harmoniously on a good, long finish.

When they are older, the wines take on a terracotta tint and the nose becomes increasingly complex, with the appearance of plummy, then undergrowth aromas. The flavours are smooth, warm and perfectly harmonious, ending on silky tannins.
 

       

 

Les Calèches de Lanessan-

Since 1999, Château Lanessan has produced a second wine, Les Calèches de Lanessan, which is more accessible and easy-drinking within seven years of the harvest. The labels on Les Calèches de Lanessan make reference to the close link between the estate and horses (see its Horse Museum), and a different carriage is used to illustrate the label every year