Château Carbonnieux

Identity

Château Carbonnieux, a Cru Classé de Graves, is situated in Léognan, in the Gironde. The estate is owned by the Perrin family, represented by Éric and Philibert Perrin alongside their sister Christine Lescuyer. The cellar master is Andréa Perrin, the consultant oenologist is Christophe Ollivier, and the vineyard manager is Frédéric Magniez.

History and philosophy

The winegrowing origins of Château Carbonnieux date back to the 13th century with the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux. After belonging to the Ferron family from 1519 to 1740, and then to Elie Bouchereau in 1791, the estate was acquired in 1956 by Marc Perrin. The Perrin family has now owned the property for four generations. Château Carbonnieux was classified as a Grand Cru Classé de Graves in 1959, for both its red and white wines. Vineyard practices focus on boosting the vines' natural defences while avoiding the use of chemical weedkillers and insecticides, adhering to a sustainable viticulture approach.

Appellations

The wines of Château Carbonnieux are produced under the Pessac-Léognan appellation.

Winemaking and ageing

Harvesting is carried out by hand, bringing together up to 120 seasonal pickers over a period of 5 to 7 weeks. Grape sorting takes place both in the vineyard and on sorting tables in the vat room. For the white wines, a skin-contact maceration lasting a few hours may be performed after cooling the must to 10°C. Ageing for Château Carbonnieux Blanc lasts 10 months in barrels and foudres, whereas Château Carbonnieux Rouge is aged for 14 months in barrels. Traditional 225-litre Bordeaux oak barrels are used for ageing. For the final blend, 30 to 40 distinct wine batches are crafted. The estate also collaborates with the Faculty of Oenology at Bordeaux II University, INRA, and the ISVV for winemaking research.

Practical information

Château Carbonnieux is located on Chemin de Peyssardet, 33850 Léognan, FRANCE.

The estate is open to visitors throughout the year. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm and from 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Between mid-April and mid-October, the château is also open on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Tours are available in English, Spanish, and French.

• Telephone: +33 (0)5 57 96 56 20
• Email: info@chateau-carbonnieux.fr

Find out more

Official estate website

The vineyard (terroir)

The vineyard of Château Carbonnieux spans 100 hectares, surrounding the château. The estate encompasses 200 hectares of land in total. The terroir is characterised by a Günzian Garonne gravel knoll, gravel terraces blending pebbles, sand, silt, and clay, as well as sandy-gravel soils and a tongue of Landes sand. Natural drainage is provided by the Eau Blanche stream. Soils vary from deep, substantial gravels for Cabernet Sauvignon, to fine gravel and clay soils for Merlot. Clay-limestone soils topped with fine gravel are ideally suited to Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, while clay-limestone soils favour Sémillon, and deep, fine gravels suit Sauvignon. The prevailing climate is oceanic. The vineyard is divided into 119 parcels.

Grape varieties

• Red vines (55 hectares, average age 26 years):
  • Cabernet Sauvignon: 50%
  • Merlot: 40%
  • Cabernet Franc: 5%
  • Petit Verdot: 5%
• White vines (45 hectares, average age 30 years):
  • Sauvignon Blanc: 65%
  • Sémillon: 35%

Flagship cuvées

Château Carbonnieux produces dry white wines and red wines.

• Château Carbonnieux Blanc: Crafted from Sauvignon and Sémillon.
• Château Carbonnieux Rouge: Composed of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
• Château Tour Léognan: Available in red (blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) and white (blend of Sauvignon and Sémillon). This cuvée comes from the estate's younger vines.
• La Croix de Carbonnieux: Offered in red, white, and rosé.
• 1741 de Carbonnieux
• L'Enclos de Carbonnieux