Château de Lisennes

Identity

Château de Lisennes is a winegrowing estate located in Tresses, in Gironde. It is owned by the Soubie family, represented today by Jean-Luc Soubie.

History and philosophy

The history of Château de Lisennes dates back to the early 18th century, with Étienne de Baritault recorded as its first official owner. In 1758, Guillaume Bardon undertook the construction of the present-day residence. The estate subsequently passed through several hands, including Jean Laporte in 1785, Étienne Delord in 1811, Louis Chasseriaud in 1861—who developed viticulture on the property—and William Taylor in 1899.

In 1938, Jean-Léon Soubie acquired the château, marking the beginning of the Soubie family’s stewardship, now in its fourth generation. During the 1950s, Jean-Léon Soubie planted 25 hectares of hybrid grape varieties alongside fruit trees. In 1955, he expanded the vineyard with the acquisition of two new plots.

In 1965, Jean-Pierre Soubie, an oenologist, joined his father and undertook a major restructuring of the vineyard. From 1967, he grubbed up the apple trees and hybrid varieties to replace them with noble grape varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet, converting several hectares into AOC vines. The vat room capacity was also significantly increased, expanding from 1,600 hl to 8,600 hl. The estate reached 46 hectares of AOC vines in 1987. Later, Jean-Luc Soubie, one of Jean-Pierre's sons, took over the management of the estate.

The estate began its conversion to organic viticulture in 2010 with 7 hectares, and now boasts 20 certified organic hectares. Prior to this, Château de Lisennes had obtained Terra Vitis and Agriculture Raisonnée certifications in 2009.

Appellations

Château de Lisennes produces wines under the Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux Clairet, and Crémant de Bordeaux appellations.

Practical information

Château de Lisennes is located at Domaine de Lisennes, Chemin de Pétrus, 33370 Tresses. For enquiries, the email address is infos@lisennes.com and the telephone number is +33 5 57 34 13 03.

The cellar door is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm, as well as Saturday morning from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

The estate offers vineyard tours year-round by appointment. The tour and tasting last approximately one hour. The price is €10 per person, and free of charge for children.

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The vineyard (terroir)

The Château de Lisennes vineyard covers 37 hectares in Tresses, approximately 12 kilometres east of Bordeaux. The soils are predominantly clay-limestone with siliceous silts, including heavily silty soils and moderately to slightly calcareous clay-siliceous soils. A drainage system was installed across the entire vineyard to regulate moisture, channelling runoff towards two hillside retention lakes created in the late 1970s.

The red grape varieties include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. For white wines, the vineyard is planted with Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris.

Flagship cuvées

Château de Lisennes offers a varied range of wines. Among the reds is Château de Lisennes (AOC Bordeaux), a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The cuvées Château de Lisennes Cuvée Tradition and Château de Lisennes Cuvée Prestige, both AOC Bordeaux Supérieur, are made respectively from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot and Cabernet Franc. L'Esprit Lisennes is another Bordeaux Supérieur, blending Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. The estate also offers single-varietal bottlings such as Cabernet Franc (100% Cabernet Franc) and Merlot (100% Merlot), alongside Château de Lisennes Malbec (100% Malbec), all under the AOC Bordeaux rouge appellation.

Specific winemaking approaches are showcased with Cuvée "Méthode Nature" (100% Merlot in AOC Bordeaux rouge) and Les Parcelles de Lisennes (Sans Sulfites Ajoutés) (AOC Bordeaux rouge), highlighting a commitment to low-intervention vinification. The cuvée Les Parcelles de Lisennes (rouge) is a certified organic 100% Merlot AOC Bordeaux rouge.

For white wines, Blanc de Lisennes (AOC Entre-Deux-Mers) is a blend of Sémillon, Muscadelle, and Sauvignon Blanc. Les Parcelles de Lisennes (blanc) is a certified organic AOC Bordeaux blanc composed of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris.

The estate produces Clairet de Lisennes (AOC Bordeaux Clairet) from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In rosé, Les Parcelles de Lisennes (rosé) is a certified organic AOC Bordeaux rosé crafted from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Château de Lisennes also ventures into sparkling wines with Bulles de Lisennes (AOC Crémant de Bordeaux), a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sémillon, and Bulles de Lisennes Rosé (AOC Crémant de Bordeaux rosé) made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. An alcohol-free version, Bulles de Lisennes Sans Alcool 0.0%, is also available, made from Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

Vinification and ageing

Certain cuvées from Château de Lisennes, such as Cuvée Tradition, Cuvée Prestige, and L'Esprit Lisennes, undergo one year of ageing in oak barrels.