[ Home > Wines > Bordeaux > Graves & Pessac-Leognan > Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion Rouge 2000 - Bordeaux ]
Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux Christine and Philippe Gervoson have greatly increased the quality of the wine from this splendidly situated estate in Pessac-Leognan. The 2000 Larrivet-Haut-Brion, a blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (Michel Rolland is the consulting oenologist), is an impressive sleeper of the vintage. Rated 90-92 Robert Parker This has loads of chocolate and very ripe fruit. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and a long, long finish. Very well done for the vintage. Score range: 89-91 Wine Spectator Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion was a large 125-hectare estate at the end of 19th century comprising the Château itself, the park, 60 hectares of vines and 52 hectares of meadows and pine woods. At that time the property was called Haut-Brion-Larrivet. In 1929, by a court order following a century of litigation, it was decided that the estate could be called Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion or Domaine de Haut-Brion-Larrivet. In the years from 1935 on, the wine crisis with vineyards being constantly reduced, production at Larrivet-Haut-Brion shrank to practically nil. In 1940, Mr. & Mme Guillemaud bought the winegrowing part including the outbuildings. Under their impulse, the vineyard grew to 16 hectares by 1975 and the wines of Larrivet-Haut-Brion once again found an important position on the market. In 1987, acquired by the firm of Andros, Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion once more became the winemaking unit it had been at the turn of the century with its château, its 13-hectare park, its wine buildings and 45 hectares of vines in production plus 15 hectares which were once vineyards being progressively replanted. The main part of the estate consists of two gravel crests on a gravelly subsoil containing ferruginous elements in depth. Mr. Philippe Gervoson goes to great lengths to produce a wine of great quality every year, with the same passion and the same enthusiasm. Particular attention is paid to the way the vines are cultivated: winter ploughing, de-earthing in spring, then continuous weeding in order to produce a top quality grape harvest, the primary factor in producing great wines. The white winemaking is carried out over twelve months. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in new barrels of merrian oak from the Allier and Tronçais forest. The wine is bottled in the autumn of the year following the harvest. Red winemaking is carried out over eighteen months. Three months after the harvest, when the malolactic fermentation is over, the wine is put into oak barrel, renewed by one-third each year. Racked every three months, it remains there until bottling which takes place in the spring of the second year following the harvest. The dry white wines are characterized by a very complex harmony of aromas of white fruit. Their richness gives them great length on the palate; they are wines which keep all their freshness for a long time and go on improving for five years. The red are full of finesse, although tannic, they are at the same time very soft. They are always extremely well balanced and reach their peak between five and 20 years cellaring. Larrivet-Haut-Brion is an associate member of the Bordeaux Wine Academy, a member of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux and a member of the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et Graves. |
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