Le Clarence de Haut Brion

Le Clarence De Haut Brion

Classification: Second Wine of Château Haut Brion
Le Clarence De Haut Brion is the new name of the second wine of Chateau Haut Brion.  The owners of Haut Brion have been producing a second label of their wine dating back to at least the 1700s and it has been known as Chateau Bahans Haut Brion since at least 1907.  The name "Bahans"  comes from a family who in the past owned a small part of the Haut Brion estate and there was once a chateau there of that name.  The wine has been renamed as in 2010 Domaine Clarence Dillon will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the acquisition by Clarence Dillon of Chateau Haut Brion. In recognition of three quarters of a century of the presence of the Dillon family at Haut Brion, Domaine Clarence Dillon has decided to mark the occasion by renaming their second wine Le Clarence de Haut Brion and by bottling it in the "Haut Brion" bottle, specially engraved with the mention: "Clarence".  It was Clarence Dillon himself who 50 years ago brought this bottle design to Haut Brion and first began using this form for the 1958 vintage.

Haut Brion is located in the Graves region and  was the only non-Médoc estate to be included in the 1855 classification. The second wine is not grown on specific parcels - it's grown on the same land as the First Growth. Therefore it has the same origin, the same character, and the same originality as the Grand Vin. The difference between the two is that the second wine does not attain the same complexity and force – however coming from a stable such as Haut Brion this in no way means that the second wine plays second fiddle to its big brother – it's a great wine in its own right.

Château Haut Brion is the oldest and by far the smallest of the First Growth's vineyards and one of the few remaining family-owned domains of the Bordeaux region. Haut Brion produced the first wine sold under the name of its vineyard site in 1533. Haut Brion was founded by Jean de Pontac in the 15th century who enlarged the vineyards and built the château.  François-Auguste de Pontac was the last Pontac to own Haut Brion through direct inheritance. He served as President of the Parliament in Bordeaux in 1653 and opened a tavern in London in 1666 to promote his wines, called the "Enseigne de Pontac", which became "...the most fashionable place in London..." in its time. The diarist Samuel Pepys wrote about the wines (he called them "Ho-Bryan") as did philosopher John Locke, Cardinal Richelieu and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

After the French Revolution the château was purchased in 1801 by the Prince de Tallyrand who was in charge of foreign affairs under Napoléon. He often served the Haut Brion wine to his guests and he employed the wine to advance his many diplomatic efforts. Today Château Haut Brion is owned by Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A., who also own Château La Mission Haut Brion. The château is run by Prince Robert of Luxembourg and his mother the Duchesse de Mouchy, daughter of the Hon. Douglas Dillon, former Ambassador to France and Secretary of the Treasury under President Kennedy.

Formed by two gravel knolls the 109 acres of Haut Brion vineyard rises 12 to 15 meters above the beds of two nearby streams - the Peugue to the north and the Ars to the south. The soil is full of pebbles of rock quartz and Jurassic flints. The grapes grown are 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. White varieties are also grown and they are 63% Semillon and 37% Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine Style
Le Clarence de Haut Brion is  medium to full bodied and well structured.   The colour is close to a ruby red with tinges of violet with notes of black cherry, blackcurrant, smoke, earth and leather.   These are round and supple wines with good length.

Owner: Domaine Clarence Dillon (also owns Châteaux La Mission Haut Brion and Laville Haut Brion)
Château Website: www.haut-brion.com
Oenologist: J-P Masclef