Chateau Haut Brion 2000 Bordeaux Trophy Wine Review - 1st Growth Wine, Pessac Leognan

Chateau Haut Brion's (pronounced "O Brie On") name is derived from the Celtic term Briga, which means a rise or mount of land. Grapes have been grown at the vineyard since 1426. The earliest mention of the winery in literature is 1521, when it was known as Aubrion. It is probably the oldest continuous winery in Bordeaux (in the video, I said in the world but that is not correct).

In 1525, the winery was given as part of the dowry when the daughter of the Mayor of Libourne married Jean de Pontac. Jean constructed the chateau on the winery in 1549, which still stands today.

In 1666, the de Pontac family opened Pontac's Head, a tavern in England to sell and promote their wines. So when wines were classified in 1855, Haut Brion was well known and as such, was the only wine outside of the Medoc region included in the 1855 classification system.

The winery was purchased in 1935 by Clarence Dillon, He died in 1979 but his granddaughter (Jean Dillon) took over management of the winery. She married the Prince of Luxembourg. In 2008, the current Prince of Luxembourg took over management of the winery.

The winery contains 50 hectares of vineyard to grow grapes for their red wine and 3 hectares for grapes to produce their white wine. The composition of the vineyard is 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

The soil is gravel over clay and sand with minerals and quartz in the soil. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged in 100% new oak for up to 24 months. The winery blends their wines right after fermentation but before they are put into oak barrels.

The blend for the 2000 vintage was 51% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc.

Wine Spectator rating for this wine was 94 pts.

For more information about this winery, please visit our website at https://www.haut-brion.com/