1. Chateau Lafite
Chateau Lafite is located in the Medoc region of the Bordeaux wine region. It was rated as a top winery in 1855 and has a history of hundreds of years. It was originally founded by a French nobleman and later changed hands through several families. It must be mentioned that the Rothschild family has been in business since 1868, which has brought Lafite wine from the ordinary to the peak again.
Characteristics of the winery: Low-key is the biggest feature of Chateau Lafite. It is like an isolated village, filled with a mysterious atmosphere. Although it receives visitors from all over the world, it has always maintained its original facilities and decoration, like a perfectly preserved antique. The wine produced by Chateau Lafite also inherits the temperament of its winery, gorgeous, low-key, elegant and serious, like an extremely generous nobleman.
Winemaking process: Chateau Lafite still uses wooden wine tanks to make wine. It usually takes one week of fermentation and two weeks of soaking. The brewing method is quite simple and is a traditional Bordeaux brewing method.
The finished wine is put into brand new oak barrels and cultivated for one and a half to two years in a circular underground wine cellar designed by Ricardo Bofill.
Specially selected wines are the main method used by Chateau Lafite to improve quality since the 1990s. No matter the vintage is good or bad, only less than one-third of the wine produced each year can be selected as the genuine Lafite brand, and the rest is made into the second-ranking wine "Charruades".
Lafite has been producing Erjun wine since 1874, and is one of the first wineries in Bordeaux to launch Erjun wine.
2. Chateau Latour
Chateau Latour is located on a higher gravel river bank in the south of the village of Pouillac in Bordeaux. In 1855, it was classified as a top-notch winery through the classification system. This castle was built by the British in the 15th century and was developed into a vineyard in the 16th century. After hundreds of years of resale and auction, it was finally owned by the owner of Printemps department store in France.
Features of the winery: The Jean Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon here are difficult to grow, and they grow grapes with particularly high tannins, producing the most majestic red wine in Bordeaux. Therefore, Latour's wine has always been strong in body, and even if it has changed countless owners, the quality of the wine remains unchanged.
Winemaking process: Chateau Latour adopts Bordeaux’s traditional Guyot Double pruning method, leaving three buds on each side of the main branch to control yield. In June, fruit thinning will also be carried out. During the grape harvest, new and old plants are manually picked separately and stored and processed separately according to their quality. Grapes with poor quality are simply eliminated.
After 5 weeks of fermentation, 18 months of aging, 2 months of bottling, and several months of distribution, 2 and a half years have passed before consumers can buy Latour wine. The winery.
3. Chateau Margaux
Chateau Margaux, one of the five famous wineries in France, was founded by Pierre de Lestonnac in 1590.
The current hostess of Chateau Margaux is Corina Menzelpoulos. In 1977, her father bought the estate, and since then Chateau Margaux has entered the most glorious period in its history.
Winery features: As a first-class winery, Margaux has almost become the focus of the entire village, especially the castle building itself, which aptly expresses the spirit of Medoc red wine: the early 19th century A neoclassical-style building with four towering Ionian columns, a simple and thick capital plate and pediment, a 24-step stone staircase and two symmetrical sphinxes, it forms the basis of the castle. front.
Winemaking process: The winery originally had an old wine cellar built in the 19th century, and a new wine cellar was built in 1982. The temperature in the wine cellar is kept between 13-15 degrees all year round, and 26,000 oak barrels are placed there. .
The winery also produces its own oak barrels, using 30 self-produced barrels every year, while all genuine wines use new barrels. Chateau Margaux is a winery that adheres relatively closely to tradition. All fermentations are carried out in wooden barrels and fermentation tanks. Most of the fermentation is done manually. Even the fermentation temperature is manually controlled. It still uses the traditional process of precipitation of egg whites in barrels.
Chateau Margaux wine is a representative of Bordeaux, delicate, gentle, elegant, with moderate tannins.
4. Chateau Haubian
Chateau Haubian is located in the PessacLeognan area on the left bank of the Gironde River. It is the oldest winery in Bordeaux and was founded in 1525. Owned by the French aristocratic Ponta family. Haubian was the first winery to use its own name rather than sell it as bulk wine, and the first winery in Bordeaux to have its own "brand".
Winery characteristics: Haubian is often the earliest mature vineyard in Bordeaux, and is often mined before the legal harvest date.
In addition to early ripening, and because the content of Merlot grapes is particularly high, Haubian's red wine is often more rounded and delicious than the first-level wineries in Medoc.
Winemaking process: The wine cellar is the core location of the art of winemaking. In the past, winemaking tanks were all made of wood. Chateau Aubien was the first winery to use stainless steel winemaking tanks in 1961. .
5. Chateau Mouton Wine
Chateau Mouton Wine is located in Pauillac in the Medoc region of France.
In 1855, it was rated as a second-class winery in Bordeaux. Under the unremitting development and management of the old owner, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, it became the only winery upgraded from a second-class winery to a first-class winery. Waiting winery.
Winery features: Mouton’s most well-known initiative is the combination of wine labels and artistic works. Each year’s label is designed by a famous artist at the time.
In 1946, these wine labels, designed by the world’s greatest painters and sculptors, became a permanent and distinctive trend for the House of Mouton.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Five Famous Chateaus in Bordeaux