Château Couhins-Lurton is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the Crus Classés for dry white wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1959.[1] The winery is located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, in the commune of Villenave-d'Ornon.

History

Known in the late 17th century under the name “Bourdieu de La Gravette”, the château belonged to the Banchereaus, a family of important lawyers. The area under vine was practically identical to what it is today: 10 hectares on the best gravelly rises. The Hanappiers, a family of wine merchants, acquired the estate in 1883. The quality of Château Couhins-Lurton’s white wine was such that it was designated a Graves great growth in the 1959 classification.

André Lurton became tenant farmer of the vineyard in 1967. He went on to purchase part of the estate that had been acquired by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research. He sold wine from this part under the name Couhins-Lurton, qualified as a Graves classified growth. The white wine part of the vineyard is planted exclusively with Sauvignon Blanc. Fermentation and ageing take place in stave wood oak barrels to give the wine balance, finesse, and complexity on both the nose and palate, as well as great ageing potential.

Vineyards

The 18 hectare Pessac Leognan vineyard of Chateau Couhins-Lurton is planted for the red wine grapes,to 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon. Those vines are located at a neighboring estate they own, Chateau Rochemorin. The terroir is gravel and sand soils. 

Wines

Couhins-Lurton is a fine dry white wine typical of the best terroirs in Pessac-Léognan. A plot of red wine vines was added to the estate in 1988. This enables Couhins-Lurton to reconnect with its history, because the château produced 95% red wine in the 19th century.

Interesting fact: André Lurton, the first Bordeaux winemaker to put classified whites under screwcap in 2004, has called time on the experiment after French wine trade buyers proved reluctant to abandon cork.