Pessac-Leognan Graves

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Chateau Haut Bailly

Overview

The large expanse of gravelly land south and east of Bordeaux City is unsurprisingly - called “Graves”. In 1987, the l. . . Read More >

Chateau Haut Bailly

Overview

The large expanse of gravelly land south and east of Bordeaux City is unsurprisingly - called “Graves”. In 1987, the land lying immediately to the west and south of Bordeaux City, which included the best of the Graves vineyards, was re-named Pessac-Leognan, after years of the producer’s lobbying since they thought themselves and their land superior to the southern part of Graves and thus wanted their own appellation. In fact, several of the most famous vineyards are within the ring-road and completely surrounded by the sprawling suburbs of Bordeaux.

Classification

While the Graves, including Pessac-Leognan, was excluded from the 1855 Classification, one vineyard – Chateau Haut Brion – made the cut because of its long history of producing very fine wine. The various soil profiles, in Graves and Pessac-Leognan, are suited to both red and white wines; the latter are deservedly honoured with their own classification, the Cru Classe de Graves, which was introduced in 1959, and includes 16 chateaux overall – 7 for red wine, 3 for white wine, and 6 chateax are classified for both their red- and white-wine.

Key Grape Varieties

Merlot just exceeds Cabernet Sauvignon plantings in the red wine vineyards, while Sauvignon Blanc dominates Semillon with three quarters of plantings in the white wine vineyards. Both red and white wines have early drinking appeal while also having sufficient structure and concentration to age beautifully.

Food Pairing

In terms of food matching for red wine, this is covered in our regional overview for Left Bank Bordeaux and usually relates to the Cabernet Sauvignon and related grape blends typical of that region.

White Pessac-Leognan is a rather versatile wine when it comes to food pairings and often pairs well with similar foods to many oaked Chardonnays. For example, white meats like chicken, pork, or veal with a creamy sauce but also creamy risottos and pasta dishes. Spring vegetables such as green asparagus and peas tend to go especially well with wines with a higher Sauvignon Blanc proportion. Other delicious pairings with fine white Bordeaux include grilled or fried fish or richly flavoured shellfish such as crab and scallops.