Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 in the Pauillac

Pauillac

Pauillac is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Wine:The commune consists of only 3000 acres of vineyards in the Haut-Médoc between the villages of Saint-Julien to the south and Saint-Estèphe to the north, but is home to three of Bordeaux's five...

 appellation

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 of the Bordeaux

Bordeaux wine

A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...

 region of France

French wine

French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

. Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is also the name of the red wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines which were to be on display for visitors from around the world...

.

The name Haut-Bages-Libéral is derived from the estate's location and historical owner, with Haut-Bages referring to its position at the top of the Bages plateau between Pauillac and St Julien

Saint-Julien-Beychevelle

Saint-Julien-Beychevelle is a commune on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-Wine:...

 and Libéral referring to the family who owned the estate during the 18th century. The estate is run by Claire Villars-Lurton, manager of Château Ferrière

Château Ferrière

Château Ferrière is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen Troisièmes Crus in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855...

 and Château La Gurge, and wife of Gonzague Lurton, owner of Château Durfort-Vivens

Château Durfort-Vivens

Château Durfort-Vivens is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. It is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...

.

Vineyard

Its vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s are bordered by those of Château Lynch-Bages

Château Lynch-Bages

Château Lynch-Bages is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Lynch-Bages is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...

, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...

 and Château Latour

Château Latour

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the...

. The soil consists mainly of a deep bed of gravel over limestone affording drainage. The vineyard's varietal plantings consist of Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

, and Petit Verdot

Petit verdot

Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen, it is added in small amounts to add tannin, colour and flavour to the...

 with an average vine age of 30 years. A second wine

Second wine

Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...

is produced under the labels La Fleur de Haut-Bages-Libéral and La Chapelle de Bages.

External links

• Château Haut-Bages-Libéral official site