Château Gloria
Encyclopedia
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...
from the Saint-Julien 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...
. The 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...
is located in the central part of France’s Bordeaux wine region Haut-Médoc, in the commune of Saint-Julien-Beychevelle
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:...
.
Regarded as a well-made wine with the best characteristics of Saint-Julien, it is estimated by many on a par with the classed growths.
The château also produces 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...
from its younger vines named Château Peymartin.
History
A relatively young estate, Château Gloria was founded and assembled by Monsieur Henri MartinHenri Martin (wine)
Henri Martin was a French winemaker who for forty years served as mayor of Saint-Julien-Beychevelle in Médoc, became cited as the person responsible for reviving the ancient fame of the village, owned and managed a number of prominent French wine estates, and became considered a legendary figure...
who established the reputation of Gloria within the space of a generation. With the first acquisitions of 6 hectares (14.8 acre) of vines in 1942, and purchase of the chai of Château Saint-Pierre
Château Saint-Pierre
Château Saint-Pierre is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus Classés in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855....
, Martin added to the estate over the years with land bought from the surrounding classed estates, including châteaux Saint-Pierre, Beychevelle
Château Beychevelle
Château Beychevelle is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The chateau makes a second label wine called Amiral de Beychevelle.-...
, Léoville-Poyferré
Château Léoville-Poyferré
Château Léoville-Poyferré is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Poyferré is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
, Gruaud-Larose
Château Gruaud-Larose
Château Gruaud-Larose is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. It is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
, Léoville-Barton
Château Léoville-Barton
Château Léoville-Barton is a vineyard in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Léoville-Barton is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
, Ducru-Beaucaillou
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
, Lagrange
Château Lagrange
Château Lagrange is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Lagrange is also the name of the red wine produced by this property...
and a Saint-Julien property of Duhart-Milon
Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild
Château Duhart-Milon, previously also Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild, is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus Classés in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The Château...
, making up its present size.
The estate was included in the proposal by INAO
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine
The Institut National des Appellations d'Origine is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with Protected Designations of Origin . Controlled by the French government, it forms part of the Ministry of Agriculture...
to revise the 1855 classification
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...
, and subsequently became listed in the private classification
Alexis Lichine's classification of Bordeaux wine
In considering the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Alexis Lichine held the opinion that the list, some hundred years after the selection was made, no longer expressed the whole truth concerning the ranking of Bordeaux wine...
of Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine
Alexis Lichine was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, and owned Château Prieuré-Lichine and a share of Château Lascombes in the Médoc. He was married to actress Arlene Dahl from 1964 to...
.
The current proprietor of the estate is Martin's son-in-law, Jean-Louis Triaud
Jean-Louis Triaud
Jean-Louis Triaud is the current president of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He was first elected in 1996, and upon completion of the term, reelected in 2002....
.
Production
The vineyardVineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
area extends 48 hectares (118.6 acre), with the grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
variety distribution of 65% 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...
, 25% 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...
, 5% Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and 5% 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...
.
An average of 20,000 cases of the Grand vin are produced annually. Of the second wine Chateau Peymartin there are produced approximately 4,000 cases.