Château Rauzan-Gassies is a winery in the Margaux

Margaux

Margaux is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:The village lies in the Haut Médoc wine making region on the left bank of the Garonne estuary, northwest of the city of Bordeaux.-Population:-Wines:...

 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

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 region of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Château Rauzan-Gassies 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 fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) in the original 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...

.

History

The domain began as the property of Gaillard de Tardes in the 16th century, and belonged to Bernard de Baverolles in the 17th century, and came to be a part of the vast Rauzan estate owned by Pierre de Mesures de Rauzan

Pierre de Rauzan

Pierre de Rauzan was a Bordeaux wine merchant. He served as estate manager of Château Latour. In the 1690s he began buying land in the Médoc near the village of Pauillac.-Legacy:...

 in the 18th century. Over time this estate was divided, and by the time of the 1855 Classification, had been separated into the estates of Rauzan-Gassies, Château Rauzan-Ségla

Château Rauzan-Ségla

Château Rauzan-Ségla, or Château Rausan-Ségla, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Rauzan-Ségla is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus in the original...

, Château Desmirail

Château Desmirail

Château Desmirail 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. -History:...

, and Château Marquis de Terme

Château Marquis de Terme

Château Marquis de Terme is a winery in the Margaux 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. -History:...

. The estate was purchased by the Quié family in 1945 and remains in their holdings.

Production

Château Rauzan-Gassies consists of 28.5 hectares (70.4 acre) of vines, planted on the sandy-gravel soil typical to the Margaux appellation. There is a grape 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% 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...

 and 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...

. The neighbouring châteaux are Rausan-Ségla and Marquis de Terme.

Fermentation of the wine takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for about three weeks, after which the wine is aged for 14 to 18 months in oak barrels, 30% of which are new oak.