Château Haut-Nouchet is an estate winery in Martillac in the Pessac-Léognan AOC on the left bank of the Bordeaux region.

Owner: The late Lucien Lurton acquired the estate in 1986. It had no vines at the time. In 1994 Lucien was succeeded at Château Haut Nouchet by his son Louis, who converted the estate to organics. Louis Lurton had studied viticulture and oenology at Château La Tour Blanche. He had previously worked for the merchant side of the Lurton family business, Lucien Lurton & Fils. In 1841 the Vayssière family were the owners.

Vineyards: 2002 38ha. 26ha of Cabernet Sauvignon (72%)+ Merlot (28%). 12ha of Sauvignon Blanc (78%) and Semillon (22%).

Organic certification: 1992 organic practices began. | 2002 Certified organic (Millésime Bio 2003). | 2005: 38ha Certified organic (Millésime Bio 2006). 

Other crops: Honey.

Winemaking: Hand picked.  Red grapes pass via crusher/destemmer rolling carpet into stainless steel tanks (since 1995). Longer macerations since going organic. White settled to 150 ntu before barrel fermentation.

Production: 2002: 1,321hl.

Wines

Pessac–Léognan Blanc AOC, Domaine du Milan: Second wine.

Pessac–Léognan Blanc AOC, Château Haut-Nouchet: 1996 Suitable for vegans.| 2002 Clean citrus (Millésime Bio 2004). | 2004 Clean, soft, grassy, creamy (Millésime Bio 2006).

Pessac–Léognan Rouge AOC, Domaine du Milan: Second wine.

Pessac–Léognan Rouge AOC, Château Haut-Nouchet: 1994 Certified organic. Dilute. | 1995 Much improved reds as for the first time the wines were no longer being made at Château Bouscaut. | 2002 Fresh fruit, clarity, hand picking shows (Millésime Bio January 2004). | 2003 Bit of coffee and choclate (Millésime Bio 2006).

Contact

Château Haut-Nouchet, 88, route de Cadaujac, F-33650 Martillac (Gironde)

Tel+33 (0)5.56.72.69.74 or+33 (0)5.57.83.10.10 | Website www.louis-lurton.fr