Château Lanessan is located in Cussac in the Haut-Médoc, just south of the commune of Saint-Julien de Beychevelle, on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. It produces red wine und the Haut-Médoc AOC.

Owner: Bouteiller family since the 18th century.

Staff: Winemaker: Paz Espejo since 2010 (has improved the wines).

History: In 1310: Henri de Lanessan left the estate to his widow upon his death in 1310. It passed to her heirs until 1793 when it was acquired by the Bordeaux negotiant Jean Delbos. Lanessan was already well-established and highly regarded in the eighteenth century and featured on the Belleyme map at the end of the 18th-century. In 1793 it was acquired by Jean Delbos, a Bordeaux negoçiant. In 1907 a Delbos daughter married Etienne Bouteiller, the grandfather of Hubert and Betrand Bouteiller. Betrand managed Pichon Baron until its sale in 1987, and the Bouteillers were shareholders in Palmer through their Mahler-Besse connections.

The château: ‘An elaborate Victorian pile.’ (David Peppercorn MW (1991; p. 271).

Classification: In 1815 Château Lanessan was listed (under the name of Duboscq) by Lawton as a fourth growth. David Peppercorn MW (1991; p. 270) suggests says Lanessan is one of the best Haut-Médoc estates not to have been classified in 1855, adding that would probably have been classified a fourth growth but the then proprietor (Louis Delbos) refused to send samples, ‘a piece of high-handedness that has cost Lanessan dear.’ In 1932 Lanessan was classified a Cru Bourgeois Supérieur.

Vineyards: Close to the border with Saint-Julien. Plots near Château Gruaud-Larose were drained. Château Lachenay is a 28ha estate under the same ownership.

Organic certification: 2017 No.

Red wines

Haut-Médoc AOC, Les Calèches de Lanessan: Second wine.

Haut-Médoc AOC, Château Lanessan

Museum: Lanessan also a horse carriage and harness museum here (‘Attelages et Musée du Cheval’), plus the saddlery (la sellerie) and stables (l’écurie).

Contact

Château Lanessan, F-33640 Cussac Fort Médoc

Tel+33 (0)5.56.58.94.80 | www.lanessan.com