For more than a century, Château Léognan blooms at the heart of a bucolic property which, over time, managed to evolve while preserving its wild side.
Château Léognan's story dates back the 17th century. At that time the chateau which extended over more than 550 hectares belonged to the monks of Saint-Jean and sheltered sheepfolds “the farm of Caudéran”. In the 19th century, Mathieu Seurin, a shipowner, and his young wife Emma purchased the domain and, in 1870, built the castle, the stables, the aviary and the dovecote such as we know them today. At Mathieu's death, Emma erected the lovely Chapel adjoining the Castle, in memory of her beloved deceased. This small Chapel was consecrated by the Bishop of Bordeaux on July 28th, 1897.
Emma sold the Property to Jean-Marie Dubos, trader of Bordeaux at Dubos Frères', who added to the Castle a gallery supported by four columns, then created the pond and the deer park. With both its poetic and wild sides, the property became the favourite place of the bourgeois of the arts and the letters, particularly thanks to François Mauriac who mentioned this place as a stopover in his novel Les Chemins de la Mer.
In 1989, the new owner of that time discovered a vein of sandy gravelly soil and decided to plant 6 ha with 70% of Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% of Merlot, with a density of 10,000 stocks per hectare.
In 2007, Philippe and Chantal Miecaze acquire Château Léognan and made since then every effort to grow wine in the tradition of the Grand Crus of Pessac-Léognan. The harvest, entirely by hand, starts in early October according to the maturity of the grapes of every plot of land. The cutters arrange the bunches in trays to not crush the bays and protect them from oxidation until their transfer to the cellar. Bays are then carefully pourred into the destemmer then brought on an automatic sorting table to keep only the best fruits, then undergo the second manual sorting. Finally, a peristaltic pump brings the berries back to the summit of the annealed stainless steel thermo regulated tanks where the grapes are then crushed. After a cold prefermentary maceration (<10°C during 3 days to free the anthocyanins of the must), tanks are sowed in yeast. Numerous releases and pumping over are going to extract the colour, the structure and the aromas of the wines. The latter are then matured in barrels which are renewed by a third every year and chosen to respect the fruit and the balance of the wine, while bringing an empyreumatic complexity.
Philippe's objective is to produce a refined, elegant and feminine wine where the fruit is set in honour. The Miecaze family's enthusiastic work enables the Château to create real jewels, recognised by their peers, such as the cuvée Château Léognan 2012, gold medal at Concours Général Agricole of Paris as well as at the contest of the Independant Wine Growers.
Satisfied about the success of their cuvées, the Miecaze family demonstrate their will to create a very special relation with their customers by welcoming those who wish at their restaurant Le Manège, settled in the old stables of the Château. And, if you wish, you can also rest in one of the four colourful rooms that the domain proposes, you will stroll in the shade of the hundred-year-old trees, among the vineyards, alongside the horse paddocks or beside the pond. A real oasis of calm near Bordeaux.
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