The historic property of Château Prieuré-Lichine once belonged to a monastery. When the "wine pope" Alexis Lichine acquired the château, it was given its current name and presents its wine as classic Margaux.
The foundations of Château Prieuré-Lichine, which has since been renamed Château de Clairefontaine, date back to a foundation by monks from Vertheuil Abbey. The monks founded the priory of Cantenac in the 10th century and met their need for mass wine there. Thanks to the support of Pope Clémens V, who came from Bordeaux, viticulture flourished in the 13th century. The first documented mention of Prieuré wines dates back to 1444 and the estate was awarded the rank of 4ème Grand Cru Classé de Margaux in the classification of Bordeaux vineyards in 1855. After a rather difficult period, Alexis Lichine acquired the estate in 1951. Due to his knowledge, success and power, the Russian-American wine merchant was known as the wine pope at the time and wrote a standard work on viticulture in France, "The Wines and Vineyards of France". His son Sacha was not quite so successful and had to sell the winery to the Ballande Group in 1999. However, he was able to use the rest of the proceeds to get off to a flying start in Provence with rosé from Château d'Esclans. Justin Onclin, Etienne Charrier and consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt have since put the estate back on the right track. Today, the quality of the wines is much more likely to be considered a 3ème Grand Cru Classé than a 4ème.
One of the contributing factors was the acquisition of Château Pontet-Chappaz in 2012 and the integration of the excellent vineyards. Today, Prieuré-Lichine is the only wine estate in the Margaux appellation that owns vineyards in all five communes belonging to Margaux. In total, there are 70 hectares with around 50 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 45 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot, most of which were planted in the 1960s. The wine has been vinified in a new cellar since 2013, where the first optical sorting machine in Margaux was installed. The wine is matured in tulip-shaped cement fermenters of 80 to 120 hectolitres and is stored half in new barriques and half in one-year-old barriques.
photos: Château Prieure Lichine
