Château de Lauga

The estate

Lauga is a village of Cussac, and its growers run through the old books: Charles Cocks, whose Bordeaux, ses environs et ses vins of 1850 was the first edition of what became the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, has the widow Constantin making 8 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) there, and from 1893 Cocks and Édouard Féret count Lauga among the best quarters of the commune. In their edition of 1898 a holding at Lauga appears under the name Brun, at 5 tonneaux.

The Bruns were coopers as well as growers. Jean Brun, a cooper born in 1863, married Jeanne Chaigneau at Lauga, and the wine was sold first as Cru de Lauga, then as Château de Lauga. A later Jean Brun ran the estate after his father Charles and retired in 1987. That year the family land was divided: Jean-Pierre Brun made Château Grand Brun of his share, and his brother Christian took over Lauga in 1988. Since 2007 the 7th generation has worked beside him, and Charles Brun is the estate’s grower today.

The 13 hectares lie mostly on Garonne gravel on the rises 1 kilometer west of the Gironde, at Cussac-Fort-Médoc and Saint-Julien, planted 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère, 30 years old on average and farmed by reasoned methods. The harvest is always by hand, over 15 days. The wine spends 25 to 35 days on the skins and 12 months in barrel, 10% of it new, for about 39,000 bottles a year. A Cuvée Grand Père, made since 2002 with more Cabernet Sauvignon, ages in 30% new oak, and the family also makes Château La Fleur Lauga and its second wine in Saint-Julien. Lauga is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Haut-Médoc

Commune

Cussac-Fort-Médoc

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owners

The Brun family; Christian Brun since 1988; Charles Brun

Vineyard

13 hectares, at Cussac-Fort-Médoc and Saint-Julien; vines of 30 years on average

Ground

Garonne gravel

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 55%, Merlot 40%, Petit Verdot 3%, Cabernet Franc 1%, Carmenère 1%

Farming

Reasoned methods

Cellar

Picked by hand; 25 to 35 days on the skins; 12 months in barrel, 10% new

Production

About 39,000 bottles

Wines

Château de Lauga; Cuvée Grand Père; Château La Fleur Lauga and Petite Fleur, Saint-Julien

In history

Growers at Lauga listed from 1850; a Brun at Lauga, 5 tonneaux, in 1898

Sources: Château de Lauga · Château de Lauga, the history · Château de Lauga, the vineyard · Château de Lauga, the wines · Château Grand Brun, the history · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château de Lauga · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026