Château Haut Couloumey

The château

Pascal Sallenave was a young graduate working in the vines of a Médoc estate when he decided, in 1998, to start his own; the first vintage bottled at the property was the 2003. The estate takes its name from Le Couloumey, the lieu-dit at Lesparre-Médoc where the cellar stands and the first vines were planted, and the place has a past as an artisan’s land: in their edition of 1922 of Bordeaux et ses vins, the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret list Au Couloumey, clos de Luzan, under J. Bariac, among the crus artisans and paysans of Lesparre.

Haut Couloumey now covers about 14 hectares, 10 on land he owns and 4 rented, on sand and fine gravel with grass in every row, planted 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc at 5,000 vines a hectare, 15 years old on average. The wine is raised in small stainless steel tanks so that each parcel can be judged apart. Two cuvées complete the range, Méline and Manon, and Manon, made only in some years, ages in new oak barrels. The estate is a Cru Artisan du Médoc in the classification for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Médoc

Commune

Lesparre-Médoc, at Le Couloumey

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owner

Pascal Sallenave, since 1998

Vineyard

About 14 hectares, 4 of them rented; 5,000 vines a hectare; vines 15 years old on average

Soil

Sand and fine gravel Terroir of Médoc →

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Cabernet Franc 5%

Cellar

Small stainless steel tanks, parcel by parcel; Cuvée Manon in new oak

Wines

Château Haut Couloumey; Cuvée Méline; Cuvée Manon

In history

Au Couloumey, a cru artisan of Lesparre, in 1922