Château Prieuré-Lichine

The château

The estate grew around a religious house of the Romanesque period, and the priory gave it its first name. William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, printed it that year as Le Prieur, under Durand, at 25 to 30 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) and with no rank. By his edition of 1845 the name had settled as Le Prieuré and Pagès had succeeded Durand, and in 1853 Franck made it a fourth growth, recording the succession in the line itself: Pagès, ci-devant Durand, au Prieuré. The brokers confirmed the rank in 1855. The priory once had vines beyond its own walls, too: those of Château Lagurgue belonged to it until they were detached in 1791.

The modern estate carries the name of Alexis Lichine, the merchant and wine writer known as the Pope of Wine, and it was under the Lichines, in the 1960s, that it began to receive visitors. His son Sacha sold it to the Ballande group on June 9, 1999. Étienne Charrier has been technical director since 2009, with Stéphane Derenoncourt consulting, and a new vat house built in 2013 made it possible to work plot by plot.

The estate covers 85 hectares, 77.5 of them planted, on Günz gravel laid down by the Garonne, and the vines are not in one block but spread across the 5 communes of the appellation: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Confidences de Prieuré-Lichine is the second wine. There is also a white, Le Blanc du Château Prieuré-Lichine, from 2.02 hectares in Arsac and Cantenac, 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, about 3,000 bottles; it is sold as Bordeaux, since the Margaux appellation is for red wine only.

At a glance

Appellation

Margaux

Classification

Quatrième Cru Classé 1855

Owner

The Ballande group, since June 9, 1999

Direction

Étienne Charrier, technical director, since 2009

Consultant

Stéphane Derenoncourt

Vineyard

85 hectares, 77.5 of them planted, across the 5 communes of the appellation

Soil

Günz gravel of the Garonne Terroir of Margaux →

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 45%, Petit Verdot 5%

Cellar

Vat house of 2013, plot by plot

Wines

Château Prieuré-Lichine; Confidences de Prieuré-Lichine; Le Blanc du Château Prieuré-Lichine, Bordeaux

In history

Le Prieur for Franck in 1824, Le Prieuré in 1845, a fourth growth in 1853