Château Brown: Vineyards
Château Brown is located on the boundaries of the communes of Gradignan, Villenave-d’Ornon and Léognan on the very edge of the city of Bordeaux. Its nearest neighbour is directly to the south, this being Château Olivier, and beyond that is the town of Léognan itself. A number of other near neighbours, just to the south-east, include Château Carbonnieux, Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion and Château La Louvière. Although largely surrounded by the suburbs of Léognan and Villenave d’Ornon, there is also a significant enclave of woodland to the west of the estate, one which also extends around the neighbouring vineyard of Château Olivier.
The estate covers 61 hectares, and today there are approximately 31 hectares dedicated to vines, an additional 5 hectares having been established since I first first visited the estate back in 2007 (when Jean-Christophe had 26 hectares to his name). The most significant developments included the acquisition of 11 hectares of the aforementioned woodland that lies to the west of the vineyard, on the back of an analysis undertaken there by the internationally renowned soil expert Claude Bourguignon. Jean-Christophe Mau owns a large amount of fallow land around the vineyard that could be more easily planted, without the need to uproot any trees, but it is quality of the terroir rather than ease of planting that is his prime concern.
