Château Carbonnieux: Vineyards
Located just ten miles from Bordeaux near the Garonne, the vineyards at Château Carbonnieux are situated on a rise in the land, on gravel-rich soils typical of the area. The château and other buildings sit on the side of the avenue de Ferron, an appropriate homage to this family’s two hundred years at the helm of this estate. The road is a continuation of the route de Cadaujac that proceeds north and east out of Léognan, and thus Carbonnieux has many significant neighbours here. They include Château La Louvière, Château Haut-Bailly and Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion to the south, back along the road, and Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte to the south-east, beyond the trees.
The vineyards today cover about 92 hectares of land, the largest vineyard of all the Graves estates classified in the 1950s. The aforementioned gravel croupe is part of the same seam of gravel that runs beneath La Louvière and Haut-Bailly. The château sits at the centre of the croupe, the gravel slopes beneath terminating in sandy soils with exposure of the limestone bedrock in places.
Château Carbonnieux produces both red and white cuvées under the Pessac-Léognan appellation, and is classified for both. The area under vine is divided roughly equally between white and red varieties, although in recent years the latter has come to dominate slightly with about 50 hectares, leaving 42 hectares for the white. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the reds, accounting for 60% of these varieties, and its plantings are concentrated around the château, and just to the south, on the heart of the gravel croupe. Merlot accounts for 30% of the red vineyard, and is more peripheral, where the soils tend towards sand and clay.
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