Château Couhins-Lurton: Tasting & Drinking
Both Château Couhins and Château Couhins-Lurton have maintained a lower profile than other châteaux in the Pessac-Léognan appellation and looking at their recent histories it is not hard to see why. This seems especially true of Château Couhins-Lurton which, although it has been producing a white wine for several decades, only began producing a red wine in 2002. It has seen a huge expansion in this activity, the red vineyard expanding from nothing to 19 hectares within a decade or two.
Despite this huge shift towards red wine, it does seem to be the white wines of both Château Couhins and Château Couhins-Lurton that have gained most traction, perhaps because the style is rare in Bordeaux today, whereas the red wines operate in a much more competitive field. We all notice a ‘new’ classed growth white in Pessac-Léognan more readily than the we would a red, the region frequently overlooked in this regard.
In my experience the white wines here are superior to the reds, although this may change given time, after all the red vines are still youthful, and there is no shortage of winemaking expertise here to take advantage of whatever quality the vines and terroir may yield. Certainly I asked myself, after a first meeting with the 2006 vintage in white in Bordeaux (quite a few years ago now – how time flies!), why the wines weren’t better known. Subsequent vintages have also shown promise. This is despite these wines being 100% Sauvignon Blanc, the vineyard being devoid of Semillon. I also find, when tasted side by side, I have a preference for the wines of Château Couhins-Lurton over Château Couhins, although it is usually a fairly close match to be honest.
Instead of worrying about subtle differences in style and quality, however, perhaps it is more important to recognise that we have here a long-recognised cru classé château which, despite division and abandonment, has been rescued by the Lurton family. They deserve credit for what they have achieved. The wines are certainly noteworthy. Recent strong vintages in red include 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015 and perhaps surprisingly 2014. In white, 2023, 2021 and 2016, 2015 and 2014 are particularly strong, but other vintages have also given us good wines. I am also a fan of the recently introduced Acte II cuvées. As this project develops, and as the red vineyard matures and the hard work continues, I expect we will see progressively more interesting wines coming out of the Couhins-Lurton cellars. (21/5/15, updated 7/9/22, 22/2/25)
