Château La Mission Haut-Brion: Vineyards
The vineyards of Château La Mission Haut-Brion are partly located in Pessac, the most northerly part of the Graves commune, and partly in Talence. They lie just across the road from the vines of Château Haut-Brion, and are surrounded by the suburban streets of Bordeaux. Other than this other estate, there are no neighbours which could give us a bearing on the terroir here. The nearest are probably Pique-Caillou, Pape-Clément, each approximately a kilometre away to the northwest and to the west, respectively, and of course Les Carmes Haut-Brion, which lies a little closer.
The vineyards may be divided by the boundary between Pessac and Talence, but they are also bisected by the railway line which runs out of the Gare de Bordeaux Saint Jean, close to the banks of the Garonne. Underfoot is the classic Günzian gravel of Bordeaux, although whereas many domaines laying claim to a Günzian terroir in fact have vineyards filled to the brim with river gravel from the Würmian and Rissian interglacial periods, here at Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion when they say Günzian, they really mean Günzian. Professor Enjalbert, who so effusively promulgated the benefits of this gravel, would be content.
