Château Rahoul: Vineyards
As noted in my brief history of the estate, Château Rahoul is located close to Portets, which sits on the banks of the Garonne. It is located just a few kilometres inside the Graves boundary, and not far at all from the border with Pessac-Léognan, which was carved out of the greater Graves vineyard in 1987.
The château itself is a rather understated affair, a simple manor house with associated outbuildings for the vinifications, and of course an expansive vineyard.
Today Château Rahoul boasts 40 hectares of vines, of which 35 hectares are red, led by Merlot at about two-thirds of the total. Most of what remains is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, although there is also a hectare or two of Petit Verdot. Despite the history of the estate, which seems more focused on white wines than red, and the modern-day renown it enjoys for the quality of its white wines, there are in fact just 5 hectares of white vines planted here. This, curiously enough, is a pattern repeated further north, where many of the leading properties of Pessac-Léognan known for their white wines have only a tiny area dedicated to white. Here at Rahoul the majority of the vineyard is planted to Semillon, with just a hectare or two for Sauvignon Blanc.
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