Château Lacombe

Château Lacombe is located at the top of the magnificent Gornac rise, at an altitude of 100 metres, where windmills were built in 1550, still in perfect condition today.
The first mention of a vineyard on this site dates from the 17th century. A deed of 13 March 1638 attests to it: Monseigneur Jean-Louis de La Valette was then its owner.
It was acquired in 1826 by M. Jacques Mares, owner of the Moulin Saint Hubert in the same parish, of château de Lage and of an important tile works. This factory supplied the bricks for the Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux.
M. Jean-Hubert Laville, the present owner, is a descendant of M. Jacques Mares.
He spares no effort to constantly improve the quality of château Lacombe. Driven by his skills and his passion for wine, Benoît Laville took over the management of the operating company Vignobles Laville in 2009.
Here, nature has given birth to an exceptional wine terroir. Indeed, we are dealing with clay-limestone soils, the rendzinas. Asteries limestone forms the subsoil. An old quarry adjoins the vineyard. These soils are very free-draining. This Gornac hill is a geological exception of the region.
Vinification is traditional with long maceration and perfect temperature control; ageing takes place in oak merrain barrels, for 18 to 24 months depending on the vintage, for the red.
For the white, perfect and controlled ripeness is essential to give birth to this exceptional growth. After gentle pressing, fermentation and ageing take place in new merrain barrels in a temperature-controlled cellar.
Part of the white Haut-Benauge A.O.C. is sold under the name “Piche Biste”, the Little Breeches of château Lacombe; these are plots producing very particular whites of great class.
In 2005, M. Jean-Hubert Laville created the cuvée Gabrielle de Château Lacombe in homage to his great-great-great-grandmother. Ten years of work were needed for him to recreate this fabulous wine, which she once described to her husband. Four years are needed to produce it. The volume produced can only be confidential.