Château la Louvière

This château has a very ancient history.
One of the old registers kept by the English administration (“Gascon Calendars”), dating from 1310, at a time when Aquitaine was under English rule, already testifies to the existence of “La Lobeyra” (La Louvière) and its vineyard. The first owner known in the annals was apparently a certain Guilhem de La Louvière, a true local despot, responsible for collecting taxes.
Another, Robert de Guilloche, was in 1470 councillor to the king at the Parlement de Bordeaux.
At the end of the 15th century, this same family counted among its members a poet, Jehan de Guilloche, brother of Raymond, lord of La Louvière. Fallen into oblivion, this Gascon poet, close to King Charles VIII, was the first to use the French language in his verse, in a Guyenne where the Gascon language reigned supreme. The modern vineyard, as we know it today, gradually came into being between 1510 and 1550, thanks to the dynamism and farsightedness of two men, Pierre de Guilloche and his son Jehan, who embarked on major land operations. In 1572, during the Bordeaux St Bartholomew’s massacre, Me Jehan de Guilloche, councillor at the parlement of Bordeaux, then belonging to the Reformed religion, was murdered by the henchmen of the Sieur de Montferrand, then governor of the city. His heiress, Jeanne de Guilloche, became lady of Roquetaillade.
In 1618, the noble house of La Louvière was sold to messire Arnaud de Gascq, commendatory abbot of the abbey of Saint-Ferme. In 1620, he gave it to the Chartreuse of Bordeaux. The Carthusian monks, methodical and organised, ensured excellent management of the La Louvière estate and lavished the best care on the wines produced on this terroir. From the 17th century, the wines of La Louvière were much prized by Picard, English and Flemish merchants. Each year, several dozen barrels of red wine were thus shipped on vessels bound for England. The whites were exported to northern Europe and as far as Canada. The Carthusians kept the estate until the Revolution.
Sold as national property, the estate was acquired on 4 March 1791 for 228,000 livres by J.-B. Mareilhac, who was mayor of Bordeaux and head of one of the most important houses of Bordeaux high commerce. He had the present château built to the plans of the famous Parisian architect François Lhote (1750-1808). To decorate the large rotunda salon, he called on the talent of the no less famous Flemish master François-Louis Lonsing. The latter died at La Louvière, before completing his work, in 1799.
Sold in 1843 to François Sarlande, La Louvière was bought back in 1851 by Bélus Mareilhac, who made it a splendid vineyard. Bought in 1901 by Edmond Labasse, the estate passed in 1911 into the hands of Alfred Bertrand-Taquet, shareholder of the “Revue Vinicole” and for many years mayor of Léognan.
In 1965, André Lurton, from an old family of winegrowers who own many crus in the Bordeaux region, bought La Louvière. In 1987, he was one of the founding fathers of the Pessac-Léognan appellation.
Today, the property extends over 68 hectares of land, of which 61 are devoted to vines.
The vineyard, bordering Carbonnieux and Haut-Bailly, lies on a varied soil, made up mostly of deep gravel. In places, at the bottom of the slopes, towards the Eau Blanche stream, outcrops of russet sand and even a little limestone are found. The white wines of Sémillon and Sauvignon (the latter at 85%) are dry, lively, elegant and fruity. One recognises in them the great wine of the Pessac-Léognan A.O.C.
The red wines, from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, are full-bodied, firm and rich in bouquet. Charm and finesse combine with their power, qualities that develop with age.
Over a century, this cru has won very many gold medals, fair rewards for its qualities. The first in 1869, with Alfred Mareilhac, for the upkeep of his vineyard. Since 1967, its wines have very regularly been medalled at the Concours général agricole in Paris and other competitions. The magnificent site of La Louvière is admired by visitors, and its beauty earned it a listing in 1946 on the inventory of Historic Sites and Monuments. The château and outbuildings were listed as Historic Monuments in 1991. Château La Louvière is a member of the Académie du vin de Bordeaux and the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux.