Chateau Brown Pessac Leognan Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Brown Pessac Leognan with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, and information on vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Brown History, Overview

The history of Chateau Brown dates back almost 1,000 years! Vines were first planted at this location around 1200 BC! The estate takes its name from one of its earlier owners, John Lewis Brown, who moved to Bordeaux from Scotland during the later part of the 18th century. John Lewis Brown also owned Chateau Cantenac Brown in the Margaux appellation.

However, the modern age for Chateau Brown starts in 1939, when it was purchased by Andre Bonnel. The estate stopped producing wine at some point during the 1950s and the vineyards fell into a dilapidated state. Chateau Brown was sold to Jean-Christophe Mau in 2004.

The Mau family were well established in Bordeaux as the owners of a large Bordeaux wine negociant firm. They also owned Chateau Preuillac in the Medoc appellation until late 2014.

Within a few years of purchasing Chateau Brown, the family sold their interests in the negociant company and focused their efforts on improving the Bordeaux wine produced by Chateau Brown and their other estates. To aid in this effort, the family hired the famed wine consultant, Stephane Derenoncourt.

In 2018, Chateau Brown earned their HVE (High Environmental Certification), due to its extensive commitment to green farming. To coincide with this, they also updated their label design. To celebrate this, the estate updated its labels with a new design, starting with the 2016 vintage.

Chateau Brown Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The terroir at Chateau Brown is gravel-based, with some clay, sandstone, and iron deposits in the soil. In addition to the vineyards, Chateau Brown has 30 hectares devoted to trees, parkland, beehives, and gardens creating a bio-diverse environment.

The 31-hectare vineyard of Chateau Brown has 26 hectares planted to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot for the production of red wine. This shows more Merlot in the vineyards and less Cabernet.

Chateau Brown maintains 5 hectares of white Bordeaux wine grape varietals which are planted to 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon.

The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 7,400 vines per hectare. This is a higher level of density than in the past. This was achieved after complete replanting that began in 1994 and was completed in late 2019.

This not only increased the vine density but also changed the direction of many of the vineyard rows to a north to south direction. This will allow for better ripeness and more concentration. The vines are on average, 20 years of age. At its peak, the vineyard rises to 23 meters of elevation.

To produce the red wine of Chateau Brown, vinification takes place in large, 100-hectoliter, temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and aged in 33% to 40% new, French oak barrels for between 12 and 16 months, depending on the style and character of the vintage.

To produce the white Bordeaux wine of Chateau Brown, fermentation takes place in smaller, 50 hectoliter, stainless steel vats. The white wines are aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 8 months.

There is a second wine which is sold under two different names, for both the red and white wine of Chateau Brown; Le Colombier de Brown and La Pommeraie de Brown. On average, Chateau Brown produces close to 5,000 cases of red Bordeaux wine per vintage from their Pessac Leognan estate and less than 300 cases of white wine per year.

The Best Vintages of Chateau Brown are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2005. However, it is important to keep in mind that in some vintages, the red wines are going to be much better than the white wines. There are also years when the white wines are superior to the red wines.

When to Drink Chateau Brown, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Brown can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-2 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Brown is usually better with at least 5-8 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Brown offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 9-20 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Brown, with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Brown is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

The red wine of Chateau Brown is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Brown is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

The white wine of Chateau Brown is a perfect wine to serve with shellfish, sashimi, sushi, all types of seafood, chicken, veal, and cheese.

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