Chateau Haut Brisson St. Emilion Bordeaux, Complete Guide

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

Chateau Haut Brisson History, Overview

Chateau Haut Brisson, was located solely in the Vignonet sector of Saint Emilion, not far from Chateau Monbousquet and Chateau Teyssier after the estate was bought in 1997 by Peter Kwok.

Following the initial purchase, the new owner wanted to discover how far he could push the quality envelop for his Right Bank chateau. Before he could do that, Peter Kwok began purchasing additional parcels of land and increasing the size of their vineyards.

When Peter Kwok made the original purchase, the estate was only 8 hectares. Through additional purchases, today, Chateau Haut Brisson been able to vastly increase the size of its vineyards.

The next change took place when Peter Kwok bought the estate of Chateau Tourans. Once that sale was completed, the 12.6-hectare vineyard was divided into both of their Saint Emilion vineyards, 8 hectares was added to Tour Saint Christophe.

The remaining vines were placed into Haut Brisson. All the winemaking and barrel-aging was moved to Chateau Tourans. Today, most of the vines used for Haut Brisson come from their new parcels located in the cooler, clay-rich terroir found in the commune of St. Etienne de Lisse.

Starting with the 2005 vintage at Haut Brisson, they introduced the small production wine, Haut Brisson La Reserve. This higher-end Cuvee was made from a selection of their best parcels and the finest parcels from their vineyards. The wine was aged in 100% new, French oak barrels. On average, 400 cases were made each year. However, La Reserve Haut Brisson is no longer being produced.

The best vintages of Chateau Haut Brisson are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2010, 2009 and 2005.

In September 2019, during the harvest season, Chateau Haut Brisson was purchased by Stephane Schinazi. The team of Haut Brisson, managed by Howard Kwok agreed to oversee all the operations of the vineyard for a 5 year period.

Chateau Haut Brisson Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 17.94-hectare vineyards of Haut Brisson are planted to 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The terroir is gravel and sand soils. The vines are close to 30 years of age.

Starting with the 2012 vintage, Chateau Haut Brisson Reserve began to use micro vinification techniques for a portion of the harvest, close to 35% of the crop for Haut Brisson is produced using Micro vinification, which consists of vinifying a portion of the wine in 225-liter barrels.

Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels. The wine is then aged for four months on its post-malo lees before being placed in 100% new, French oak barrels for an additional 12 to 15 months.

Haut Brisson Reserve is also made from an average of 98% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, which is a completely different blend than the standard Cuvee. Production of Haut Brisson La Reserve ranged from 400 to 600 cases per vintage.

In 2015, the chateau made a decision to take Haut Brisson in a new direction when they made the right decision and stopped producing their reserve wine. All the top grapes are now placed into Chateau Haut Brisson.

The amount of new French oak barrels used in the aging process has been reduced to an average of 30%, adding more freshness and less of an overt oak presence. Both these steps really pushed the wine in a positive direction. Having just tasted several vintages, for my palate, the 2015 and 2016 Haut Brisson vintages are clearly the best wines the estate has ever produced!

There is a second wine, Haut Brisson La Grave. Haut Brisson was certified organic in 2010. They are now farming more of their estate using biodynamic farming techniques. Michel Rolland is the consultant and Jean-Christophe Meyrou is the director. Production of Chateau Haut Brisson is on average 7,000 cases of wine per vintage.

When to Drink Chateau Haut Brisson, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Haut Brisson can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-2 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Haut Brisson is usually better with at least 4-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Haut Brisson offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 5-15 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Haut Brisson with Wine and Food Pairings

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

Chateau Haut Brisson is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Haut Brisson is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

Today, Chateau Haut Brisson is managed by the daughter of Peter Kwok, Elaine Kwok. In 2012, Peter Kwok added to their holdings in the Right Bank of Bordeaux when he purchased Chateau La Patache in Pomerol. He retained La Patache and created a new wine from his best terroir in Pomerol that is sold under the name of Enclos Tourmaline.

The purchase in Pomerol was much to the chagrin of other established owners in that sector, as they were hoping to buy the land as well.

That purchase was closely followed by another acquisition when Peter Kwok bought a vineyard located in the eastern portion of Saint Emilion, Tour Saint Christophe, which was followed by another vineyard acquisition, Chateau Berliquet. Peter Kwok also owns Enclos de Viaud in the Lalande de Pomerol appellation.

http://www.vignoblesk.com