L'Enclos de Carbonnieux Rouge 2020

The name Carbonnieux is said to come from a family called "Carbonius" or Carbonnieu who cultivated land near Léognan at the beginning of the 13th century. The name Ramon Carbonnieu, the owner of vines at Léognan in 1234, is indeed mentioned in the archives of Bordeaux. The medieval origins of the estate were confirmed by a deed of exchange dated April 2, 1292 signed by two monks from the powerful Sainte-Croix abbey in Bordeaux. In 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II and so Aquitaine became part of the kingdom of England and was called Guyenne. Trade flourished, wine sales multiplied and Bordeaux prospered until the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). After this long troubled period which resulted in shortages, ruined harvests and epidemics, the Benedictine monks were forced to give up their Carbonnieux vineyard.  

In 1519 after the difficulties of the Hundred Years War, the Benedictine monks from Sainte Croix sold the Carbonnieux land to a nobleman Jean de Ferron. As the new Lord of Carbonnieux, he started a land purchase and consolidation policy which continued under his successors for 250 years to grow and improve the estate. Formally a fortified farm, the Ferron noble house gradually became the great domain that it is today with its inner courtyard, high towers, outhouses, cropland and great vineyard. During the reign of Louis XIV, after several Ferron generations, Carbonnieux reached its first peak.

Fast forward to the modern day era, in 1956 Marc Perrin bought the estate, set to work on the renovation of the château and its vineyard. With the help of his son Antony, he first started a significant replanting campaign that took the estate to 45 hectares in 1970 then to 70 hectares in 1980, to reach almost 95 hectares today. When his father passed away, Antony took over, he built a new fermentation cellar and modernized the cellars to adapt to new vinification methods. He continued the restoration of the château and the vineyards and focused on increasing the fame of Carbonnieux and Bordeaux wines throughout the world. He was president of the “Union of Grands Crus de Bordeaux”, president of the “Crus Classés de Graves” as well as being one of the forerunners of the Pessac-Léognan appellation, created in 1987.

Over the years Antony Perrin passed on the family winemaking heritage and his skills to his children Eric, Christine and Philibert Perrin. We met Eric at this historic estate in 2024 and he was such a fine gentleman, dedicated to the quality of his family's wines, and to teaching us about their methods. Today the torch has been passed on to Eric and his siblings, and once again the estate has reached a peak. In the footsteps of their father, Eric held the office of president of the "crus classés de Graves" between 2012 and 2015 and since 2017, Philibert has been that of president of the Pessac-Léognan appellation. In 2019, The family has grown, Eric's eldest sons join the work teams. Marc for a commercial part and Andréa as an oenologist in charge of the winemaking.   

Carbonnieux also performs Environmentally-Friendly Farming Adapted To Each Plot and has HEV (High Environmental Value) certification. A quarter of the vineyard follows an ORGANIC program, the rest is cultivated in SUSTAINABLE agriculture (chemical insecticides, weed-killers and acaricides are banned and replaced by environmentally-friendly methods that respect biodiversity and allow the vine plant to stimulate its own natural defenses - BIOCONTROL method). Moreover, Château Carbonnieux is a member of the first, ISO 14001 certified, EMS (Environmental Management System) Association of Bordeaux wine.

'L'Enclos de Carbonnieux' is named for a series of stone walled vineyard plots around Château Carbonnieux dating back to the 15th century. This cuvée pays tribute to the estate's long tradition of winegrowing and is made from special lots of this estate in Pessac-Léognan.

A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon 55% and 45% Merlot planted o deep gravel soils on slopes and clay-limestone. 100% handpicked grapes. Fermentation and aging take place in barrels or foudre, and the wine is aged 9 months with stirring of the lees - 25% new wood.