To say that Bordeaux is blessed when it comes to fine wine is no overstatement. Its terroir is unique, its climate is seemingly tailor-made for wine growing and its rich, storied history is proof that winemaking is God’s gift to the world. And yet there are some wines that, despite having all the credentials of excellence, remain under the wine lover’s radar.

Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion is one such wine. The Pessac-Leognan estate produces superb wines year after year, yet the vineyard remains almost forgotten. This is perhaps due its lack of classification (a crime in many oenologists eyes), but just because Larrivet Haut Brion lacks the pomp and ceremony of its illustrious neighbours (Haut Bailly, La Louviere and Smith Haut Lafitte to name just three), does not mean that investors should overlook this beauty.

The estate has not always been so discreet. Originally called Chateau La Rivette, owner Ernest Laurent decided to ramp things up a bit and changed the name to Château Haut-Brion Larrivet. This, understandably, caused some distress to the actual Château Haut-Brion, some 12 km north. Haut-Brion immediately filed a lawsuit, which would take decades to resolve, the result being that yes Haut-Brion Larrivet could use the moniker provided that the Haut-Brion was used at the end of the name, not the beginning. Thus La Rivette became Haut-Brion Larrivet which then became Larrivet Haut-Brion. Makes sense?

As anyone who has ever had to deal with justice knows, legal fees are extremely expensive, even in the 1950s (when the lawsuit was finally settled after 70 years). Thus parcels of terroir had been sold to pay for the spiralling costs, meaning that the 72-hectare estate was vastly reduced by the time the “troubles” had been settled. In fact, it would take until the 1940s when Jacques Guillemaud purchased Larrivet Haut Brion and began a lengthy replanting project, that the estate would begin to regain some of its former glory. Guillemaud’s vision was continued upon sale in 1987 to the current owners the Gervoson family (of Confitures Bonne Maman fame).

One of the major improvements that the Gervosons made was to bring in winemaker extraordinaire Michel Rolland. Rolland is of course an oenological superstar, well-known for his magic touch and tough love approach. These included hand harvesting late in the season to ensure optimum ripeness, purchasing a state of the art pneumatic winepress using inert gas, and introducing optical sorting of grapes. This is true for both the excellent white and the formidable red, both fine examples of their terroir. Growing methods remain conventional for now.