Chateau Brown Blanc (Futures Pre-Sale) 2011

Chateau Brown, as its name suggests, bears testimony to the close links that have always existed between the Bordeaux region and the Anglo-Saxons. Founded in the late Middle Ages when Aquitaine belonged to England, Chateau Brown owes its name to the wealthy Scottish wine trader John Lewis Brown, who settled in Bordeaux in the late 18th century. An enthusiast of wines and art, this epicurean passed on not only his name but also his passions to his grandson, the animal painter John Lewis Brown.

The owners came and went at Chateau Brown over the centuries and the estate alternated between glory and neglect. It was not until the late 20th century that the estate was fully restored to its former eminent position under the impulse of Bernard Barthe, the master of the chateau for the last decade.

In December 2004, he decided to place his “life’s work” in the hands of a famous dynasty of wine traders who had been at the forefront of winegrowing in Bordeaux since 1897: the Mau family, in partnership with the Dutch Dirkzwager family. When you discover the gently-sloping vineyard, its thousand-year-old history and its majestic building in which the finest paintings by J. L. Brown are still kept, you can understand the passion that Chateau Brown arouses in Jean-Christophe Mau, the current manager. He devotes himself fully to the estate, backed up by the experience of his elders and his convictions as a young winegrower, but also borne by a deep fascination for this place with its exceptional past.