Château de La Ligne is located in Lignan de Bordeaux, a village of 700 inhabitants on what is locally known as the “right bank” of Bordeaux. In the heart of the Bordeaux & Entre Deux Mers appellations, Lignan lies 16km east-southeast of Bordeaux towards the medieval town of St Emilion and on the famous pilgrim route to Compostella.

It is said that wine is the image of its maker, and nothing has been left to chance in the revival of Château de La Ligne. The current high density level of 6,100 vines per hectare in the vineyard is well above the district average of 4,100 and approaching the average plantation density of 8,700 for Bordeaux classified growths. This high density planting creates beneficial competition between the vines so that the root system goes deep in the soil to find nourishment and protection from adverse climatic conditions. High trellising ensures ideal leaf coverage and the necessary photosynthesis which will create the complex range of natural components including sugar for alcohol, polysaccharides for aromas and texture, anthocyanes for tannins and colour. The choice of grape variety, although classic for the region, was combined with an astute selection of low producing root stock adapted to the clay & gravel soil of the vineyard. Merlot provides elegance and texture, Cabernet Sauvignon provides structure and Cabernet Franc an additional touch of complexity to our wine. The first vintage of Château de La Ligne’s new era was produced in 2002 when a month of ideal weather preceding an extremely selective harvest allowed Château de La Ligne to obtain optimum quality for its wine that year.

Mr Terry Cross has employed the expertise of viticultural and agronomical advisors to revive the vineyard of Château de La Ligne in order to produce a wine of optimum quality. Today, Mr Gilles Pauquet and Mr Stephan Toutoundji, consultant winemakers to Château Cheval Blanc (le Grand Cru Classe in Saint-Emilion) are the consultant oenologists to Château de la Ligne and are developing the necessary modern winemaking facilities and barrel cellar to accommodate the future production from the 11 hectare vineyard and also from the planned expansion to 25 hectares through land acquisition.

From its dominant position on a south-facing ridge, our vineyard’s soil boasts an ideal mixture of gravel and clay on the higher parcels that gently lean downwards into a combination of clay and limestone, terminating with a little area of sand, gravel and clay lower eastern portion. In addition, the vineyard’s north-south orientation maximises the benefits of sun exposure. The stately Renaissance chateau is surrounded by this picturesque vineyard which is discerningly planted with the traditional red grape varieties of Bordeaux Merlot (60%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) optimising the alliance with a diverse soil structure and hygrometry to obtain a balance of fruit concentration, exuberance, structure and finesse.

This combination of soil, meticulous vineyard management and modern vinification techniques associated with approximately 10 months’ barrel ageing in carefully selected French and American oak, produces a classic, yet smooth, red Bordeaux, “fruit of the vines and work of human hands”.