The history of the property begins in the 17th century, making it one of the oldest vineyards in the Graves region.
At that time, it consisted of two old wine estates: the Domaine de la Gravette and the Domaine du Pont de Langon, which would soon become one to give birth to Château Couhins.
The rise to power: 1760-1880
In 1883, the estate fell to a well-known Bordeaux merchant, Constantin Hanappier, before integrating, through marriages and inheritances, the wine heritage of the Gasqueton family, already owner of the Châteaux Calon Ségur and Capbern Gasqueton in Saint Estèphe. Under the wise leadership of Edouard Gasqueton, the estate imposed the image of an exceptional vintage that extends over 60 hectares.
The consecration:
In the 1950s, at the request of the Graves Appellation Defense Union, the National Institute of Appellations of Origin (INAO) decided to establish a classification of the best vintages of the appellation.
At that time, the property's reputation was at its peak and the price of a barrel was regularly around 60,000 francs, thus placing the estate in the leading group of Graves Classified Growths.
This is how, during the 1959 classification, established on the basis of the notes of Bordeaux brokers, Château Couhins was promoted to Grand Cru Classé of Graves.
Uncertainty & Twist:
Interrupting this period of improvement, the death of Edouard Gasqueton in 1962 initiated a period of difficulties within a Bordeaux vineyard weakened by the terrible frosts of February 1956, then by the great heat of 1959 and 1961. In this context, his heirs had to make painful economic choices. They put the entire property up for sale in 1968. INRAE* became the purchaser but sold 1.5 ha of white vines to Mr Lurton, authorizing him to use the Couhins-Lurton brand.
Thanks to INRAE, the château, a Grand Cru Classé of Graves, was saved from extinction at the last minute.
Of the dozens of hectares that made up the vineyard a few decades earlier, only 4 hectares of vines remain.
*National Institute for Agricultural, Food and Environmental Research.
The Renaissance: 1968 to the present day
The acquisition by INRAE of a property such as Château Couhins was aimed at satisfying the needs expressed by all the departments of the Bordeaux research center, to have experimental sites close to the research laboratories. The planned tests will focus not only on vines (viticulture, agronomy, pathology, zoology, physiology and bioclimatology) but also on fruit trees (hazelnuts, plums, peaches, apples) and annual plants (corn, potatoes, fodder).
In the years that followed, INRAE restructured the vineyard by redesigning the plots and rehabilitating the drainage network: 4 km of ditches, 6 km of paths and alleys, 30 ha of drained land to ensure perfect drainage of rainwater and thus allow the vines to root well.
A rigorous and detailed soil map was produced with a 50 m mesh by the best specialists to understand and understand the diversity of the soils, essential for replanting choices.
The cellars and operating buildings were built in 1981, completed in 2010 by a magnificent barrel cellar and a vast space dedicated to reception, marking the renewal of Château Couhins and its desire to open up to the outside world.
When he took over the management of the property in April 1999, Dominique Forget imposed an avant-garde vision on the absolute necessity of developing precise, sustainable viticulture that respects people and the environment. He can rely on a recent production tool with a technical team of 8 competent people and on the other hand on the proximity of researchers specializing in vine agronomy, ecophysiology, integrated protection but also on the knowledge of the Faculty of Oenology of Bordeaux and Denis Dubourdieu's team in particular. He will take advantage of this unique scientific environment by applying and adapting, with his common sense, the fruit of their research to the service of the Couhins vineyard and its wines while respecting his environmental and moral convictions. This work is summed up by the precision during decision-making and their implementation at each stage of the management of the vineyard and the work in the cellar. To do this, Dominique observes, measures and records to build databases that are continually enriched and completed over time at the plot scale and often at the vine scale: yield, weight of bunches, weight of pruning wood, weight of berries, phenology, vigor maps, composition of grapes, juices and then wines, etc.
