Château Lanessan Haut-Médoc 1967

Château Lanessan Haut-Médoc 1967

1. The estate

Château Lanessan is a Bordeaux estate in the Haut-Médoc appellation, located in the commune of Cussac-Fort-Médoc on the left bank of the Gironde. The estate borders the Saint-Julien region and is situated in the immediate vicinity of well-known estates such as Château Beychevelle and Château Branaire-Ducru.

The estate was acquired by Jean Delbos in 1793 and has been run by the Bouteiller family since 1907. In 2022, Treasury Wine Estates acquired a majority stake.

It is worth noting that Château Lanessan did not take part in the famous Bordeaux classification – the owner at the time considered the classification to be ‘bureaucratic nonsense’ and relied on the estate’s already established reputation. Instead, the estate was classified as a Cru Bourgeois (later Cru Bourgeois Supérieur). Despite this lack of a Grand Cru classification , Château Lanessan is regularly praised by connoisseurs such as Robert Parker as a wine estate that “produces wines that often come very close to the quality of classified growths”.

The vineyard covers 42 hectares of deep Garonne gravel soils. The grape varieties in the 1967 vintage consisted of 75 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Petit Verdot and other Bordeaux varieties.

2. The 1967 vintage

The 1967 vintage is now a wine over 55 years old – a remarkable age for a red wine from the Haut-Médoc. Wines of this age are rarely found in shops and are usually offered at auctions or by specialist retailers.

3. Tasting notes

The available tasting notes paint a predominantly positive picture of this mature wine:

In summary: The 1967 Lanessan displays a ruby-red colour with hardly any signs of ageing, indicating remarkable preservation. The nose offers earthy notes, tobacco, dried herbs and plum – classic Bordeaux aromas of a mature wine. On the palate, it is soft to medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins and a spicy, long finish.

4. Ratings

The ratings therefore fall within the ‘very good to excellent’range – a remarkable achievement for a Cru Bourgeois wine that is over 50 years old.

5. Price and availability

6. Drinking recommendation

The 1967 Château Lanessan has probably already passedits peak, but according to several sources still displays remarkable freshness and structure. Due to its age, the wine is now rarely available in shops and should be consumed immediately upon purchase.

Serving suggestion: Enjoy at 16 °C. Recommended food pairings:

• Râble de lièvre rôti (roast hare saddle)

• Carré de porc aux pommes (pork loin with apples)

• Epaule d’agneau braisé (braised leg of lamb)

7. Conclusion

The Château Lanessan Haut-Médoc 1967 is a characterful, mature Bordeaux wine from a traditional Cru Bourgeois estate. With ratings of around 90–93 points and notes describing an elegant nose, fleshy tannins and a spicy finish, it demonstrates that Lanessan rightly enjoys a reputation for producing wines of a standard close to Grand Cru quality.

For collectors and lovers of old Bordeaux wines, this vintage is an interesting and still reasonably priced example of the quality of an ‘underrated’ Classified Growth candidate. Availability is, however , very limited – anyone who finds a bottle should regard it as a rare treat.