CHÂTEAU LOUDENNE

Vignobles et Découvertes. High environmental value. Bike-friendly. AB (organic farming). Open all year round. Marked trails, guided tours, tastings. On-site wine sales. Hiking and horse-riding trails nearby.

Château Loudenne, a historic wine estate in the Médoc, is one of the oldest in the region, with 350 years of history. The Loudenne site has been cultivating vines since the 9th century, and became a renowned wine estate in the 19th century thanks to the Gilbey brothers, British wine and spirits merchants. They transformed Loudenne into a world-renowned prestige brand by building an architectural complex including one of the first gravity-fed wineries, a commercial port, enlarging the château and restructuring the vineyard.

In 2022, Château Loudenne returned to its French roots when it was acquired by the Gouache family. The estate stands out for its in-house mottos "Terroir d'exception - Vins d'exception" and "Élégance des vins et Viticulture durable". Certified HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) level 3 in 2017 and Organic Agriculture in 2022, Loudenne is positioned as a modern experimental laboratory, integrating new technologies into cultivation methods, using autonomous electrical equipment, practicing integral parcel-based vinification and ageing in amphorae and ovoid vats, and planting new grape varieties.

Château Loudenne produces elegant, complex wines, with the flagship Loudenne Le Château, available in Red, White and Rosé. Since 1880, the estate has also produced a dry white wine that has become a benchmark in Bordeaux. Château Loudenne wines are recognized for their quality by critics and wine competitions.

Château Loudenne offers wine lovers a wide range of activities to discover this majestic vineyard and its wines with their distinctive character. From tours and tastings, to meals at the château and picnics, mini-cruises on the estuary aboard the flagship Loudenne II, the historical tour of the underground cellar and vineyard, eco-cottages and cycling routes, there are so many ways to succumb to the beauty of the place and discover this exceptional vineyard.

Just 14 km north of Château Loudenne, don't miss another of the Gouache family's jewels, Château Bellerive. This historic Médoc vineyard, established in 1925, is a privileged testimony to recognized expertise and an exceptional terroir. Classified as a Cru Bourgeois as early as 1932, the estate has been handed down through four generations, cementing its reputation for high quality and spreading its influence beyond the great châteaux further north.

Since September 2018, the Gouache family, passionate about wine, has taken over the reins of the estate. Sophie and Christophe Gouache's love of the land and the vines comes from their family heritage, fulfilling a childhood dream and an obvious return to their roots. The Ouroboros, symbol of eternal rebirth, infinite cycle, harmony and balance, is the coat of arms of Vignobles Loudenne Gouache and is also featured on the Château Bellerive label.

Château Bellerive offers free visits and tastings for individuals. Discover this family-run vineyard in the Nord Médoc, where the vines run along "the river", very close to the beaches of the Atlantic Coast and the small fishing ports on the Estuary. A stroll through the countryside will take you to Château Bellerive for a guided tour, where you'll be impressed by the innovative ovoid vats, which add a surreal touch to the freshness of the charming traditional barrel cellar.

Passionate director Guillaume Delsol and his team will share their love of the Médoc region with you, and talk about it in front of the emblematic vineyard plots, before tasting wines from the Médoc AOC vineyard. Elegant, subtle and sensual, but also distinctive and uncompromising, the wines of Vignobles Loudenne Gouache reveal the splendor of the Médoc and reflect the family's love of wine and the precision and excellence of the winemakers' work.

Château Bellerive also offers wine sales and picnics on the estate, as well as after-beach evenings in summer. For more information and to book your visit, visit their website: https://vignobles-gouache.com/ and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.