thumb|right|Château Haut-Brion
Château Haut-Brion () is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, rated a Premier Grand Cru Classé (First Growth), located in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of the wine-growing region of Graves. Of the five first growths, it is the only wine with the Pessac-Léognan appellation and is in some sense the ancestor of a classification that remains the benchmark to this day.
In addition to the grand vin (LWIN 1011247), Haut-Brion produces a red second wine. Formerly named Château Bahans Haut-Brion, beginning with the 2007 vintage, it was renamed Le Clarence de Haut Brion (LWIN 1008153). The vineyard also produces a dry white wine named Château Haut-Brion Blanc (LWIN 1017092), with a limited release of the second dry white wine, Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion, renamed La Clarté de Haut-Brion for the 2008 vintage.
History
Although grapes are thought to have been grown on the property since Roman times, the earliest document indicating cultivation of a parcel of land dates from 1423. The property was bought by Jean de Ségur in 1509, and in 1525 was owned by Admiral Philippe de Chabot.
The estate Château Haut-Brion dates back to April 1525, when Jean de Pontac married Jeanne de Bellon, the daughter of the mayor of Libourne and seigneur of Hault-Brion.Her dowry was a portion of the Haut-Brion land. In 1533, Pontac acquired the manorial rights from Jean Duhalde, a Basque merchant. He expanded and renovated the estate, turning it into what it is today, the ancestor of the Bordeaux Grands Crus.
In 1649, Lord Arnaud III de Pontac became owner of Haut-Brion, and the wine's growing popularity began in earnest. The first records of Haut-Brion wine were found in the wine cellar ledger of the English King Charles II in 1660. During the years 1660 and 1661, 169 bottles of the "wine of Hobriono" were served at the king's court. Charles Ludington states: "The re-establishment of a royal court and of court culture generally required an increase in luxury goods. This demand inspired Pontac to launch the prototype of top-growth claret in London. The wine was called Haut-Brion, after the name of the estate from which it came."
Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary, having tasted the wine at Royal Oak Tavern on April 10, 1663, that he had "[drunk] a sort of French wine called Ho Bryen that hath a good and most particular taste I never met with". Pepys provided what Prof. Ludington called "the first tasting note of Haut-Brion".
Therefore, both Charles II's cellar book and Pepys' note "provide the first mention in any language of estate-named claret and are among the many proofs that Haut-Brion was created specifically for the English market." Dr Jane Hughes lectured on Pepys and wine before the gala dinner hosted by the Cambridge University Wine Society and featuring tributes to Pepys. Prince Robert of Luxembourg then challenged wine historians and amateurs to find a new reference to Haut-Brion in history prior to 1660. which was according to André Simon, London's first fashionable eating-house.
With the death of François-Auguste de Pontac, François-Joseph de Fumel, a nephew by marriage, inherited two-thirds of Haut-Brion with a third coming to Louis-Arnaud Le Comte, Lord Captal of Latresne. The de Fumel family also at one point owned Château Margaux. Haut-Brion became the first recorded first growth wine to be imported to the United States, when Jefferson purchased six cases during the travels and had them sent back to his estate in Virginia, as stated in his letter to his brother-in-law Francis Eppes on May 26, 1787: "[...] I cannot deny myself the pleasure of asking you to participate of a parcel of wine I have been chusing for myself. I do it the rather as it will furnish you a specimen of what is the very best Bourdeaux wine. It is of the vineyard of Obrion, one of the four established as the very best, and it is of the vintage of 1784 [...]."
As a consequence of the French Revolution, in July 1794 Joseph de Fumel was guillotined, and his holdings were divided.
Modern history
thumb|left|250px|Château Haut-Brion presentation card dated 1931, demonstrating the designs of the early 20th century, the label, cork, case and capsule markings
After a series of unsuccessful owners during difficult times,
Dillon made his nephew Seymour Weller president of the new company "Société Vinicole de la Gironde" (later Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A.S.), who held the position for five decades. Weller restored the park, cleaned the chais, and installed electricity along with new vinification equipment. He retained Georges Delmas, the régisseur and director of Haut-Brion since 1921, and former manager of Cos d'Estournel.
Haut-Brion first began using its distinctive bottle, emulating designs of old decanter models, from the 1958 vintage which was released in 1960.
Georges Delmas retired in 1961, and was succeeded by his son Jean-Bernard Delmas, born at the estate, instigating a number of renovations. In the 1960s, Haut-Brion was the first of the great growths to innovate with new stainless steel fermentation vats. Clonal selection research was begun in 1972, in collaboration with INRA and the Chambre d'Agriculture. Insisting that great wine cannot be made with only one clone, Jean-Bernard Delmas has stated, "You need an assemblage of excellent clones", adding, "We know where each plant is located". At Haut-Brion, each hectare contains 10 to 15 different clonal selections. The name Château Bahans Haut-Brion had been in use for at least a century, and over a period it was sold without a declared vintage.
The vineyards are elevated, up to 27 meters, somewhat above the Bordeaux norm. The soil consists of Günzian gravel and some parcels have high contents of clay. All the vineyards are located in a cluster near the château itself and on the other side of the main road.