Chateau Clarke

Château Clarke is a leading estate in the Listrac district of the southern Médoc, best known for its Merlot-based red wine of the same name. Its name comes from the Irish Clarke family who purchased the land in 1771, though the estate dates from the 1810s and the building of a new house on the site.

The property is located inland from the Gironde estuary in the middle of the limestone plateau, on a site cooled by its proximity to the Atlantic ocean.There are 55 hectares (acres) of vineyards on drought-resistant clay-limestone soils, of which 70 percent is planted to Merlot – the proportion of which has been increased in recent years – with the remainder devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, plus a three hectare (7.4 acre) parcel of Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and Semillon for the Merle Blanc cuvée. The portfolio is completed by a Bordeaux Rosé made from Cabernet Sauvignon.

The estate was very well-known up until the early 20th Century when it began to fall into neglect. It was purchased by Edmond de Rothschild in 1973, and the vineyard was completely replanted between 1974 to 1979. Baron Benjamin de Rothschild took over in 1998. He also owns the nearby properties Château Peyre-Lebade (Médoc) and Château Malmaison, just over the border in Moulis. The three estates are overseen by the same technical team.