The extraordinary aura of Alexis Lichine, the author of the well-known “Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits” is still acting even if he is dead. Born in Moscow in 1913, this Russian-American writer worked as an expert taster. He purchased the estate as it was in a very dilapidated condition with only 11 hectares of sorry-looking vines.
Classified as Fourth Growth in 1855, Château Prieuré Lichine’s vineyard spreads over 70 hectares of gravel ridges and divided into numerous plots, most lying to the north of Cantenac. Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot are harvested by hand.
Michel Rolland, the famous consultant oenologist in numerous estates in Médoc, adivses the new owners, the Ballande family, who already possesses Château Barec in Pessac Léognan, so that the quality of Château Prieuré Lichine might be the one it deserved.