The Liberal family governed the estate from the beginning of the history of the Château Haut Bages Libéral in the 8th century. Brokers from father to son, they sold at the time, most of the harvest in the Netherlands and Belgium. Their name, attached to the topographical designation, long earned them being invited to the round tables of political parties of the same name around the world. Over time, these connoisseurs brought together the best terroirs of Pauillac. Thus, this Fifth Classified Cru in 1855 today has half of its vineyard next to Château Latour and the other half behind Château Pichon Baron, located on the heights of the place called “Bages”, large plateau south of Pauillac. However, it will be necessary to wait for the arrival of the Villars family, in 1983, so that the Château Haut-Bages Libéral really regains its luster of yesteryear. Today the property is managed by Claire Villars. She undertook a complete overhaul of the winemaking tool and adopted a new winemaking approach for the environment.
On this vineyard of 28 hectares, 14 are around the Castle on a gravelly ridge very rich in Limestone. The other half is located on a soil consisting mainly of deep Garonne gravel and poor in clay. The combination of these two types of soil gives Haut Bages Libéral its character which combines the power of the Merlots on limestone with the elegance of Cabernets on lean bass. The vineyard is covered with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Enhancement of the terroir by moving towards a reasoned viticulture, this in order to reach the highest possible quality. The practices are thus oriented towards organic and biodynamic viticulture. Vinification is traditional, in concrete and stainless steel vats whose volumes are proportional to the plot. All tanks, each with different capacities, are equipped with an automated thermo-regulation system. The wines will then age in barrels for a total of 16 months of which 40% of the barrels are new.
