One of the great classified growths of Bordeaux, Château Cheval Blanc, has a new cutting-edge winery which sits next to the small castle from the 1860s. The new modern building has simple lines and curves of white concrete, glass and exotic wood signed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc, a Pritzker Prize winner.

Amid the 37 hectares of the premier grand cru classe “A” Saint-Emilion vineyards, the modern building design replaces energy-hungry systems with economical solutions. As a result, the winery is one of the few buildings in the wine business to have High Environmental Quality (HQE) certification, meeting particularly demanding criteria relating to managing the impacts on the outdoor environment while creating a pleasant indoor environment.

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The entire project including the transformation of the old winery offices and the layout of the environment will reach upwards of EUR 16 million, which includes new measures to battle counterfeit wines. Bottles will be engraved and microchips placed in cases so that purchasers know that they are buying Cheval Blanc, not an Asian-made fake.