Domaine de Lionne

The Château de Lionne is a wine-producing property that extends over 37 hectares. The Château is located in the commune of Illats in the centre of the Graves region, between the Girondine moorland forest, the Garonne and the Ciron. This geographical situation allows the estate to benefit from very harsh winters, very hot summers and sometimes we have the right to some surprises like spring frosts.

Véronique Smati decided to take over Château de Lionne in 2007. The estate receives the most attentive care possible to give back to this vintage its letters of nobility.
Véronique Smati has surrounded herself with the best team to bottle the Graves terroir. Grégory Dalla Longa, trained by Denis Dubourdieu, is the Château's oenologist.

We produce mainly Red Graves and White Graves, blended wines from Bordeaux grape varieties. For the reds, depending on the vintage, we use Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot in different proportions. For the white wines, the Semillon is often in the majority, combined with the Sauvignon Blanc. The soils of Château de Lionne are divided into two parts: sandy-gravel soils with good drainage and coolness, favourable to the white grape varieties and Merlot, and beautiful deep Graves soils which give the later grape varieties optimum maturity. Our credo: let nature and the fruit express themselves.

Our story

Le Château de Lionne is my Himalayas... a mixture of fear and tranquility. I've been around a lot and it's chance that brought me to this profession, so I won't say I'm different from my colleagues because many of them have been my mentors, I'll say I just live my job as a gift, different every day but so pleasant.