Visits

Château Guiraud
Sauternes, Premier Cru Classé (France)


 

The Guiraud estate, whose origins are apparently traced back to the 15th Century, produces a great Sauternes. The estate, whose 18th Century mansion has been available for seminars and other such events for some time, is planning to expand its wine tourism activities in order to welcome visitors to the region in a rather idyllic setting.

Château Guiraud, 2002
Excellent. Nice golden colour, aromas of candied apple and orange, fresh, with a tinge of acidity on the finish, not too thick on the palate. Very pleasant to drink. Blend of 65% Semillon, 35% Sauvignon Blanc. (Mar 07)

Ownership & Management
In 2006, the estate was purchased from the Narby family (owners from 1989 to 2006) by FFP (Société Foncière, Financière et de Participations, majority owner, run by Robert Peugeot), Xavier Planty, Olivier Bernard, and Stephan von Neipperg. Xavier Planty is also the estate manager and the cellar master.

Winemaker
Christine Sourdes
 

Vineyard
100 ha of vines on average 35-40 years old and composed of 60% Semillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. (The second sweet wine, Le Dauphin, is produced from grapes grown on younger vines.) About 85% of the vineyard is located in the Sauternes appellation, while the rest is located in the Bordeaux Blanc Sec (dry white Bordeaux wines) appellation. (Accordingly, about 85% of the estate’s production is comprised of sweet wines.) Most of the vineyard is planted in gravely-sandy soils, while about 20% are planted on gravely-clay soils. The estate has long been using sustainable vineyard practices (such as using only natural fertilizers).

At harvest, the grapes are carefully selected and picked manually in small crates by 100 harvesters, who conduct multiple passes in the vineyard. Daily samples are taken in order to determine when the grapes are ready to be harvested (once they have reached a potential alcohol degree of 20°C). As with other Sauternes, Guiraud does not produce its sweet wines when the grapes are not of adequate quality. The 1991 and 1993 vintages are therefore missing from the estate’s production.
 

Winemaking
Each parcel of grapes is vinified and aged separately until blending. The harvested grapes are first poured into a pneumatic press where they undergo 3 presses. The resulting juice is then poured by gravity flow into underground stainless steel vats where it is cooled at 5°C for about 24 hours (this process, called débourdage, precipitates particles floating in the juice which allows their removal).

Fermentation is conducted in French oak barrels (1/3 of which is renewed every year). Fermentation is complete when the wine has achieved its desired balance (usually after 3-4 weeks). To stop the fermentation process, the wine is poured once again into the underground vats where it will rest for 48 hours at -5°C.

Thereafter, the best lots that will be used to make the first wine are selected. The wine is then blended in stainless steel tanks and aged for 2 years in new French oak barrels.

Yields at Giraud are about 12-15 hl/ha (while the authorized maximum yield is 25 hl/ha).
 

Wines
. Château Guiraud (100,000 bottles/year)
. Le Dauphin du Château Guiraud (50,000 bottles/year)