Domaine de l’Ancienne Cure is a family-run vineyard situated in Colombier, several kilometres from Bergerac ("L’Ancienne Cure" was the once the presbytery of Colombier which boasts a thirteenth-century church) where Christian Roche has emerged in the last five or so years as one of the best growers in the appellation.
Château de Malle 2EME CRU CLASSÉ, SAUTERNES (2nd Label Château Ste. Hélène, SAUTERNES) From 25 hectares of prime-sited vineyard in the centre of Sauternes, comes one of our most favourite sweet white Bordeaux, made by Vincent Labergere for the Comtesse de Bournazel and her three sons. In recent years, the wines have caught many peoples' imaginations with their piercing orangey, honeyed and citrus fruit, fleshy and creamy opulent texture and masses of mouth-tingling, life giving acidity. These are all wines that still have great keeping potential but the two older vintages provide quite stunning drinking today. de
Château Nairac 2EME CRU CLASSÉ, BARSAC Purchased by Nicole Tari and her husband, Tom Heeter, in the early 1970's, Nairac is one of Barsac's leading properties, its success and reputation very much due to this dynamic couple's total belief in the inherent quality of Nairac's terroir. A string of fine vintages in the 1970's and 1980's ended when Heeter left the marriage, his final vintage being the wonderful 1986. A young wine-maker from the Loire valley, François Amirault, took over and instigated a re-planting schedule to increase the Sauvignon Blanc content of the 'encepagement' and, in 1993, he was replaced by Nicole's son, Nicolas Tari-Heeter, who is in charge of wine-making today. He has maintained his father's style of wine-making and Nairac continues to be a Barsac of considerable concentration and power but with a tell-tale raciness and vigour.
Château Guiraud 1ER CRU CLASSÉ, SAUTERNES This 1er Cru Classé has always stood out from its neighbours in one way or another, either when it has been making remarkably poor wine (i.e. during the 1960's and 1970's) or, as is the case at the moment, when it is making an exhilarating 'blockbuster' of a wine which, although not to everyone's taste, is worthy of its 1er Cru Classé classification. Owned by the Narby family and run by the energetic and devoted Xavier Planty, Guiraud has 85 hectares of vines, planted on sand, gravel and a bit of clay and is currently producing about 14hl./ha. During the 1980's, an extensive programme of re-planting took place and the rather heavy amount of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend (35%) was reduced to make way for more Semillon, although the high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc is somewhat unusual.
Château Rieussec 1ER CRU CLASSÉ, SAUTERNES Situated on the Fargues and Sauternes hillsides, this extensive 75-hectare property is one of the jewels in Sauternes' crown. It's omnipresent lookout tower dominates the region, overlooking the left bank of the Garonne. With the exception of d'Yquem, Rieussec is the highest vineyard in the area and is not far behind in reputation. The vineyard's ascent into the 'super-league' began in 1971 when it was bought by Albert Vuillier and the exceptional work that he instigated was continued by the Domaines Baron de Rothschild when they took a controlling share in 1984. These are powerful, rich and dominating Sauternes which always has a deeper colour than its counterparts.
Château Bastor Lamontagne - SAUTERNES The property is situated at Preignac near the great Sauternes estate of Suduiraut. It covers 56 hectares and produces 20 hectolitres per hectare. 80% of the wine is femented in barrels and the remainder in vat. 80% Semillon, 17% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle. Residual sugar is 5 - 5.5%.
The Cypress de Climens is the second wine of this great estate. Made from younger vines but still in very small amounts it is made exclusively from the Semillon grape. Honeyed, clean, freshly spiced with gingery notes and caramel butterscotch flavours with a lingering finish. Many people are surprised that the world's great sweet wines can appear to be so expensive but when you are dealing with wines whose yields may average only around 13 hectolitres per hectare, such as Climens, it is hardly any wonder. Owned by the Lurton family since 1971 Château Climens is widely appreciated by many as the very best of Barsac's wines.
Château Broustet - 2EME CRU CLASSÉ BARSAC Didier Laulan, whose family has produced wine in Barsac for generations, owns the Estate. It is located outside the village of Barsac in the so-called 'Haut Barsac' area. Chateau Broustet covers some 16 hectares in this part of the Garonne valley, better known as Sauternais. The location of Barsac-Sauternes near the Garonne, gives rise to special conditions in the autumn, when the morning mists are followed by hot days, thus favouring the development of noble rot. This action of 'botrytis cinerea' produces water evaporation, which leads to a natural sugar concentration. Extreme care is given to the picking, and it can take 5 or 6 rounds to pick all the grapes. After the vinification, which takes place in small stainless steel vats, and up until the bottling, the wine ages for two years in barrels, renewed by a third each year.
Château Doisy-Daëne - 2EME CRU CLASSÉ BARSAC Owned by Pierre (the father) and Denis Dubourdieu (the son) who also own Château Montalivet in Graves. Denis is a professor at the Institue of Oenology in Bordeaux. Nore than anyone else Denis Dubourdieu is credited with revolutionizing the naking of white wine in Bordeaux with his 'maceration péliculaire'. This is a process whereby the grapes are left to chill prior to pressing and fermentation enabling the wines to retain their freshness and fruit vigour and to reduce the amount of sulphur used to negligible amounts. A tremendous amount of meticulous care goes into making this fine Barsac. It has a well earned reputation as one of the top wines of the 2eme Crus.
Château La Tour Blanche - 1ER CRU CLASSÉ SAUTERNES The construction of Chateau La Tour Blanche dates from the 18th Century. In 1855, The Imperial Government requested that the most deserving wines of The Gironde be submitted to The Universal Exhibition in Paris so that a classification system could be established. Chateau La Tour Blanche was placed top of The 'Premiers Crus' of The Sauternes Appellation. But it was not until the beginning of the 20th Century that the originality of this prestigious estate's history became really apparent. The former owner, Daniel Iffla, a.k.a. "Osiris", decided to bequeath the property to the French State under the condition that a Wine School be created on site. After having accepted the donation in 1909, The Ministry of Agriculture commissioned construction of La Tour Blanche School of Viticulture and Oenology in 1911. Despite its unusual status, this wine-producing Estate is entirely managed by authentic professionals in The Wine Trade.
Château Coutet - 1ER CRU CLASSÉ BARSAC Chateau Coutet is one of the oldest estates in Barsac and dates back at least to the 13th century. The name comes from a word for 'knife'. The estate acted as a military center in the 100 Years war. In 1788, Gabriel Barthélémy Romain de Fihot became owner of Coutet. The property was owned by the Filhot family until the French Revolution. Marcel Baly has owned Chateau Coutet since 1977. The Chateau is under the direction of Marcel Baly's sons, Philippe and Domenica Baly. The wines at Chateau Coutet are fermented in oak barrels (of which about 1/3 are new each year). After fermentation, which ends within six weeks, the wines age in oak barrels for about 18 months. The wines from Chateau Coutet are concentrated and sweet with high levels of acidity to balance out the sweetness. While the wines are delicious when young, the true nature of an excellent Barsac like Chateau Coutet is only shown when the wines have many years of bottle age. These wines gain complexity and a lushness after a good vintage is stored for a decade or so. Coutet is especially known for the complex aromas it develops. It is important that storage conditions be proper for the life of the wine.
Château d'Yquem - 1ER CRU CLASSÉ SAUTERNES The greatest and most expensive white wine in Bordeaux. Wines from this château have to be ranked alongside the other First Growths of the Médoc in terms of brilliance as well as in price. Yquem was owned by the de Lur Saluces family from 1985 to 1997 when it was sold to the Moët-Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) conglomerate. After much legal wranglings LVMH became recognised shareholders in 1999 and the estate continues to be headed by Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces. The greatness of Yquem can be attributed to many factors: perfect location and microclimate. Committed investment in the estate over many years. Fanatical obsession with producing only the very best to the extent that it is often said that each vine at Yquem produces only one glass of wine. The grapes are picked singly by a large group of harvesters sometimes over as long a period as 8 weeks. Yquem is capable of ageing longer than any other sweet Bordeaux with great vintages achieving ages spanning 50 to 75 years. Most vintages need a minimum of 15 or 20 years before they should be breach
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