Chateau Lamothe-Guignard

It was originally part of a much larger property, Chateau Lamothe was an 8^th century fortress to protect the locals. The Lamothe estate was formally known as Lamothe-d’Assault, and later divided into two separate and independent owned properties.

At the start of the 19^th century it was under Jean-Francois de Borie, who sold to an English negociant named Dowling in 1814. Six years later he sold to the Baptiste family, and it was under his tenure that the estate was broken up. In 1852 the estate has moved from the Baptiste family to two new owners named Conseil and Deutz.

The property was awarded deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification, inherited by both descendents, Lamothe-Guignard and Lamothe-Despujols. The Lamothe-Guignard portion was inherited by the next generation of the Baptiste family, before selling to Joseph Bergey, renaming the estate to Lamothe-Bergey.

Upon his death the estate was passed to his daughter Marie-Angele Tissot, and in turn, upon her death, acquired by Armand Bastit Saint-Martin, who had already acquired the original Lamothe estate. However, instead of reuniting the properties, he decided to lease out Lamothe-Bergey and the two halves continued to run separately.

With time his family sold off the assets, in 1961, with the original Lamothe to the Despujols family who continue to run the estate today, and in 1981 the Bergey portion was sold to Guignard family, changing the name thus to Lamothe-Guignard. The Guignard brothers Pierre and Jean had already got some successful properties in Sauternes and Graves, with Jean’s sons Philippe and Jacques decided to take the estate to develop.

Over the years Philippe and Jacques replanted the vineyards and restored the chai, as a result quality was much improved, with good typicity at a very favorable price. The estate covers over 32 hectares, about five times the size of Lamothe-Despujols, with 18 hectares dedicated to vines, occupying two sections around the chateau.

The first section is planted on limestone and clay slopes, running from the chateau to the Ciron, planted at 5500 vines per hectare. The other section is the major plot on a gravelly plateau overlooking the town of Sauternes, planted at 6000 vines per hectare.

The vines are 90% Semillon with 5% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle, with average vine age of 40 years. Harvest is carried out in several tries, typically no less than five passes, with the freshly picked grapes brought to the chai where the berries are pressed hydraulically before fermentation in stainless steel vats. The wine will see 15 months in oak, of which 25% are new each vintage. The grand vin is Chateau Lamothe-Guignard and there is no second wine.

I have recently tasted the 2005 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Clear, with medium golden color, and legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe stone fruit of apricot, tropical fruit of pineapple, maturity notes of honey, citrus notes of lemon peel and orange marmalade, oak notes of cedar, dairy notes of cream, sweet spice and botrytised characters. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with medium (+) acidity and medium (+) alcohol, the wine is full body and medium (+) intensity flavors of ripe stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes of honey, dairy notes of cream, oak notes of cedar, citrus notes of orange marmalade. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Sauternes with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine shows typical botrytis characters, with a refreshing palate having the right balance between sweetness and acidity. The flavors are equally concentrated and complex, with a fairly long finish accompanying. It is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 6-8 years.