Chateau d'Arche

Chateau d’Arche is named after Comte Francois Antoine Pierre d’Arche, president of the Bordeaux parliament, who acquired the estate in 1727. Prior to his purchase it was known as Chateau Braneyre. After the Revolution it was sold in 1795 to a Monsieur Dublanc, and during which the estate had a break-up, including the Lafaurie, Comet, Dubourg and Pentalier families.

All four owners marketed their wines as that of Chateau d’Arche, with the proprietor on the suffix on the label. The two main sections are d’Arche-Lafaurie and d’Arche-Vimeney, which remained in the hands of the family to the latter part of the 19^th century.

Chateau d’Arche-Lafaurie was ranked a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification, and the Lafaurie family relinquished their hold in 1925, to Monsieur Saint-Jean. In the early 20^th century Armand Bastit Saint-Martin, who also owned Lamothe-Guignard, reunited the divided vineyards of d’Arche, buying out all the other proprietors.

In the 1970s, he was successful in reunifying d’Arche. With the death of Bastit Saint-Martin’s son in 1980, the agreement on the Arche-Vimeney vineyards was terminated, which was subsequently acquired by the Cordier family, and that was absorbed into Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

Armand chose to lease the remaining vineyards to Pierre Perromat, onetime president of INAO. The vineyards are some of the highest in the commune of Sauternes, surrounding the chateau and other buildings.

The estate is about 50 hectares, with vineyards accounting for 36 hectares, with the south-facing slope of gravel closest to the hill, clay and limestone down the slopes. At the foot of the slope is a band of silt. It is planted with 90% Semillon, 9% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Muscadelle, with the average vine age of 45 years, at a density of 6600 vines per hectare.

Harvest is manual in 4-5 tries, with typically low yield of 17 hl/ha. After sorting and pressing the must undergoes debourbage to settle out impurities, the wine is transferred into oak barrel for fermentation. It is allowed to continue for a few weeks, brought to a halt to preserve the residual sugar and alcohol content through sulphur and chilling.

The wines then remain in barrel for 18 months, with weekly topping up and regular racking. The grand vin is selected through tasting during elevage, lasting a total of 18 months. The wines are made with technical advice from Henri Boyer, a popular oenologist in Sauternes and Barsac.

The grand vin is Chateau d’Arche, typically of 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. The second wine is Prieure d’Arche, taking the fruit of the younger vines, as well as the fruit of the older Sauvignon Blanc, with fermentation in stainless steel vats instead of oak.

There is another wine called Chateau d’Arche-Lafaurie, a super-cuvee taking fruit from two hectares of old vines in excess of 60 years of age, at a low yield of just 10 hl/ha on average, in new oak for 24 months. A dry white called d’Arche Blanc is also made, using the fruit from the more silty-sandy terroir at the foot of the vineyards, with 20% new oak. Another red called d’Arche Rouge is made from 100% Merlot sold under the Graves appellation.

I have recently tasted the 2007 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has medium golden color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium intensity aromas showing citrus fruit of lemon peel and orange marmalade, oak notes of cedar, stone fruit of apricot, floral notes of blossom, tropical fruit of pineapple, maturity notes of honey, dairy notes of cream. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol with full body, with medium intensity flavors of citrus fruit of lemon and orange peel, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of honey, stone fruit of apricot, tropical fruit of pineapple. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Sauternes, it is a wine with a freshness that is particularly appealing. On the nose it does not have a very pronounced concentration as other Sauternes may have, but the complexity is still high, with plenty of fruit at this age. On the palate the acidity and body provides such an ethereal sensation that one cannot stop drinking, without any cloying and heaviness which a lot of Sauternes shows. Reasonable on the intensity and complexity, the finish is fairly long. Ready to drink now but the wine can further age for another 8-10 years.