Chateau Guiraud

Little is known of Chateau Guiraud before the 18^th century, at which the estate was referred as Bayle for uncertain reasons, perhaps the man who established it. It was until 1766 when the estate was purchased by Pierre Guiraut that it got its current name. The estate remained with the Guiraut family through two further generations, before it was sold to a local consortium led by Depons in 1846.

Under their direction the estate was classified as a premier cru in the 1855 classification of Sauternes and Barsac, ranked 9^th out of 21 properties. In 1858 it was sold to Felix Solar, who in turn sold to the negociant Schroder and Schyler by 1861, and later to the Bernard family.

The Bernards were well known for building local railways and docks, and invested in the properties, with expansion of vineyards, renovated cellars and a new chateau, producing good wines and was a golden era for the property. With the Bernard daughters marrying into the Maxwell family, Guiraud eventually came under the control of James Maxwell in 1910.

The Maxwells were forced to sell the property later because of disastrous vintages, war and depression, to Paul Cesar Rival, in 1932. Rival had added an airstrip to his estate so he could fly between his family property in Provence, and he had also crashed his plane into the Yquem vineyard. After World War II Rival became progressively reclusive, and the estate fell into a state of disrepair, and he eventually sold to a Canadian family named Narby in 1981.

Under the direction of Hamilton Narby, there was unprecedented investment, refurbishment, repair and re-equipping, and his father Frank took over in 1988, appointing Xavier Planty as manager. Planty had worked hard to move Guiraud towards sustainable, environmentally friendly and ultimately organic viticulture.

The quality of the wines also improved, and in 2006 Planty also took part-ownership of the estate. That deal resulted in Guiraud being under a consortium of four, led by Robert Peugeot, better known for motor manufacturing, and the wine expertise and some financial contribution came from Stephan von Neipperg, who also owned Canon-La-Gaffeliere in St-Emilion, Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier and of course Xavier Planty.

The estate now covers 128 hectares, of which 100 hectares are dedicated to vines, with 85 hectares producing the traditional Sauternes, and the remaining a dry wine. The top soils are the typical gravel with some clay, but digging deeper there are some red and white clay, limestone marl, and some fossilized oysters.

Planted with 65% Semillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, with average age of 40 years, planting at a density of 6660 to 7200 vines per hectare. The high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc came as the misdirected Rival in extensively planting only this variety. Planty has also practiced massal selection, and he puts the Sauvignon Blanc to good use in the production of the dry white, which has becoming a fashionable practice in the region.

The vineyards are now converted to organic, with the last herbicide spayed in 1996, and no pesticide was used from 2004 onwards. There are ‘insect hotels’ positioned on the edges of the vineyards, supporting increased levels of insect and bird life. Only organic fertilizer is used, and the organic certification was granted in 2011.

The fruit is harvested in a number of tries, up to six, selecting only botrytised grapes, with very low yield of 12 hl/ha. The fruit is pressed using modern, pneumatic equipment, fermented in a plot-by-plot basis without chaptalization or cryo-extraction, in 90% new wood. Once done the wine is aged in oak between 18 to 24 months, with racking every three months.

The grand vin is Chateau Guiraud, and a second wine Le Dauphin de Chateau Guiraud is also made, with the dry white G de Guiraud seeing a cold clarification after pressing, followed by a 9-month ageing. Annual output is around 15000 cases.

I have recently tasted the 2001 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, the wine is of medium intensity gold color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, with pronounced intensity of citrus fruit such as lemon peel and orange marmalade, sweet spice of ginger and cloves, oak notes of cedar and butterscotch, stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes of honey and botrytis, tropical fruit of pineapple. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and full body, showing medium (+) intensity flavors of citrus fruit such as orange peel and marmalade, oak notes of cedar, maturity notes of honey and botrytis, stone fruit of apricot, sweet spice of ginger. The wine has a long finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Sauternes with an exceptionally concentrated nose showing good complexity, the wine has a high acidity to balance well the sweetness, making it refreshing and not a bit cloying. The palate also has good intensity, and the finish is also very long. Overall a dessert wine to show how good a Sauternes can be, it is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 8-10 years.