Château Guiraud 2023

Characteristics and tasting advice for Château Guiraud 2023

Tasting

Colour
With a beautiful golden yellow hue, the robe seduces with its radiance and brilliance.

Nose
Opening with intense fragrances of pink grapefruit, clementine, pineapple and passion fruit, the nose exhales elegant notes of thyme, Provencal herbs and smoke as it aerates.

Palate
Ample, lively and balanced, the palate harmoniously combines persistence with savoury spicy and zesty flavours, indicative of a significant ageing potential.

A Premier Grand Cru Classé from Sauternes combining richness and freshness

The estate

"La Maison Noble du Bayle", the first name of Château Guiraud was owned by the Mons de Saint Poly family. In 1766 Pierre Guiraud, a Bordeaux merchant, acquired it. In 80 years and three generations, Château Guiraud has become a prestigious name, crowned in 1855 as a 1st Grand Cru Classé of Sauternes.

Taken over in 2006 by 4 personalities (an industrialist, Robert Peugeot and three winemakers, Olivier Bernard, Stephan Von Neipperg and Xavier Planty), Château Guiraud is a must-have label.

In 2019, Xavier Planty handed over the management of the estate to his son, Luc. In April 2022 Matthieu Gufflet, owner of Château de Callac (Graves), became the majority shareholder of the property, then in May 2022 Sandrine Garbay, cellar master at Château d’Yquem, took over the leadership of Château Guiraud.

The vineyard

A reference among the great wines of Sauternes, Château Guiraud watches over a 54-hectare vineyard resting on sandy gravel soils (80%) and clayey gravel soils (20%). Nestled in a haven of biodiversity, the vines, aged 25 to 30 years on average, have been farmed organically since 1996.

The vintage

A mild and relatively dry winter encourages early bud break, before frosts in early April partially impact the vineyard without however affecting the harvest potential. The rapid vegetative development due to a warm and humid spring is counterbalanced by a high mildew pressure successfully managed thanks to the rigour of the teams. The dry conditions recorded during the summer delay the emergence of botrytis until significant rainfall in mid-September followed by a real Indian summer ensuring optimal development of noble rot.

Vinification and ageing

Harvest in three passes from 27 September to 13 October. Fermentation using indigenous yeasts in 90% new French oak barrels and 10% in barrels of one wine. The ageing of approximately 18 months is carried out exclusively in barrels.

Blend

Sémillon (65%)
Sauvignon blanc (35%).