Château Guiraud
Sauternes 1er Grand Cru Classé Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
Sauternes, Graves, Bordeaux, France
2022 vintage. Lots of changes in 2022, as Xavier Planty sold his shares to Matthieu Gufflet. Xavier's son, Luc Planty took care of a smooth transition ( check him out for his ambitious project at Château de Malle!) when Sandrine Garbay (Château Yquem's maître de chai for more than 2 decades) was nominated as a general manager. Her first vintage is excellent, with beautiful aromatics (roasted pineapple, vanilla, mango, honey, and flowers). Layered and intense with lots of botrytis, but also an amazingly refreshing acidity which reminds me of the 2014 Sauternes vintage. Exquisite balance, layered, and with a very long, fresh finish with a subtle almond bitterness. Excellent, and still very affordable for this quality. A pleasure to taste now, but I expect true magic in a decade or more. Ab. 13,5%.
2022 vintage. Lots of changes in 2022, as Xavier Planty sold his shares to Matthieu Gufflet. Xavier's son, Luc Planty took care of a smooth transition ( check him out for his ambitious project at Château de Malle!) when Sandrine Garbay (Château Yquem's maître de chai for more than 2 decades) was nominated as a general manager. Her first vintage is excellent, with beautiful aromatics (roasted pineapple, vanilla, mango, honey, and flowers). Layered and intense with lots of botrytis, but also an amazingly refreshing acidity which reminds me of the 2014 Sauternes vintage. Exquisite balance, layered, and with a very long, fresh finish with a subtle almond bitterness. Excellent, and still very affordable for this quality. A pleasure to taste now, but I expect true magic in a decade or more. Ab. 13,5%.
Oct 11th, 2024
Poached sugared apricot and plum. With the kernel. Long, deep and vinous. Liquid and syrupy. Somewhat brandied, astringent even.
Poached sugared apricot and plum. With the kernel. Long, deep and vinous. Liquid and syrupy. Somewhat brandied, astringent even.
Nov 27th, 2022
#AgedWineTuesday
Deep golden in color.
Strong nose of honeydew, citrus, lemons, honey, spices, melons, oranges, tangerines, tropical fruits and pineapples. A really beautiful nose.
Full bodied and buttery with high acidity.
Sweet on the palate with melons, red apples, honey, tropical fruits, spices, light earth, honeysuckle and white pepper.
Long finish with oranges and spices.
This is a fabulous dessert wine from Bordeaux, France.
Very complex with a great mouthfeel. Well balanced with enough acidity to balance the sugars.
Delicious right out of the bottle, good by itself, and even better after an hour of airtime.
Thanks Scott for sharing this with me.
This 19 year old is smooth and generous. Rich and extracted. Sweet and well balanced.
I've had the 2009 vintage not too long ago, and this is showing so much better. What a wonderful surprise.
Paired very nicely with the blue cheese. Drank from a 375ml bottle.
13.5% alcohol by volume.
96 points.
$40.
#AgedWineTuesday
Deep golden in color.
Strong nose of honeydew, citrus, lemons, honey, spices, melons, oranges, tangerines, tropical fruits and pineapples. A really beautiful nose.
Full bodied and buttery with high acidity.
Sweet on the palate with melons, red apples, honey, tropical fruits, spices, light earth, honeysuckle and white pepper.
Long finish with oranges and spices.
This is a fabulous dessert wine from Bordeaux, France.
Very complex with a great mouthfeel. Well balanced with enough acidity to balance the sugars.
Delicious right out of the bottle, good by itself, and even better after an hour of airtime.
Thanks Scott for sharing this with me.
This 19 year old is smooth and generous. Rich and extracted. Sweet and well balanced.
I've had the 2009 vintage not too long ago, and this is showing so much better. What a wonderful surprise.
Paired very nicely with the blue cheese. Drank from a 375ml bottle.
13.5% alcohol by volume.
96 points.
$40.
Fancy lunch with some dear friends.
No formal notes.
Drinking fantastic, with years ahead still.
Fancy lunch with some dear friends.
No formal notes.
Drinking fantastic, with years ahead still.
Rich and creamy notes of bruised apricot, honeysuckle and orange peel
Rich and creamy notes of bruised apricot, honeysuckle and orange peel
May 5th, 2018
One of the absolute best made. Drank from a mag.
One of the absolute best made. Drank from a mag.
Apr 6th, 2018
Fresh, bright, exactly what a beautiful dessert wine should be. The anti-Yquem
Fresh, bright, exactly what a beautiful dessert wine should be. The anti-Yquem
Jun 25th, 2017
Still young. Pretty sweet but balanced by solid acidity. Apricots.
Still young. Pretty sweet but balanced by solid acidity. Apricots.
Apr 11th, 2021
Chateau Guiraud is mainly known for amazing Sauternes terroir-driven (botrytis-styled) wines, natural vineyards and very jealous preserving the genetic sources of its grape varieties.
This 2020 vintage was released to honor its 10th anniversary of being AB (“Agriculture Biologique”) certified, and also was a very good year for a great white wine.
An outstanding blend of Sauvignon blanc 70%, Sémillon 30%, with an unique vilification process; fermentation was for 3 weeks in barrels having previously been used for the vinification of its flagship Sauternes and underwent through MLF at 35%, and aging in barrels for 12 months.
The nose welcomes all baked tropical fruits and very distant hint of white flowers. As for tasting, a very rich and texturized white with gentle acidity and creamy lemon zest with an impressive silky mouthfeel, it also has a subtle astringency with undertones of delicacy towards the back-end of the palate.
This wine seats next to my most preferred complex, age-worthy whites as Gran Vin de Bordeaux. Salute!
Chateau Guiraud is mainly known for amazing Sauternes terroir-driven (botrytis-styled) wines, natural vineyards and very jealous preserving the genetic sources of its grape varieties.
This 2020 vintage was released to honor its 10th anniversary of being AB (“Agriculture Biologique”) certified, and also was a very good year for a great white wine.
An outstanding blend of Sauvignon blanc 70%, Sémillon 30%, with an unique vilification process; fermentation was for 3 weeks in barrels having previously been used for the vinification of its flagship Sauternes and underwent through MLF at 35%, and aging in barrels for 12 months.
The nose welcomes all baked tropical fruits and very distant hint of white flowers. As for tasting, a very rich and texturized white with gentle acidity and creamy lemon zest with an impressive silky mouthfeel, it also has a subtle astringency with undertones of delicacy towards the back-end of the palate.
This wine seats next to my most preferred complex, age-worthy whites as Gran Vin de Bordeaux. Salute!