Hi,
Many appellations in Bordeaux have a "Portes Ouvertes" weekend once a year. I love these because they enable me to visit little-known estates that I would never have discovered otherwise. In fact, I tend to avoid the more famous estates on purpose.
So, I visited 11 châteaux in Sauternes and Barsac this past Saturday with friends from Bolivia and Colombia who live in Paris and came down specially because of a soft spot for these wines. Here are the thumbnail sketches.
1) Château d'Anna: Anna was born six years ago. Her father is winemaker at nearby Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons, but he owns a miniscule plot of vines in Barsac and decided to name the wine after his daughter. This is the tiniest estate in the appellation, but they make a very good wine indeed. The 2006 was more than OK and the 2007 was extremely pleasurable. I think I'll go back and buy some when it's bottled in the spring! The wine cellar has to be seen to be believed. It's about the size of a couple of broom closets with stone walls and 4 or 5 barrels – the estate's total production. This first visit of the day was undoubtedly one of the best.
2) Château Jany: This estate is also in Barsac. It's a largish one (16 hectares) run by M. & Mme Turtaut and their son. An increasing percentage of their wine is now sold under the château label instead of in bulk to négociants. The son innovated in 2005, producing a cuvée vieilles vignes which won a star in the Guide Hachette. A good, middle-of-the road wine best consumed relatively young.
3) Château Simon, also in Barsac, is a large estate that has been in the Dufour family for 5 generations. They also make a considerable amount of white and red Graves and have a flourishing business in direct sales to private customers. We tasted several of their wines and found them to be classic Barsac, which is to say (in a nutshell) less sweet, less heavy, and well-suited to pairing with food. The two cuvées exceptionnelles we sampled, 2001 and 2005, were clearly a cut above the standard blend. The former is already fine to drink now. I came away with a couple of bottles of the latter.
4) Eleven-hectare Château Gravas was the last stop in Barsac. The owners, Florence and Michel Bernard are friends, so I can hardly be objective here. Michel took over from his father about 5 years ago and this 100 Sémillon wine is in a slightly different style now, a touch lighter and more understated. We tasted 2006, 2005, and 2001. The 2001 was our favorite. Gravas are now selling some of their wine in a large flask that looks like it contains Chanel no. 5!
By then, it was time for lunch. We went to the Auberge des Vignes in Sauternes for a hearty meal and a bottle of 2003 Domaine de la Solitude, Graves rouge. This was ripe, but in no way flabby, and an excellent partner to an entrecôte cooked over vine cuttings.
Suitably fortified, we went to visit a series of wines in the Sauternes appellation
5) The first was Ch. Trillon. The Descacq family own this 8 hectare estate as well as the 13 hectare Ch. Monthes-Mouret in Fargues. I'm afraid that neither are likely to set the world on fire if the 2002 vintage we tasted is anything to go by.
6) The next stop was Premier Grand Cru Classé Clos Haut Peyraguey (15 hectares). I've long been a fan of this wine and was not disappointed with the 2006 vintage we tasted. Serious, long, powerful wine with great aging potential. The Pauly family also have another 5 hectare estate in the same commune of Bommes called Château Haut Bommes. This is not a second wine. It represents tremendous value for money and I walked away with a few bottles of the 2001 (having paid for them, of course…).
7) On a roll, we went to another First Growth, Ch. Rabaud Promis, also in Bommes, a largish (33 hectare estate). We tasted the 2006 and the 2003. The latter was heavier and sweeter. They had a special sale on the former at 19.50 euros a bottle, so one of these has duly gone into my cellar. The château have changed their label, which was annoyingly similar to that of their neighbor with a similar name and identical classification, Sigalas Rabaud, for many years. The new label is modern and attractive.
Domaine de Pistoulet (Bommes): This 2.7 hectare estate produces everyman's Sauternes. A fruity, upfront, early-maturing wine selling for the very reasonable price of 10.50 euros a bottle. Best value for money of the day. Artisanal operation.
9) Haut Bergeron in Preignac has been a byword for excellence for decades. Curiously, I had never tasted wine from the Lamothe's 25 hectare estate in Barsac before, Ch. Farluret. The 2005 vintage left me with a good impression, but my heart was more won over by the 2005 Haut Bergeron and their second wine, Ch. de Fontebride. The latter was not cheap, but worth every centime, and I bought several bottles.
10) We crossed the Bordeaux-Toulouse highway to visit the last two estates, both in Preignac. The first is called Château Pierre Saint Maxime. We met the eponymous owner who explained that he had restructured the vineyard, which consists largely of plots formerly belonging to Château Lange. The estate, as such, has only existed for a short time. The wine was served too cold. It seemed on the honest, but unexciting side with perhaps too much oak.
11) Ch. Laville is a lovely old building just crying out to be renovated… We tasted the 2003 which I though above average and bought a bottle. I liked it most of all for its funky spicy flavors. When I got back home, I saw that it had been given two stars in the Guide Hachette. Laville also produces a Graves Supérieur (sweet white Graves) called Château Mauras. The 2000 was sensational and I bought a case, but the 2003 was only so-so.
All the best,
Alex R.