Château Guiraud

Château Guiraud represents atrue excellence of Sauternes, classified as a Premier Cru Classé in the official classification of Bordeaux wines ordered by Napoleon III and drawn up in 1855, where it originally appeared under the old name of Bayle. The Château, located less than a kilometer from the center of the small commune of Sauternes, was purchased by merchant Pierre Guiraud back in 1766. The three generations of the Guiraud family that passed the baton led the estate to winemaking glory, also introducing innovations such as the unprecedented black and gold label, a great novelty for the time. In the mid-1800s, the Guirauds sold the Château for five times the purchase price, a testament to the high value added to it. Since 2006, the property has been in the hands of a group of four friends-Robert Peugeot, Olivier Bernard, Stephan Von Neipperg, and Xavier Planty. The former is a member of the Peugeot family, founders of the car company of the same name, while the other three are experienced and established winemakers. In 2011 the estate obtained organic certification, making it the first ever among the Châteaus of the original 1855 classification.

The vineyards of Château Guiraud, raised in the total 128 hectares of estate land, are planted on soils rich in gravel, clay and sand with the traditional white grape varieties of the area, namely Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Surrounded by forests, the vines are grown organically in the peculiar climate of the Sauternes area, which is characterized by frequent morning mists during the grape ripening period. This particular environmental condition, alternating with sunny days, creates ideal conditions for the development of Botrytis cinerea, the fungus responsible for the so-called "noble rot." Harvesting is carried out in numerous steps in order to select from time to time the grapes optimally affected by the mold. For the aging of the wine, French barriques are adopted, largely new, capable of taming and elevating the aromatic intensity of Sauternes.

The label of Château Guiraud's Sauternes is easily recognized by the gold lettering on a black background, a design adopted for more than two centuries. It is a dessert wine of rare concentration and harmony, able to defy time thanks to its extraordinary longevity.