Location and History
Château Guiraud is located in Sauternes in the heart of the wine region Bordeaux in France. The Guiraud family acquired the château in 1766.
Terroir and Climate
The estate covers 128 hectares on a terrace of gravel, sand and clay surrounded by woodland. The vineyard plots consist of 80 percent sandy gravel and 20 percent clay gravel. In the subsoil there are deeper, translucent sand, pure gravel, red and white clay, calcareous marl, as well as fossilised oyster beds.
For the 2022 vintage, a mild winter, an early start to the growing season, and a warm and dry spring and summer are reported. Frost towers protected the vines from spring frosts. The very moist clay subsoil made possible slow ripening without water stress.
Biodiversity and Viticulture
Château Guiraud began its biodiversity programme in 1996 and received, in 2011, as the first Premier Grand Cru Classé, organic certification. Hedges, ground cover between the vine rows and a collection of 145 Sémillon and Sauvignon clones are part of biodiversity-oriented farming. The 2022 harvest at Château Guiraud was carried out by hand between 15 September and 27 October in three successive selections.
Wines and Ageing
The sweet Sauternes Château Guiraud is produced from botrytised grapes and is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 classification. The 2022 vintage consists of 65 percent Sémillon and 35 percent Sauvignon Blanc. Fermentation took place with natural yeasts, of which 90 percent were in new French oak barrels and 10 percent in barrels from first use. The wine then matured for around 18 months in barrel.
Petit Guiraud is the estate’s younger Sauternes and comes from a first selection of less sugar-concentrated botrytised grapes from the same parcels. The Grand Vin Blanc Sec de Château Guiraud is produced as Bordeaux AOC; in 2022 it consists of 70 percent Sémillon and 30 percent Sauvignon Blanc, and after fermentation it matured for ten months on the lees in French oak barrels. G de Guiraud is a dry white wine made from equal proportions of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon; it matures for six months on the lees, half in fine stainless steel tanks and half in used barrels from the sweet Premier Cru.
