Introducing the - Peugeot

22 23 PEUGEOTCLUB
of must) and cryoextraction (freezing the
fruit) are some of the processes designed
to increase biodiversity. This is far from a
response to fashion, it is a philosophy. The
staff are working on new vines, with a better
characteristic and benefiting from patiently
replanted hedges of fig trees and other
species that Xavier Planty has selected from
local conservation banks. These indicators
of insects and predators are a sign that the
balance is being maintained.
Experienced men and women
But what would these natural tendencies be
without the most amazing people of their
day? In the late 18th century, the Maison
noble du Bayle belonged to the Guiraud area,
Protestant merchants (author’s note: there
is still a temple) then went from bankers to
merchants, from progressives to royalists.
The estate would then lose its name… After
the occupation, Guiraud came back to life
until the 1980s when major works were
carried out to relaunch the estate. Today,
a new chapter is being written. “Everything
depends on the moment of picking,” says
Xavier Planty. “My role then is to know how
to extract and find the flavours in the grape
skin.” The sine qua non condition for a good
vintage is careful harvesting. 150 experienced
grape-pickers, mostly women, prepare to
pick by hand. The basket, placed at the end
of the row, is far from full and picking goes
on day after day, bunch by bunch, in a series
of sessions, as the Botrytis does its work.
Quality is the mother of scarcity. With 6,660
vines per hectare, the château’s average
yield is about 1,500 l per hectare. The 2006
vintage numbered 5,500 cases, almost 5,000
of which have already been sold even though
they won’t be available until 2008. This was
half the 2005 quantity.
An amusing and sophisticated wine
Guiraud produces an average of 100 000
bottles a year, a second wine and a dry white,
G de Guiraud, whose name is reminiscent
of a perfume. In fact, after fermentation and
maturing in new barrels, the creative work
is very similar to that done by a perfume
designer. Making a wine means blending,
putting words to sensations and revealing
a soul. It is about composing notes and
harmonies. Our host talks about ”setting it
to music”. Depending on the vintage, the
wine will have a mentholated freshness,
be full bodied, have spicy, honey, caramel,
nutmeg aromas or fruity notes of pear or
vanilla. “When the wine is drawn it must
be drunk. Especially if it’s good,” says the
critic. Xavier Planty is of the same opinion,
“Sauternes must be drunk young!” he says. Of
the outstanding wines since 2000, he prefers
to remember the 1999 vintage, disdained
by the critics and more complex, but
revealing the secrets of a little known year,
which merited greater respect.
The worldwide prestige of a
registered label
It must be acknowledged that Sauternes
suits the taste of the whole world. Good
served with the eternal fois gras, but also
with chocolate, blue cheeses, Japanese
food, fish in sauce or with poultry, this
wine is snatched up in Asia, Taiwan, Italy
and Australia. Nowadays, half the sales are
to other countries, and despite increasing
competition from Hungarian vineyards, the
prestige of the Sauternes label is unaffected.
What of the future? The team sees it as
the colour of their wine, rather golden. The
Château has just introduced a new quietly
elegant and classy label, a perfect image
of what Guiraud is today: a surprising and
modern wine of contrasts, based on a
meticulous tradition. The next step will be
some works on the building to restore the
discreet lustre of bourgeois houses in the
Sauternes area that time has erased… and
there is already talk of starting up elsewhere,
this time venturing into red wine. But that’s
another story.
Peugeot moves to Sauternes
Château Guiraud
33210 Sauternes
Tel. +33 5 56 76 61 01
www.chateauguiraud.com
Open to visitors every day including
weekends 9 am to noon and 2 to 5 pm
(preferably by appointment)
Holding time in barrels in the wine store.