2001 Château Guiraud, Sauternes, Bordeaux

2001 Château Guiraud, Sauternes, Bordeaux

Product: 20011017047
 
2001 Château Guiraud, Sauternes, Bordeaux

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Description

The 2001 vintage resulted in truly exceptional, hedonistic sweet wines in Sauternes, and the Cru Classé estate Ch. Guiraud produced a very fine and rich example. A perfumed bouquet of honey, beeswax and honeysuckle entices – and the palate doesn’t disappoint, with good acidity supported by a glorious freshness. The finish is long, persistent and intense. This is a classy wine from a classy estate.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate92/100
The Guiraud 2001 here did not quite deliver as it had done at the vertical tasting a couple of years previously. However, it still boasts an attractive, quite forward orange peel, lanolin and apricot-scented bouquet that is certainly well defined. Like before, just give it a few swirls and that peachy nose unfurls. The palate is well balanced but I find it here just a little pinched on the entry. The finish is linear but full of citrus fruit and bitter orange to savor. I was just expecting more persistence but otherwise this is very fine.
Neal Martin - 31/10/2014 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW17.5/20
Darker than most. Very heady with lots of glucose richness. Heavy and satisfying with great weight. Some crème brûlée element. Edgy. Well done but with a dangerous edge. Still quite chewy. One of the fatter sweet wines in the 2001 vintage.
Jancis Robinson - Bordeaux 2001s 10 years on - janicsrobinson.com - 30 Mar 2011 Read more
Robert Parker94/100
Golden hues to the eye & encouragingly fresh on the nose. Firm acidity holds together a great variety of fruit flavours darkish marmalade included. Lovely on length the fruits leap out very fresh and long lively finish. "A medium gold color is accompanied by notes of caramelized oranges, citrus, honeysuckle, creme brulee, and smoke. Full-bodied and opulent with tremendous intensity, good acidity, and a persistent finish that lasts nearly a minute, this large-scaled thick, heady Guiraud is one of the finest examples from this estate that I have ever tasted.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - July 2004 Read more

About this WINE

Chateau Guiraud

Chateau Guiraud

Château Guiraud is a large Sauternes property that is the only 1er Cru Classé, with the exception of its illustrious neighbour Château d`Yquem, that is located within the commune of Sauternes itself.

Guiraud was owned for a short period by the Maxwell family, who invested heavily in the property, although the wines remained fairly pedestrian. In 1981 it was acquired by a Canadian, Hamilton Narby, and he has transformed Guiraud into one of the very finest Sauternes properties.

Guiraud's 85 hectares of vineyards are located on one of the hills above the village of Sauternes. They are planted with 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are harvested in "tries" and the juice is then fermented in oak barrels. The wine is then aged in oak casks (50% new) for 2 years.

Guiraud is a very ambitious property with aspirations to produce a wine that will one day rival d`Yquem. The wines are astonishingly rich, especially in light of the high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend, and are undoubtedly amongst the finest wines being produced in Sauternes today.
 

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Sauternes

Sauternes

Sauternes is where arguably the world's finest sweet white wines are produced. The Sauternes appellation actually consists of five communes: Barsac, Preignac, Bommes, Fargues and Sauternes itself. Barsac is also an appellation in its own right.

Sauternes literally has an atmosphere different from any of the other major communes. At the southern tip of the Graves,close to the Garonne, not only is the land hillier and decidedly more bucolic but it also enjoys a specific mesoclimate of evening autumn mists which linger until well into the following day, unless burnt off by warm sunshine.

The mists are caused by the cool, spring-fed waters of the Ciron River meeting the warmer tidal Garonne, and the result is an ideal environment for the growth of the mould botrytis cinerea. When its arrival is felicitous, it feeds on the water in the ripe grapes, dehydrating them and leaving sweet, shriveled fruit.

Other regions in Bordeaux (ie Cadillac, Loupiac) produce wines in a similar style from the same method, but none achieve the profundity and complexity of Sauternes.

Recommended Châteaux : Ch. D'Yquem, Ch. Climens (Barsac), Ch. Suduiraut, Ch. Rieussec,  Sigalas- Rabaud, Ch. Coutet (Barsac), Ch. de Fargues, Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Ch. Doisy-Védrines (Barsac), Chateau Partarrieu, La Tour Blanche

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Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon

Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon

The blend used for White Graves and Sauternes and rarely encountered outside France. In the great dry whites of Graves, Sauvignon Blanc tends to predominate in the blend, although properties such as Smith Haut Lafite use 100% Sauvignon Blanc while others such as Laville Haut Brion have as much as 60% Sémillon in their final blends. Sauvignon Blanc wines can lose their freshness and fruit after a couple of years in bottle - if blended with Sémillon, then the latter bolsters the wine when the initial fruit from the Sauvignon fades. Ultimately Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its aroma and raciness while Sémillon gives it backbone and longevity.

In Sauternes, Sémillon is dominant, with Sauvignon Blanc playing a supporting role - it is generally harvested about 10 days before Sémillon and the botrytis concentrates its sweetness and dampens Sauvignon Blanc`s naturally pungent aroma. It contributes acidity, zip and freshness to Sauternes and is an important component of the blend.

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