Château Guiraud 2010

Three centuries of wine growing 

Built on a soil of gravel, sand and clay, surrounded by forests in the heart of the Sauternes wine region and spanning a total area of 128 hectares : Château Guiraud’s unusual topography has always fostered a unique sense of freedom, right from the very start. The story of Château Guiraud starts in 1766 when Pierre Guiraud, a bordeaux wine trader acquired the estate. 80 years and three generations later, Château Guiraud became a great winery and ranked as a First Growth "Premier Grand Cru" Classé in 1855. In 2006, Rober Peugeot and three wine makers Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier, Stephan Von Neipperg of Château Canon La Gaffelière and Xavier Planty decided to buy the estate. They would like to share their passion for wine, gastronomy and nature. 

Château Guiraud is located on the Left Bank of the Garonne river in the heart of the Sauternes appellation between the church bell and the vines of Château d’Yquem. The vineyard spans over 128 hectares of which 15 are used for the production of the dry wine G de Guiraud. The vineyard has two grape varieties Sauvignon (35%) and the Semillon (65%). One of the particularities of the estate is that the percentage of Sauvignon is 35% when all the other estates of Sauternes are around 15%. 

As a pioneering proponent of biodiversity since 1996 and first 1855 Grand Cru Classé estate to receive organic certification, Château Guiraud has always been proud to declare its unfaltering commitment to the natural world. Having been awarded the Terres de Natures label in 2022 and under the leadership of Sandrine Garbay, a modest woman who is renowned for her incredible expertise. Château Guiraud produces a refreshing and contemporary Sauternes with perfectly balanced sweetness. Sauternes by Guiraud, a pioneering signature in shades of white and gold. 

The wine grows on extremely heterogeneous soils and subsoils, 80% of sandy gravel and 20% of clay gravel. The vines are 30 to 40 years old on average. Combining a perfectly balanced sweetness with a surprisingly refreshing depth, Château Guiraud revels in its distinctive character, producing a resolutely contemporary Sauternes. 

Château Guiraud 2010 has a luminous golden color with amber highlights, indicating good concentration and a high ageing potential. This vintage has a rich and complex bouquet, with aromas of exotic fruits such as mango, pineapple and passion fruit. On the palate, Château Guiraud 2010 is rich and unctuous. Château Guiraud lends itself perfectly to refined gastronomic pairings. It is ideal with foie gras, either pan-fried or in a terrine. Seafood and shellfish, particularly langoustines and scallops, also go wonderfully well with this wine.

"The 2010 Guiraud is a little closed on the nose like the 2010 Climens and demands a lot of coaxing from the glass. Eventually it reveals scents of dried honey, fig and ginger but they feel muted at the moment. The palate is much better and more expressive with tangy marmalade and quince notes, good depth and fine tension. It is just a case of waiting for the nose to open because the palate really shows the potential here. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal." - Neal Martin, Vinous, (04/30/2020), Ratings: 95, Drink: 2023-2060