South of Bordeaux, there are two areas famous for their wines that we were unfamiliar with until we visited, Graves and Sauterne. Most wines produced in this region are made from white grapes, usually Chardonnay and Semillon.
During our visit, facilitated by Rue des Vignerons, we learned that Graves and Sauterne were included in the 1855 classification imposed by Napolean III. This classification included only red wines from the Médoc, the Sauternes, and Barsac sweet white wines, and one Graves red cru.
Grand Cru de Graves
In 1953, at the request of the Syndicat de défense de l’appellation des Graves, the Institut national des appellations d’origine (INAO) the Grand Cru de Graves classification was established. There are only 16 wineries that have the Grand Cru de Graves designation and there are no hierarchies like other appellations. Most of the wines from this area are white wines.
Wineries We Visited in Graves
We visited Graves on our first day of wine tasting in Bordeaux. At that point, we were like sponges while we tried to absorb all of the information we were given. We also didn’t arrange a lunch so there are no food pictures.
Chateau Latour-Martillac, Grand Cru Classe
Chateau Latour-Martillac was our first visit on our first day of tasting. Luckily, we were helped by a guy who just received his advanced sommelier pin three days earlier. We were happy to take advantage of his zeal to impart all of his knowledge. We saw the regional map for the first time and he described the areas and their characteristics.
Chateau d’Eyran
Chateau d’Eyran was a favorite of this day. It is a small winery that has an unusual viewport between the tasting room and the barrel storage area.
Chateau Bouscaut, Grand Cru Classe
The wine from Chateau Bouscaut, a Grand Cru Classe, was another one of our favorites of that day.
Chateau Pape Clement, Grand Cru Classe
Chateau Pape Clement is the oldest winery in Bordeaux, about 700+ years old. It was also awarded the Grand Cru Classe designation. We learned here many of the wineries still use draft horses to work in the vineyards. They are better for the vineyards because they don’t compact the soil as much as mechanized equipment.
While the winery is beautiful, we didn’t think the wine was outstanding.
When we got home after our first day of wine tasting in Graves, I had to take a nap. It was obvious I had over-imbibed. I was very conscious of this on our subsequent day’s wine tasting.
Visiting Sauterne
On another day we made reservations to visit four wineries in Sauterne. We knew the wines were made sweet by a mold called botrytis, but we didn’t know the process and the effect of the climate. The foggy climate near the Garonne River late in the growing season encourages a particular type of mold to grow on the grapes. The result is a very sweet juice that is made into Sauterne wine. Because the proper climate only exists in a specific area and the juice produced is less than grapes harvested earlier, production in this area is limited.
Even though there are 26 grand vrus, production is limited so the price for Sauternes is quite high. In addition, the Sauternes and Barsac crus classés have significant economic importance, as they cover 45% of the surface area of their appellation and are responsible for 30% of its production.
Wineries We Visited in Sauterne
Some of the wineries we visited are on the list of premier crus, but we didn’t know that when we booked our visits. We also didn’t know any of that when we ranked what we liked and didn’t like.
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Premier Grand Cru Classe
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey is partly owned by the Lalique company. Lalique is known for its crystal glassware and art. The tasting room of the winery is part wine and part crystal. It seemed like a magical room. We also enjoyed their wines a great deal but the tasting was the most expensive of all of the tastings we did and the wine was also very expensive. Alas, we didn’t buy anything.
Chateau de Cerons
Chateau de Cerons let us taste a red wine, white wine, and a rose. The vineyards and the chateau itself are lovely but we didn’t really like the wine.
Chateau D’Arche, Deuxiemes Grand Cru Classe
We liked the wine at Chateau D’Arche very much. The chateau is very pretty from the outside but, like everywhere else, we couldn’t go inside. We were able to taste four wines here.
Chateau Gravas
Chateau Gravas focuses on art and promoting art in addition to making wine. While not our favorite of the day, we bought a half bottle of Sauterne because it was reasonably priced.
As usual, we enjoyed our tasting days a lot, and we had the bonus of learning a lot about Graves and Sauterne wines. We would highly recommend visiting these areas if you have the time. I will say that we bought a split of Sauterne because we liked it with the intention of drinking it while eating the foie gras that we bought in Rocamadour. We enjoyed our Sauterne with Foie Gras the way it was meant to be.
There was one area that we neglected called Entre-Deux-Mers, which means between the seas or in this case between the rivers. We were told that this region produces some lovely white wines but we didn’t venture there.
Would you want to visit Sauterne if you were in the area?
