When it comes to botrytis sweet wine, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely Chateau d'Yquem, which is famous for its "liquid gold", and Lur-Saluces, which has pushed Chateau d'Yquem to the king's position, is even more popular. People don’t know. This time I want to introduce Chateau de Fargues, which is in the same line as Chateau d'Yquem. It has the same family, similar wine labels, and similar quality. I believe many wine lovers sometimes associate these two wineries with each other. Confused.
Chateau de Fargues is a member of the Union Des Grands Crus De Bordeaux (Union of Grand Crus) and one of the oldest wineries in Bordeaux. It was founded by Cardinal Raymond Guilhem de Fargues in 1306. Later, due to marriage, the winery finally belonged to the Lur-Sauces family.
The Lur-Saluces family can be said to be the most quintessential interpreter of noble rot liqueur. Without the Lur Saluces family, there would be no Chateau d’Yquem, the unparalleled king of noble rot today. The Lur-Saluces family has always adhered to the principle of "you will never win unless you lose all courage." In years when the quality of grapes does not meet the requirements, the winery would rather not make wine. As the guardian of Chateau de Fargues for more than five centuries, Lur Saluces adheres to the principle of quality first, so no bottle of Chateau de Fargues has appeared in 1964, 1972, 1974 and 1992.
Brewing botrytis liqueur is indeed a matter of favorable time, place and people. However, only a few regions in the world have the conditions to brew botrytis liqueur. Sauternes in France, Tokaji in Hungary and Germany's Rheingau is also known as the world's three largest botrytis wine producing areas. Chateau de Fargues is located in the Sauternes production area of Bordeaux, France. The unique micro-climate here - cold and humid in the morning, is conducive to the growth and spread of botrytis; the hot and dry afternoon makes the grapes evaporate and dehydrate, which is conducive to increasing the sweetness of the grapes.
The winery has about 18 hectares of vineyards, with grapevines with an average age of more than 35 years, about 80% of Semillon and 20% of Sauvignon Blanc grape varieties. The grapes with the deepest degree of decay are picked first in multiple batches. The dried botrytis grapes can only provide an average of 100ml per grape vine, so a 375ml bottle of botrytis liqueur requires at least four grape trees. .
After picking and fermentation in the traditional way, the wine is matured in French oak barrels for 30 to 36 months before being bottled. Therefore, Chateau de Fardues’ botrytis sweet wine is best tasted after aging, and some wine connoisseurs have said that the winery’s wine will add new flavors every ten years, and the flavor will be more expressive when tasted alone.
🏅 Wine Advocate 97pts
Pale to medium gold in color, the 2009 de Fargues drifts effortlessly out of the glass with gorgeous honeysuckle, candied ginger, tropical fruit preserves and musk perfume scents followed by nuances of beeswax, chamomile tea and quince paste. Full-bodied, seductively rich and super sweet, the hedonistic layers are beautifully offset by wonderful freshness, finishing long and very layered. It possesses mature notions and yet still has bags of vibrant fruit, so loads of time ahead for this stunner.
