Philosophy
We express it through our inclination towards excellence through Nature. To be perfect a product requires the whole Terroir strength, demanding respect and care.
A special care for nature, men, their knowledge and tradition are to be found in the daily vineyard work and wine making.
Respect for biodiversity, putting living organisms back in their native environment, letting nature spring back in the place and making sure that all ecologic factors implied in the growth are well balanced.
Guiraud has distinguished itself by working on massal selection* since 2001 and creating a vine grafting workshop.
Man and land
Mankind makes history and memory transmits it through time. A terroir is also a matter of skill, savoir-faire, of people belonging to a living place, a work place. Experience and human observation are worthier than any modern survey would it be the most efficient.
Guiraud’s strength lies, among other aspects, in the fact that its workforce has been living in this very land for an average of 20 years. Wine is just like the people who make it: it evolves slowly but surely. Thus the making of a great growth is the result of a long and continuous thinking.
It often takes a whole human life to get to know a land and its distinctive identity. And so the best wines are made by those who know time for what it is worth.
The works in the vines
Vines require specific cares and full consideration. All year long, different manipulations are to be done by the workers. A careful work is the prime condition to obtain great grapes quality even though the final result is determined by the weather.
In an appellation like Sauternes we have to be even more careful with the vines as the objective is to help the Botrytis development (worst enemy in most appellations).
At Guiraud, we are searching on how to develop the propagation of the fungus in more efficient and appropriate way respecting the traditional Vine work.
The Botrytis
The noble rot (botrytis cinerea) allows the creation of Sauternes. At Guiraud, we are not looking for a perfectly ripped grape but we are looking for its concentration, its sublimation made by a microscopic fungus: the « noble rot* » or botrytis cinerea.
In September when the berries are fully ripe, nights are getting fresher, the morning dew and mist abound. All those elements contribute to the development of the fungus. The goldish grape turns violet; its skin gets weaker and weaker allowing the evaporation of water present in the grape. This is the crucial moment, where everything is on gamble.
The weakness of the fruit makes us fear the smallest rainfall. Risk is the price to pay in Sauternes, but without it great wine would not exist.
Now the flavours are starting to concentrate. Day after day the morning dew and the afternoon sun concentrate the range of aromas of the grape which produce a Sauternes wine with an exquisite taste. The fungus brings a sweet flavour to the wine and a great pallet of flattering aromas such as : black tea, white pepper, saffron, candied fruit, sandalwood,...all coming from this microscopic fungus, mysterious alchemist of our « terroir » (grape varieties).
In mouth, the concentration gives a tannic impression, mucous membranes clench under the tannins and sourness effects and then smooth with the wine's liquor.
From a rotten grape flows a pallet of complex perfumes and feelings. And so are the greatest Guiraud wines brought to birth: complex, rich, always fresh but never heavy, incredible wines fruit of an amazing work but also hazardous fruit of the sun, the dew and the wind.
©Château Guiraud