Château Coutet Sauternes 1er Cru Classé 1967

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A former English fortress, of which this 13th-century quadrangular tower remains, Château Coutet discovered its winemaking vocation from the 17th century onwards, under the leadership of Charles Le Guérin, Lord of Coutet. Bequeathed to his nephew Jean Le Pichard in 1695, the property remained in the latter's family for almost a century. At that time, Château Coutet wine was already highly prized by wine lovers, who saw it as one of the finest achievements of viticulture in Barsac. Owned by the Bordeaux parliamentarian Gabriel-Barthélémy-Romain de Filhot for a short period, confiscated in 1794, Château Coutet was passed on at the beginning of the 19th century to the Lur-Saluces family, one of whose members married Mr. Filhot's daughter. Already at the helm of several estates in Sauternes, including the famous Yquem, whose stables will now be housed at Château Coutet, the Lur-Saluces family confirms their hold on the sweet white wine sector with this new property. Taken over by the Société Immobilière des Grands Crus de France in 1922, the estate was separated from Yquem, before being purchased three years later by Henri-Louis Guy, a winemaking equipment manufacturer, whose family would oversee the destiny of Coutet wines for over fifty years.

This Premier Grand Cru Classé is one of the two lords of Barsac, along with Climens. On most of the plots, the famous red soil (a combination of iron oxide and limestone) gives the wine an extra liveliness compared to its close neighbors, with equivalent sugar content. The distinguished aromas of citrus and acacia bring it closer to Climens, but Coutet generally expresses itself more quickly and often has a little less liqueur, apart from the famous crème de tête known as Cuvée Madame, produced in certain particularly successful vintages. Alsatian Philippe Baly and his brother Dominique, with his daughter Aline, have managed the estate very conscientiously since it was bought by their father in 1977. This great rigor, combined with the terroir and the age of the vines, has produced a series of vintages of exceptional regularity and brilliance.