Château Coutet is a ''

Premier Cru Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The t ...

Classé'' (French: First Growth)

sweet wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

from the Sauternes-Barsac appellation located in Barsac, in the southern part of France's

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

vineyards. Château Coutet is one of the oldest Sauternes producing vineyards, and is described by

David Peppercorn David Peppercorn (born 1931) is a British Master of Wine, French wine importer and author, known for his books about the wines of Bordeaux and long experience in his field, having collected tasting notes since the late 1950s. He is married to fel ...

as a "twin" of Barsac's other ''

Premier cru Cru is a wine term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French word which is traditionally translated as "growth", as is the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow); it literally means 'grown'. The t ...

'' estate, Château Climens. Coutet also produces a

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

, Chartreuse de Coutet, a dry white wine named Vin Sec de Chateau Coutet and a cuvée in vintages of exceptional quality, Cuvée Madame.

History

The estate was acquired in 1643 by Charles le Guerin, Lord of Coutet, a counselor at the Bordeaux parliament. In 1695 he passed the estate on to his nephew, Jean le Pichard, whose descendants owned Coutet until 1788. It was at this time that the former US president

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

noted Coutet as the best Sauternes originating from Barsac.Markham Jr., Dewey. ''1855: Histoire d’un Classement des vins de Bordeaux. Bordeaux'', Féret Coutet was later acquired by Gabriel-Barthelemy-Romain de Filhot, president of the Bordeaux parliament and a cousin of the former owner. As a consequence of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, Château Coutet was seized by the state in 1794 and de Filhot was beheaded. Château Coutet was inherited later on by Marquis Romain Bertrand de Lur Saluces, son of Marie-Geneviève de Filhot and Antoine-Marie de Lur Saluces. De Lur Saluces was also at the time owner of

Château d'Yquem Château d'Yquem () is a '' Premier Cru Supérieur'' ( Fr: "Superior First Growth") wine from the Sauternes, Gironde region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves. In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Ch ...

, Château Filhot and Château de Malle and thus the largest producer of sweet white wines in the world. Château Coutet remained under the care of the de Lur Saluces family until 1923. At this point Henry-Louis Guy, a hydraulic wine press manufacturer from Lyon, purchased Château Coutet. This transaction separated the estate from Château d'Yquem. Guy equipped the winery with his vertical presses, still used today at each harvest. In 1977, the Baly family purchased the property remaining present day owners. In 1994, Coutet signed an agreement with

Philippine de Rothschild Philippine Mathilde Camille, Baroness de Rothschild (22 November 1933 – 23 August 2014) was the owner of the French winery Château Mouton Rothschild. She acted under the stage name Philippine Pascal (imprinting on her paternal grandfather Henri d ...

giving exclusive distribution rights to Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.

Architecture

Standing over the main courtyard, the château's square tower is believed to originate from the late 13th century with a design typical to the military constructions from the time of Aquitaine's English occupation. A second tower, located in the property's northern plot, is another example of the era's architecture. This landmark was built originally to breed pigeons and peacocks for region's Gascon lords. Further elements from other centuries define the property's architecture, including a 14th-century chapel and two 16th-century towers. The architecture of the oldest part of the château is identical to that of Château d'Yquem, and the well in the courtyard an exact duplicate. Coutet is also home to the longest Sauternes winery with a 110 metres long cellar that houses more than 860 barrels.

Production

Located between the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

and

Ciron The Ciron (; oc, Siron) is a left tributary of the Garonne, in Gironde, Southwest France. It is long. Geography The Ciron rises in the eastern end of the Moors of Gascony, in Landes. It flows north-west, mainly through the moors of Gironde, c ...

rivers, Château Coutet benefits from a

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

whose autumn mists necessary for the spread of the ''

Botrytis cinerea ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" o ...

''. The vineyard area extends 38 hectares with grape varieties of 75%

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémil ...

, 23% Sauvignon blanc and 2%

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unid ...

. On average 4,500 cases are produced each year of the ''Grand vin'' Château Coutet. Additionally there is produced the second wine Chartreuse de Coutet from the estate's younger vines, and a dry white wine named Vin Sec de Château Coutet. In infrequent vintages of exceptional quality, a precise berry-by-berry selection wine is produced named Cuvée Madame. First created by Edmond Rolland in honour of his wife in 1922, it typically has a production of 700 cases.

References

External links

Château Coutet official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coutet, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers