Château Filhot, archaically named Maison Noble de Verdoulet, is a winery rated ''Deuxième cru classé'' (French, “Second Growth”) in the

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...

, from the Sauternes

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

in Gironde. Considered by some unjustly omitted from the ''

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 ...

'' classification, Filhot produces a drier wine than

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 ...

, with an unusually high alcohol content for a Sauternes.

History

The vineyard dating from the 1630s, the château was founded by Romain de Filhot in 1709. Following 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 ...

, the estate was taken over by Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces who added the estate of Pinaud du Rey and had the château redesigned to its English appearance in 1840. During the period when then American ambassador to France

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 ...

ranked the wine directly behind Yquem, Filhot enjoyed a greater reputation than today, and the two wines were comparably priced. In 1935, Comtesse Durieu de Lacarelle (the sister of the Marquis de Lur-Saluces, proprietor of Château d'Yquem) bought the estate, which was subsequently modernised by her son, Louis Durieu de Lacarelle, during the 1970s. The estate is currently run by the Vaucelles family.

Production

The vineyard area extends from a 350 hectares estate with the

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

of 60%

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 ...

, 36% Sauvignon blanc and 4%

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 ...

. Their annual production is an average of 6500 cases. The

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 ...

is called Chateau Pineau du Rey.

References

External links

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