Château Climens 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 ...
Classé (French, "First Growth")
Sauternes wine producer from the
Barsac 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 ...
. The estate is located in the southern part of France's
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the b ...
region in the district of
:Graves, an eighth of a mile away from Barsac's other most historically rated vineyard,
Château Coutet.
Climens farms biodynamically and uses only natural yeast.
It is a wine characteristically known as better when young, though in its greatest years at the height of finesse. The vintages 1929, 1947 and 1949 were described by
Alexis Lichine to surpass
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 ...
as "lighter, with less vinosity and body, yet miraculously subtle."
Château Climens also produces a
second wine named Cypres de Climens.
As of 2018 Chateau Climens are producing a Semillon Sec:
Asphodele du Climens Grand Vin Blanc Sec.
History
The name Climens, appeared for the first time on a contract dated 1547, the name in the local dialect meaning "unfertile, poor land". The Roborel family were responsible for expanding the estate, initiating
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
in the 17th century, and oversaw the production of both white and red wine.
[
In 1855, Monsieur Henri Gounouilhou bought the property, in the year Climens was classified a ''Premier Cru''.][ It remained the property of the Gounouilhou family until Lucien Lurton of Château Brane-Cantenac bought the estate in 1971,][ along with ]Château Doisy-Dubroca
Château Doisy-Dubroca is a sweet white wine, ranked as Second Cru Classé (French, “Second Growth”), in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, ...
.[ It has been run by his daughter, Bérénice Lurton, since 1992.
]
Production
The grape variety is 100% 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 Sémi ...
, which is said to suit the vineyard's chalky soil.
References
External links
Château Climens official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Climens, Chateau
Bordeaux wine producers