Château Guiraud

The Guiraud family, Protestant and republican merchants in a Catholic, pro-royalty stronghold, acquired the property in 1766. The château has a classic black and gold label. In 1855 the estate was classified 1er Grand Cru Classé. In October 2021 French entrepreneur Matthieu Gufflet, founding chairman of the consultancy group EPSA, acquired a majority stake in Financière Guiraud, the holding company that owns Château Guiraud. Gufflet also owns Château de Callac in the Graves and founded Terres de Natures, a group of hotels and high-end restaurants.

• 1766: the Guiraud family acquired the property.
• 1855: classified 1er Grand Cru Classé.
• October 2021: Matthieu Gufflet acquired a majority stake in Financière Guiraud, the holding company that owns the estate.

In May 2022 Château Guiraud appointed Sandrine Garbay to lead the property. Garbay joined Château d'Yquem in 1994, the year she graduated from the University of Bordeaux with a doctorate in biological and medical sciences specialising in oenology, and was promoted to cellar master of Château d'Yquem in 1998. The estate's team is led by Sandrine Garbay, and Matthieu Gufflet is the publication director of the estate's website, which is published by SOC CIVIL AGRI CHATEAU GUIRAUD. Yoann Amado leads the kitchen at the estate's gourmet restaurant, Le Cercle Guiraud.

• Sandrine Garbay: appointed to lead the property in May 2022; cellar master of Château d'Yquem from 1998.
• Matthieu Gufflet: majority shareholder of Financière Guiraud since October 2021.
• Yoann Amado: chef of Le Cercle Guiraud.

Château Guiraud is built on a soil of gravel, sand and clay, surrounded by forests in the heart of the Sauternes wine region, and spans a total area of 128 hectares. The topsoils are 80% sandy gravel and 20% clay gravel, over a subsoil of deep translucent sand and pure gravels crossed by red clay and limestone marls, with fossilised oyster beds. For the 2022 vintage, 54 hectares were dedicated to AOC Sauternes, planted at 6,600 vines per hectare with an average vine age of 25 to 30 years and a blend of 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc. The estate has a high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc, at 35%. It has worked for biodiversity since 1996, committed to organic viticulture in the mid-1990s, and received organic certification in 2011. Hedgerows encourage wildlife, more than 630 species of insects have been recorded, plant cover grows in the vineyard rows for agronomic purposes, and the estate keeps a collection of 145 Sémillon and Sauvignon clones.

• 128 hectares in total; soils of 80% sandy gravel and 20% clay gravel over sand, gravel, red clay, limestone marl and fossilised oyster beds.
• 2022: 54 hectares of AOC Sauternes at 6,600 vines per hectare, average vine age 25 to 30 years.
• Biodiversity work since 1996; organic certification in 2011.
• Hedgerows, plant cover in the rows, more than 630 insect species and a collection of 145 Sémillon and Sauvignon clones.

The grand vin, Château Guiraud, is a Sauternes made with Botrytis cinerea, known as noble rot, from botrytized grapes harvested by hand, from a blend of 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for 18 months in new French oak barrels. In 2022 the harvest ran from September 15 to October 27 in three tries, and production was 50,000 bottles. Petit Guiraud, the estate's younger Sauternes, is made from the same plots as Château Guiraud during a first selection of botrytized grapes with a lower concentration of sugar; the 2022 was fermented partly in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and partly in barrels, aged 12 months in barrels previously used for one wine, and production was 16,000 bottles. G de Château Guiraud is a dry white aged for 6 months on lees, half in stainless steel vats and half in barrels previously used for the estate's Sauternes; the 2023 is a blend of 60% Sémillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc from 46 hectares, with production of 170,000 bottles. The Grand Vin Blanc Sec de Château Guiraud is made from a selection of plots and vinified in barrels used for the estate's Sauternes; the 2022 is 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc from 16 hectares, aged on lees in barrels for 10 months, and its harvest began on August 19, the earliest date in the history of the estate's harvests.

• Château Guiraud (Sauternes): 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, indigenous yeasts, 18 months in new French oak barrels; 50,000 bottles in 2022.
• Petit Guiraud (Sauternes): from the same plots, a first selection of botrytized grapes with less sugar; 16,000 bottles in 2022.
• G de Château Guiraud (dry white): 6 months on lees, half in stainless steel and half in Sauternes barrels; 170,000 bottles in 2023.
• Grand Vin Blanc Sec de Château Guiraud (dry white): 2022 harvest began August 19, the earliest in the estate's history; 15,000 bottles.

The estate calls its wine 'a refreshing and contemporary Sauternes with perfectly balanced sweetness,' and credits its style to the terroir of sand, gravel and clay, its high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc, its farming methods, and its harvesting and blending. Of the grand vin it writes that the wine 'boasts a floral freshness, exotic notes and intensely sweet flavours with a dense, well-balanced palate.'

Château Guiraud is open 7 days a week, including public holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with or without a booking, with visits in French, English or Norwegian. La Chapelle de Guiraud, a bistronomic restaurant, sits at the château, and Le Cercle Guiraud, a gourmet restaurant, opened in the village of Sauternes in the summer of 2023.

• Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with or without a booking.
• Two restaurants: La Chapelle de Guiraud at the château and Le Cercle Guiraud in the village of Sauternes (opened summer 2023).

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.chateauguiraud.com/en/, https://www.chateauguiraud.com/en/legal-notices.html, and the estate's technical sheets (PDF): https://www.chateauguiraud.com/media/original/64c7c305b18b4/cha-teau-guiraud-1er-grand-cru-classe-en-1855-2022_en.pdf, https://www.chateauguiraud.com/media/original/64c7c305b18b4/petit-guiraud-2022_en.pdf, https://www.chateauguiraud.com/media/original/64c7c305b18b4/chateau-guiraud-grand-vin-blanc-sec-2022_en.pdf, https://www.chateauguiraud.com/media/original/64c7c305b18b4/g-de-chateau-guiraud-2023_en.pdf. Secondary sources: Decanter (Chris Mercer, 21 October 2021) and The Drinks Business (Arabella Mileham, 24 May 2022). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.