Château de Fargues 1999

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for Château de Fargues 1999

Tasting notes

Appearance
This white wine reveals a deep golden hue with coppery glints, which gently evolves towards amber over time while retaining a superb brilliance.

Nose
The bouquet displays remarkable complexity and power. It exudes aromas of candied fruit, exotic fruit and citrus, enhanced by floral notes of broom, along with hints of toasted bread and sweet spices.

Palate
The attack offers a rich, creamy, almost syrupy texture. This generosity is perfectly balanced by an acidic backbone that brings freshness, preventing any sense of heaviness, and carries the wine through to an exceptionally long finish.

Food and wine pairings

This sweet wine pairs wonderfully with classic dishes such as pan-seared or semi-cooked foie gras, as well as blue-veined cheeses like Roquefort. It also complements lightly sweetened desserts featuring yellow fruit or citrus. For more contemporary pairings, it beautifully complements Asian cuisine, Peking duck, sweet-and-savoury dishes, or fine shellfish served with lightly spiced sauces.

Serving and cellaring

To fully enjoy Château de Fargues 1999, it is recommended to serve it at around 12°C, without over-decanting so as to protect its delicate aromas. Blessed with remarkable ageing potential, this vintage can be enjoyed now or cellared until around 2099, ideally at a temperature of 14°C and a humidity level of between 65 and 80%.

The elegance and complexity of a great sweet wine from Bordeaux

The estate

While the medieval fortress was built in 1306 and has belonged to the Lur Saluces family since 1472, the modern winegrowing estate as we know it today dates back to 1943. Located in the Bordeaux region, the estate spans 162 hectares combining forests, meadows and vineyards. Now run by Alexandre de Lur Saluces, the property produces a single, unique wine, with no second wine, often described as a "philosopher's wine". Château de Fargues stands out for its extreme quality demands and its pursuit of exceptional aromatic concentration.

The vineyard

The 15 to 16 hectares of vines flourish at the heart of the Sauternes appellation. Perched on a hillside overlooking the Garonne valley and close to the Landes forest, the terroir benefits from a perfect autumn microclimate for the development of noble rot. The vines, around 35 years old, are planted on poor clay-and-gravel soils with a subsoil of clay and alios. High planting density and extremely low yields help concentrate the grapes.

The vintage

1999 brought together the climatic conditions needed to meet the estate's exacting standards. The berries were able to develop an ideal natural sugar concentration and a fine noble rot, giving rise to this vintage.

Winemaking and ageing

Producing Château de Fargues 1999 requires extremely rigorous hand-harvesting, with multiple successive passes through the vineyard to select only perfectly botrytised berries. Fermentation takes place in oak barrels. The wine is then aged for around three years in entirely new barrels, with rackings carried out every three months to ensure natural clarification.

Grape varieties

Sémillon (80%)
Sauvignon Blanc (20%)