By Chateau Guiraud
2004 Sauternes 1er Cru Classe

Source
Vineyard: From our 85 ha in the Sauternes appellation
Soil: 80% sandy gravel, with clay gravel for the remainder; diverse subsoils with profound translucent sands, pure gravel crossed with red clay and limestone marls, fossilized oyster beds, and red and white clay
Farming: Conservation-grade style agriculture, without chemical treatments and no anti-botrytis treatment.
Density: 6,660 vines/ha
Average Vine Age: 35 years old
Yield: Around 10 hl/ha
Harvest: By hand with successive selections; only botrytized grapes were selected, with a minimum potential of 20% alcohol required to start the harvest

Production
Blend: 65% Semillon, 35% and Sauvignon Blanc
Fermentation: In barrels for three weeks to two months. Different batches are fermented until they reach their equilibrium, depending on their selection. Chaptalization, cryoextraction, and all other techniques used to enrich the wine are forbidden.
Aging: In barrels for 18 to 24 months, depending upon the vintage.

Tasting Notes
The wine is beautiful, vibrant, deep gold, developing fresh flower aromas, pear, crystallized lime, and vanilla. Impeccably roasted with a beautiful balance. This wine will certainly be a good affair in the future.
[Information provided by Beyerman Wines]
[Information is not vintage specific]

Wine: Chateau Guiraud 2004 Sauternes
Score/Rating: 94 - Cellar Selection
Review Date: 02/01/2009
Reviewed By: Roger Voss
Tasting Notes: For a 2004, this is big and rich, but that is to be expected from Guiraud. The fruit is magnificently ripe, with flavors of peach and tangerine syrup along with the core of botrytis and dark honey. The aftertaste is exotically spicy.

Wine: Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2004
Score/Rating: 92
Review Date: 08/31/2007
Tasting Notes: Spicy, with dried apricot and lemon character. Full, yet tight and long. Medium sweet, with a spicy finish. An impressive racy style. [...]

Wine: 2004 Chateau Guiraud
Score/Rating: 90
Review Date: 04/29/2014
Reviewed By: Neal Martin
Tasting Notes: This bottle of 2004 Guiraud is not quite as good as the one served at the vertical last year. Comparing it to the likes of de Fargues, the bouquet does not possess the same clinical delineation. The palate is light and fresh on the entry but this bottle has a sour lemon note that slightly detracts from its overall focus. Still, there is fine minerality towards the finish and it serves as a fine Sauternes for the vintage, even if I think Xavier Planty has produced superior wines in recent years. [...] Tasted February 2014.

Wine: 2004 Guiraud
Score/Rating: 88
Review Date: 06/2005
Reviewed By: Stephen Tanzer
Tasting Notes: Pale gold. Fresh pineapple and spicy oak on the pungent, rather high-pitched nose. Then juicy and leanish, with penetrating flavors of pineapple and lemon. Not fleshy or particularly deep but focused and pure. Finishes fairly dry, with good length.

Wine: Ch Guiraud 2004 Sauternes 
Score/Rating: 16.5/20
Review Date: 03/05/2014
Reviewed By: Jancis Robinson
Tasting Notes: Big and beefy and round. Clean finish. Proper.