CHATEAU MASSEREAU

This small estate makes Sauternes that is better than Ch. d’Yquem. Seriously. But in order to convince you, we need to tell the story of the estate. So, bear with us – it will be worth it. The story goes like this. . .

In the fall of 2012, we were on a cellar visit to Philippe Pacalet’s cellar in Beaune tasting through his 2010s and 2011s, when he decided to show us his own personal cellar – the wines that Philippe Pacalet drinks. The first wine he showed us was a bottle of Ch. Massereau. It was half-full and sitting open on the cellar floor with no cork. As Philippe picked it up he told us that it was the most amazing Sauternes he had ever had and that he had accidentally left an open bottle in a little-used corner of his cellar one night during some festivities. There the bottle sat, on its own, with no cork until he stumbled across it six months later! Curious – he gave it a try – and to his surprise, it tasted just as good as it had the day he opened it. It had not oxidized at all. He went on to use this as an example to explain to us how wines made in a natural style can be more stable than wines made in a more modern style.

Ch. Massereau was built in the 16th century, was owned by the Ducs de Epernon, and was originally 10 hectares in size. It was renowned for its wines up until about 100 years ago. Then the estate was sold and all the vineyards were absorbed into Ch. Doisy-Vedrines. That is – all except – the 1.1 hectares of vineyards that surrounded the Chateau. You see, Doisy-Vedrines already had a Chateau and they did not need another one. So, when they purchased the vineyards, the Chateau was parcelled off and sold to a private family – and 1.1 hectares of vineyards went with it.

The vineyards stayed untouched and transferred with the Chateau through a couple of owners until 2000 – when the Chaigneau family saw its amazing potential and bought it. The vineyards had not been re-planted like the rest of the appellation and still contained the original Semillon (85%) and Muscadelle (15%) vines that made Sauternes famous. The vineyards had also never seen the intensified industrialized production that had hit the rest of the appellation: They were a little oasis of natural historical vineyards – in what had otherwise become a large Sauternes factory. True to the history of the property – the family decided to continue to farm the vineyard in the most natural way possible. No chemicals are ever used and the results are astonishing.

These wines are 100% Botrytis.

• No chemicals
• No chaptalization
• No acidification
• No fining
• No filtering
• No cold stabilization
• No sulphites added

Just botrytized grape juice fermented until there is a little residual sugar. The results are breathtaking. You have never had a Sauternes like this before.

Why have you never heard of these wines? One simple reason. Total production: 1,500 bottles per year. That is nothing. The entire collection of back vintage wines and wines on elevage fit into a space the size of a one-car garage.