I am excited to present to you two new wines that have joined our portfolio from Chateau d'Arche. With a growing following for Sauternes not only have we added the main label Chateau d'Arche 2009 wine to our portfolio, but also the Lafaurie 2016, a pure Semillon sweet wine.
Château d’Arche is one of the oldest estates in the Sauternes appellation, located in the heart of the village. Currently the Chateau has 30 hectares of vines, led by Matthieu Arroyo, oenologist and researcher. Matthieu and his team create the wine of Chateau d’Arche Grand Cru Classé as if creating a piece of art. Each harvest is unique, harvested by hand, sorted, selected and shaped.
In 1611, Etienne D’Arche, eldest son of Bernard d’Arche, Knight and Lord of Arche, formed the branch of the family that settled in the Bordeaux region. Doctor regent of the University of Bordeaux and lawyer at the Parliament of Guyenne, he was the first of his family to become sufficiently passionate about wine to purchase an estate. Château d’Arche is now one of the oldest estates in the Sauternes appellation, located in the heart of the village, the most famous of the surrounding five villages. Currently, Matthieu Arroyo and his team create the wines of Chateau d’Arche Grand Cru Classé as if creating a piece of art. Each harvest is unique, harvested by hand, sorted, selected and shaped.
Sauternes remains to be one of the rare artisanal products, “cousu main à la Française”
Being located 40km south of Bordeaux, the vineyard is bordered by the Garonne and the Ciron rivers. The meeting of the cold waters of the Ciron and the warmer waters of the Garonne generates a morning fog providing optimal humidity at the end of summer. The dry weather in the afternoon dries out the grapes and concentrates the aromas. Château d’Arche, with its position close to Ciron, takes advantage of a very specific local micro-climate which favors the development of Botrytis Cinerea, essential for the production of Sauternes wine. The vines, an average of 45 years old, are grown upon gravel and clay-limestone soils.
The care and detail into creating this white grape blend doesn't stop in the vineyard, the vinification process is just as precise. Following a harvest by hand with 2 to 3 successive passes, the wine is vinified in French oak barrels and is then aged in 30% new, French oak barrels for 12 to 18 months, before bottling. Chateau d’Arche is one of the few, if not the only 1855 classified growth to use a synthetic cork.
With a certification of HVE3 (High Environmental Value) / ISO14001, and in transition for a 2024 certification of Sustainable agriculture, Chateau D'Arche is a powerhouse of the Bordeaux region actively engaged in a citizen approach and the preservation of biodiversity.
Château d’Arche "Arche-Lafaurie" is the premium wine of the Château with only the most beautiful grapes minutely selected from the best 2 hectares of the estate. This is a precise micro-cuvée that we are very fortunate to share in our portfolio. It is a wine that is so complex and powerful and quite unlike any Sauternes sweet wine you may have tried.
For the Chateau d'Arche we currently have the 2009 vintage, a vintage where the weather conditions during summer were particularly conducive to producing very fine wines. The very balanced autumn that followed was also optimal for superb Botrytis cinerea to develop (the key to bringing out the sweet nectar that is these wines). It is said this vintage produced wines that are astonishingly pure.
Not to be forgotten we also have more in stock of the Perle d'Arche 2018 375ml bottles. Despite the spring of 2018 which endured complicated weather conditions preventing large production quantities, we were able to secure a few more bottles of this small but high quality vintage. Expect this 2018 wine to offer a particularly rich, fresh wine.
TASTING NOTES
Chateau d'Arche 2009
The nose reveals orange peel and jam aromas, fruity and airy on the palate. This powerful, mineral vintage is beautifully concentrated and wonderfully well-balanced. On the palate, it offers up honey, crystallised orange and quince notes with a touch of almond. A beautifully lingering finish with toasted touches. 90% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc.
Chateau d'Arche - "Arche-Lafaurie" 2016
The nose reveals notes of honey, dried fruit, walnuts and slight notes of hazelnuts associated with a very fine note of acacia in the background. The palate is fresh, fruity, well-balanced, mineral, quite rich and offers a nice fresh/acid frame that leads the tasting. In the mouth it expresses notes of peach in syrup, candied citrus (mandarin, lemon) and slight notes of caramel associated with a hint of walnuts. 100% Semillon.
La Perle d'Arche - Sauternes 2018
Fruity on the nose. Quince aromas shine through, combined with lychee and green apple notes plus a touch of beeswax. Fruity and juicy on the palate with a good structure of acidity and a rounded style. This wine offers up crystallised citrus and green apple notes, with some lighter exotic fruit touches and a hint of orange. 90% Semillon, 9% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Muscadelle.