Chateau d'Arche

Spanning 56.5 hectares of vines across Sauternes and Bordeaux, at least 30 hectares of it surround the Chateau itself. Consisting of 90% Semillon plantings, the team at Chateau d’Arche champion this varietal for its incredible interaction with Botrytis Cinerea to form the golden wine they are classically known for. The remaining plantings include Sauvignon and Muscadelle to bring depth to white wine blends of the Second vins of the estate. Matthieu Arroyo and his team have the key objective of rejuvenating the average age of vines and maintaining a select few hundred-year-old vines to bring forth an intensity and structure in their grapes unlike any fresh vines.

Initially from Arche, the founders of Chateau d’Arche were a 13th century French noble family. The beginning of the chateau was in 1611, when Bernard d’Arche established a branch of the family in Bordeaux, where he pioneered a new avenue of winemaking in his family. The French Revolution brought about a dissection of the property as it was seized, with several different families taking sections of the estate. In 1925 the reunification of the estate finally took place under the control of Armand Bastit-Saint-Martin from which it remained a unified estate to this day.

Sitting close to the Ciron river, at a point in which the Garonne river intersects, the perfect microclimate is developed for Chateau d’Arche to utilise the humidity to drive the development of Botrytis Cinerea. The end of the summer fog from the river intersection provides optimal humidity that later dries out to concentrate the aromas within the grapes. This”Noble Rot” as some call it is the key to the sweet Sauternes wines, as it forms a grape with intense sugary content to be naturally converted into a delicate syrup in the cellar. 

Certified in 2019 for “High Environmental Value” Level 3, the principles of the vineyard are ones of respect to nature and managing all environmental requirements, creating a phytosanitary strategy and managing fertilisation responsibly. Horseback ploughing of the vines was also reintroduced into 10 hectares. Each harvest is unique, harvested by hand, sorted, selected and shaped.

With a brand new winery built purely for an eco-friendly and sustainable future, Chateau d’Arche continues to develop their relationship with the climate and earth while furthering their quality of wines. This growth and development is done through building spaces such as a thermo-regulated vat-room made to measure allowing plot-by-plot vinification, with micro-polished steel vats to facilitate cleaning and avoid the use of detergents. Also including an underground barrel storage of 300 barrels provides a thermal advantage and allows the filling by gravity.

The Wines

Soleil D'Arche - Sauternes
Perle d'Arche - Sauternes
Chateau d'Arche - Sauternes
Chateau d'Arche Lafaurie - Sauternes