Our terroir

Chateau Sigalas Rabaud,
14 hectares, 1 Estate 

 

 

With its fourteen hectares, Château SIGALAS RABAUD is the smallest of the first growths. In the center of the estate, the Chartreuse of the 17th century, close to Château YQUEM, is harmoniously surrounded by the cellar and its outbuildings. Planted on a slight slope that faces south, the vines grow on the famous “Sauternes terrace” consisting of a clay subsoil covered with a gravel-sand soil deposited by the Garonne 600 000 years ago. This soil allows a perfect environment in the vineyard and provides beautiful maturations.

“ Our terroir, a perfect harmony of a gist of nature and our precise dedication. ”

To the north-west lies the Ciron, a small cold-water river that fosters the formation of fogs essential for the development of Botrytis cinerea.

This famous fungus allows the appearance of noble rot. Then, golden grains take a purple color and become covered with a light white down, and then shrivel. This concentrated grape is enhanced by a multiplication of aromas and flavors.

In addition, the vine are ideally oriented to the south and on a high up slope. These are benefits because of an exposure to the wind which dries the botrytized grapes and thus allows a perfect regulation of this noble rot.

This botrytised grains are the jewel of the Sauternes harvest.

This manual harvest is a necessity, since a grain-by-grain selection is imperative to select only the so-called roasted grains or those with noble rot.

All the grains do not reach maturity at the same time and the harvest is thus done multiple times. The harvest season is spread over several months, from September to November.

85% of the vineyard is planted with Sémillon and 15% with Sauvignon Blanc, 2 of the great Sauternes grape varieties. The terroir is also valued by the “mass selection” which consists in preserving the DNA of the old vines that appeared to have remarkable traits. Over time, the original personality of SIGALAS wines has been maintained.

The dimensions of this family vintage encourage, a precise observation of each plot, careful attention to the vines (disbudding, leafing, gnawing) and rapid decision-making if intervention appears necessary on the field.