Château Suduiraut.

Leonard’s grandson eventually carried out extensive renovations to the castle.

With the assistance of André Le Nôtre one of the most beautiful castles in Bordeaux was created.   Two generations on the estate was inherited by Joseph du Roy, who changed the name to Ancien Cru du Roy, a name which can be seen on the labels of their wine bottles.   Nicolas Edme Guillot was the owner of the estate during the first half of the eighteen hundreds and he acquired Castelnau, the neighboring estate  of Suduiraut.  It was Guillot who reclaimed the name Suduiraut.

The name  Castelnau de Suduiraut still exists on the secondary wine produced by Suduiraut.  Chateau Suduiraut was classified as premier cru in 1855.

During the late eighteen to nineteen hundreds Chateau Suduiraut produced wines of very high quality and received several awards.

Ch. Suduiraut made an unsuccessful attempt to produce a drier wine and this led to the sale of the estate to Leopold-Francois Fonquernie in 1940.

The vineyard and the production were improved under the management of Leopold-Francois Fonquernie who returned to the production of the classic Sauternes wine.

Within forty years Ch.Suduiraut reclaimed its position as one of the best estates in Sauternes.   Ch.Suduiraut was sold again in 1992 to AXA Millésimes, who is the current owner.  Pierre Pascaud is in charge assisted by Christian Seely and Pierre Montégut.

The vineyard is managed by Michel Essartier and Caroline Gendry.

The estate is located in Preignac and 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon is grown on an area of 90 hectares.

After pressing, the wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and then matured in oak vats for 18 to 24 months.  Ch. Suduiraut produces a wine with a crisp taste of tropical fruits such as pine apple, peach and citrus.  The after taste is long and wonderful and the aroma is fresh and enchanting.

Ch. Suduiraut clearly had quality problems from 1930 to the beginning of the 1980’s.

Today, however, Ch. Suduiraut is one of the top estates of Sauternes.

The very best years of Ch. Suduiraut are 1976,1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005.