Description

Dessert Wine: 1974 | Chteau Climens | Sauternes – Barsac

A success despite the difficult vintage; light and fresh, it possesses a lot of appeal.

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Producer: Chteau Climens

Vintage: 1974

Size: 750ml

ABV: 14.5%

Varietal: Semillon

Country/Region: France, Bordeaux

A success despite the difficult vintage; light and fresh, it possesses a lot of appeal.

Producer Information

Chteau Climens is a wine producer located in the Sauternes village of Barsac on the left bank of the Gironde river, south of Bordeaux. It was classified as a first growth in the 1885 Classification of Sauternes and Barsac alongside other chteaux such as Guiraud and Suduiraut. Climens is one of only a handful of chteaux in Bordeaux that produces its wines from only one grape: Semillon. The wine is characterized by fresh citrus notes, white flowers and spice, which becomes more honeyed and concentrated with age. Semillon thrives on the limestone-rich soils in the vineyards. Botrytis develops on the grapes because of the misty mornings, humidity and warmer afternoons that are typical during the months before harvest. If the grapes are not of the highest quality, or if botrytis has not properly formed, owner Brnice Lurton and her team will not produce their top wine, the grand vin Chteau Climens. They have been bold enough in the past to declassify an entire harvest of fruit either selling the grapes off to other producers rather than bottling as their own or releasing wines under secondary labels. The grapes are harvested and brought into the winery, plot by plot, where they are gently pressed before fermentation in oak barrels. Maturation takes place in French oak barrels on lees for about 20 months. Wines from the best vintages can last decades a recent tasting of the 1921 vintage revealed a rich, balanced and zesty wine. Chteau Climens has been owned by the Lurton family since the 1970s (when it was acquired by Lucien Lurton), and in 1992 the estate came under the control of Brnice Lurton (his daughter). In 2010, Climens began to practice biodynamic winemaking and viticulture, and the 2014 vintage was the first to be entirely certified as biodynamic. Chemical sprays were replaced with natural preparations and plant infusions, from flowers such as chamomile and juniper which are grown on the estate and dried in the attics above the chais.