Château de Fargues - Half bottle 1998
Château de Fargues is located in the village of Fargues de Langon, in the Sauternes de Bordeaux appellation. The Lur Saluces family, owners of the estate since 1472, enjoyed a particular wine reputation in the 18th and 19th centuries when their portfolio of châteaux included Château d'Yquem, the only estate to have obtained Premier Cru Supérieur status in Sauternes. The Lur Saluces family sold Yquem in 1999, and to this day Château de Fargues is often referred to as Yquem junior. The estate's vineyard was originally planted with a combination of red and white grape varieties. In the 1930s, Bertrand de Lur Saluces, Alexandre's uncle, current owner of Château de Fargues, decided to abandon the cultivation of red vines to devote himself exclusively to the production of a Grand Vin de Sauternes. He undertook slow and costly work to completely replant the Fargues plot. The first vintage of Château de Fargues was produced in 1943 from vines averaging 12 years old, and was released to the market in 1964. Today, Château de Fargues comprises 17 hectares of vines planted with Sémillon and Sauvignon White.
The grapes are pressed and fermented in oak barrels , 25 to 30% of which are new. Individual batches divided by the day of picking are aged separately for approximately 3 years. The withdrawal takes place 4 times over a period of 12 months. Château de Fargues is only produced in excellent vintages. Despite difficult conditions (unstable weather, heavy rain, etc.), the 1998 vintage in Sauternes produced excellent wines.
Grape varieties: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc
