Château Closiot Barsac Cuvée Bonneau 2018

Cuvée Bonneau is a botrytised Barsac from the property Jean-Marie Guffens bought after four decades as a collector of Sauternes.

Barsac is the northernmost of the communes entitled to the Sauternes appellation and may label its wines either way; its plateau of red earth and pebbles over limestone tends to give sweet wines with more lift and less weight than those of Sauternes proper. Château Closiot covers eight hectares on the Clos Bonneau, surrounded by Climens, Doisy-Védrines and Coutet, and is planted almost entirely to Sémillon, including a four-hectare parcel of hundred-year-old vines. Guffens, already established in the Mâconnais and Burgundy, took the estate on from the Belgian wine writer Bernard Sirot. Rather than working in the morning mist he prefers to harvest under the first sun, seeking concentrated botrytis, and his team makes a berry-by-berry selection over six successive passes across about ten days. The juice is aged a year in 50 per cent new oak, then returned to vat for a further twelve months to hold its tension.

It drinks well young and will keep for decades. Serve at 8–10°C with foie gras, Roquefort or a simple fruit tart.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.