Chateau Laville Sauternes

Chateau Laville Sauternes is a bright, golden wine that opens with intense aromas of candied fruits, honey and spice. Rich and unctuous on the palate, it retains lovely delicacy and is perfectly balanced. The fresh, long finish has a lively citrus twist to round it off. 37.5cl bottle

The grapes used to make the Chateau Laville Sauternes were pressed using pneumatic and vertical hydraulic presses. Fermentation took place at 20-22°C, in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine was subsequently aged in new 400 litre French oak casks for 30 months.

Sémillon is the principal grape variety (85%) in the Chateau Laville Sauternes, with an additional Sauvignon Blanc (13%) and a small part of Muscadelle (2%). The grapes are selectively hand harvested with four to six passages through the vines.

Chateau Laville has 14 hectares of vineyard in Sauternes, in the commune of Preignac, on gravel soils underpinned with limestone.

The best plots are used to make the Grand Vin of Laville.

The vines are approximately 35 years old. As with Delmond, Jean-Christophe passes through the vineyard five times to ensure that only the most botrytis-ravaged, or nobly rotten, grapes are selected, in order to keep the high standards of the Chateau Laville Sauternes.

Jean-Christophe Laville whose Château Laville 2007 has won the 2013 Decanter World Wine Award Sweet Bordeaux Trophy (over £10), is an expert in the field of noble rot.

He wrote his doctoral thesis on the 'Composition of wines made from noble rotted grapes' and continues as a lecturer and researcher at Bordeaux's faculty of Oenology.

His 20 hectare domaine, Château Laville, was created by his grandfather.

Jean-Christophe has been making this superb Sauternes since 1997 and has been in charge of the domaine since 2002.

The 40 year old vines vineyards is located in Preignac, overlooking Château Doisy-Védrines on the other side of the Ciron stream in Barsac. Neighbouring estates include Châteaux Bastor-Lamontagne and Haut-Bergeron.

Chateau Laville Sauternes - Hay Wines