Seduced by several old vintages of Château d'Yquem in his first visit to Bordeaux in ’76, Jean-Marie Guffens became a fanatic of Sauternes. Over forty years later, and having established two iconic properties in Burgundy, he was given the opportunity to purchase the historic Château Closiot from Bernard Sirot (a well-known Belgian wine journalist). From what we hear, Guffens could not pack his suitcase quickly enough.

Château Closiot covers eight hectares on the formidable Clos Bonneau, an exceptional terroir where the red earth, dotted with pebbles rests on the limestone base typical of the Barsac plateau. Surrounded by Climens, Doisy-Védrines and Coutet, the clos is planted almost exclusively to Semillon, and includes a generous four-hectare parcel of 100-year-old vines.

With just a handful under his belt, Guffens has hit the ground running, producing sweet wines of great beauty as well as the “greatest dry white of the Barsac region.” La Revue du Vin de France

With just two vintages under his belt, Guffens has hit the ground running, producing sweet wines of great beauty as well as the “greatest dry white of the Barsac region” (La Revue du Vins de France). Rather than using the morning mists, Guffens prefers harvesting under the first rays of the sun to obtain concentrated botrytis, and his team harvest a meticulous selection of botrytised berries in six successive pickings, spread over ten days. 

In the cellar, the juice is aged in 50% new oak for a year before the wine goes back into vats for 12 months to preserve the freshness and the tension, so typical of the great terroirs of Barsac. The result is a wine of extraordinary aromatic intensity, concentration and underlying energy.