Château d’Arche - 'A', Bordeaux Blanc, Bordeaux, France (2021)

Rich & opulent with zesty grapefruit, peaches, pears, and honey along with passion fruit, vanilla & honey. Dry & savoury there are the hallmark notes of Sauternes' ginger and saffron. Super complex.

The A de Château d’Arche Bordeaux Blanc is the dry white wine from the Sauternes Grand Cru Classe, Château d’Arche. 

2021 was an outstanding vintage for white Bordeaux wines as growers were able to harvest before the rains came. The grapes came from selected plots that weren’t affected by botrytis, the fungus that makes Sauternes sweet. The grapes were hand-harvested and hand-sorted before being gently pressed and fermented in a mixture of temperature-controlled stainless vats and oak barrels. Prior to release it was aged for 6 months. 45% of the harvest was aged in stainless steel, 45% in year-old Sauternes barrels, and 10% in new oak casks. This complex ageing process adds richness and complexity while retaining A de Château d’Arche’s natural freshness.

Château d’Arche is a Sauternes Grand Cu Classe. It was one of only 58 Bordeaux châteaux to be included in the famous 1855 Classification where it was awarded Deuxieme Cru Classe or second growth status. This ancient property lies in the Sauternes commune within the region of Graves, itself home to many of Bordeaux’s greatest dry white wines.

Château d’Arche owes much of its acclaim to its position on a gravel ridge that not only gives exceptional drainage but leaves vines exposed to botrytis cinerea, the noble rot that is essential to the area’s exquisite, sweet wines. Since 1994 it’s been managed by Chateau Palmer’s owners Malher-Besse and the quality has continued to soar.