Château-Climens-Barsac-Sauternes-White-2011

The name Climens appears for the first time in a document dating from 1547. Following on from the Roborel de Climens family, owners of the property until 1802, the chateau has been in the hands of only five families: the Binaud family, the Lacostes, the Gounouilhou family, the Lurtons, the most recent member of the family being Bérénice Lurton, who has now transferred the property into the hands of the Moitry family.

Jean-Hubert Moitry, who comes from a prestigious background studying classics prior to exercising as a business lawyer and, more recently, working in real estate, has always desired to acquire a domain in the Bordeaux region together with his wife Catherine, who comes from a family of wine merchants from Meymac in the nearby department of Corrèze. They have already begun to nurture the hope that, at some time in the future, their four daughters will involve themselves in this magnificent project.

Under the guidance of Jérôme Moitry, Jean-Hubert’s brother, the team will continue its mission to produce wines of exception. Experience and savoir-faire allow Frédéric Nivelle, who has been technical director since 1998, to keep an expert eye on both the vines and the cellar, assisted by an experienced team. Alexandra Lemahieu, another of the pillars of Climens, is unrivalled in her efficiency and her indispensable polyvalence within the team. Last but not least, Paul Marchais has been in charge of commercial development since the beginning of 2023.

The vineyard and its terroir
The vineyard at Climens, situated on a plateau approximately 20m above sea level, spreads over 32 hectares in a single piece all around the chateau.

It is an enclosure surrounded by dry-stone boundary walls that is noted for the reddish colour of its surface soil, the famous red sands of Barsac. This thin layer of clayey ferruginous sands, less than 50cm thick, sits on a fissured slab of starfish limestone that bears witness to the presence of the sea some 30 million years ago during the early oligocene period.

The other particularity of the Climens terroir is its criss-cross network of geological fault lines, which have developed over the ages into karstic cavities in the limestone. This subterranean network provides perfect drainage and also stores rainwater, thus regulating the availability of water ressources for the vines.

This singular geological formation provides the wines of Barsac in general with their credentials and allows Barsac to possess its own appellation amongst the five villages of the Sauternes appellation.

The microclimate of the Sauternes vineyards, i.e. the alternation of the well-known morning mists, due to the convergence, towards the end of summer, of the cold waters of the Ciron and the warmer waters of the Garonne, followed by the heat of the afternoon sun, provides the ideal conditions for the development of Botrytis Cinerea, the ‘noble rot’ which concentrates the berries and reveals their rich aromatic range.

Chateau Climens is one of the rare Premier Crus Classés, pronounced in the 1855 classification, to have made the choice of being a mono-varietal vineyard. On the limestone terroir at Climens, the Semillon expresses its marvellous elegance and contributes a freshness that is unexpected from such ripe grapes with so little acidity. The success of the audacious transition to biodynamic production in 2010, has reinforced the vines and has enhanced the brightness, the vivacity and the verticality of their wines.

The limestone terroir of Climens, so particular in the region, can hold its own with the best of the great white-wine terroirs of France, and permits the production of not only a unique sweet wine but also exceptional dry white wines of remarkable elegance and purity.

Source: Château Climens website