Chateau Climens

Château Climens is located in Sauternes-Barsac. The estate was established in 1547 and since then, only five families have owned the château. In 1971, the winery became the property of Lucien Lurton, who owns multiple wineries in Bordeaux. Lucien’s daughter, Berenice Lurton, is the one who runs the winery. In 2022, Berenice sold the majority stake to the Moirty family, but she continues to have an advisory role.

The vineyard area covers 31 hectares and is planted entirely with Semillon. Berenice was one of the first in Bordeaux who had the mettle to cultivate the vineyards in a biodynamic way. It is also the first First Growth to be certified biodynamic. The soil consists mainly of limestone with shale and sand. The perfect soil for Semillon. One of the winery’s special working methods is the use of herbal tea to drive out potential diseases from the vineyard. The only rot that is welcome, is the noble rot. In French this is called ‘pourriture noble’. This rot creates very small holes in the grape, so that the moisture evaporates and leaves very sugar-rich grapes. Perfect for this dessert wine!

The fermentation takes place in oak barrels and lasts on average 2 to 3 weeks. When the desired alcohol percentage has been reached, the temperature drops, so that the fermentation stops, and residual sugar remains. After fermentation, the wine is aged in oak barrels of 40% new wood. This barrel aging takes an average of 20 to 24 months. A second wine is also produced: Cypres de Climens. A dry wine, Asphodèle, was launched in 2018. This white wine is also made from 100% Semillon and undergoes a sur lie maturation of 8 months. The Climens dessert wine is known for its elegant and expressive character with fantastic aging potential.

The iconic Climens vintages are 1929 and 1949. Both vintages have been awarded 100 Parker Points!