Label
This graceful, sweet white wine exhibits the quintessence of Sauternes with balance and freshness, strength and subtlety.
The extraordinary aroma is a perfume of flowers, fruits, spices, and often even a hint of eucalyptus or fresh mint. In their youth the wines are dominated by citrus fruit (grapefruit, lemon, citron), fresh fruit and white flowers. Sweet spices and other deeper, confected fruit flavors develop with the passing of time. Whatever the vintage, the wines age slowly, retaining their harmonious blend of sweetness and freshness for decades.
Winery
Climens
Chateau Climens, classified a First Growth in 1855, is in the Sauternes village of Barsac on the left bank of the Garonne where the most prestigious sweet white wines in the world are made. An abundance of limestone surrounds the chateau’s 31 hectares of vines and endows the wines with great freshness for balance and aromatic expression.
The name Climens means ‘unfertile or poor land’ in local dialect. But wine experts—including the winemakers at Chateau Climens—realize that the sandy, iron-rich, red clay, is perfect for Climens’ one and only grape variety: Semillon.
Chateau Climens has a long history spanning several centuries, appearing for the first time on a contract dated 1547. It has belonged to only five families since its origins and the vineyards remain practically unchanged.
In the early 1970s Lucien Lurton, a man passionate about exceptional terroirs and who already owned several classified growths in the Medoc, began taking an interest in the Sauternes region. Won over by the finesse of the Climens wine, he acquired the chateau in 1971. He brought a determined touch of modernity, as well as relentlessly high standards to the domain, while respecting both tradition and the centuries-old savoir-faire in particular.
Lucien's daughter Berenice Lurton took over the chateau in 1992 and has taken great care in perpetuating the magic of Chateau Climens.