Renowned for their Château Gilette ‘Crème de tete’, this family run estate is based in Preignac, between Sauternes in the south and Barsac in the north. The ‘Crème de tete’ is from a small clos of only 4.5ha and often makes just a few hundred cases with a ludicrously low yield of 9 hl/ha which equates to about 40 cases per acre! Back in 1710 this great plot was a wedding gift to the Médeville family where it has stayed ever since. Only the very best years are produced, and they declassify more vintages than Château d’Yquem! The latest release is the 2001, having slept in concrete vats for more than 20 years. Though the Château Gilette is the pinnacle, their other two sauternes display concentrated richness yet a racy finesse due to their similar terroir and exceedingly low yields.
Chateau de l'Eclole Sauternes 2016 SOLD OUT
Chateau Les Justices 2019 (750ml)
Chateau Gilette ‘Crème de tete’ 1999 (750ml)
"Gilette is one of the finest wines in Sauternes despite the fact that it was not classified. The vineyard, situated several miles north of Yquem, is planted on sandy soil with a subsoil of rock and clay. However, what is bizarre and unbelievable in today’s harsh world of commercial realities is that Gilette’s proprietor, Christian Médeville, holds his sweet wines for over 20 years in concrete vats prior to bottling them. For example, he bottled the 1955 in 1984, 29 years after the vintage. The fact that his wines are excellent and have a honeyed maturity has caused some of France’s leading restauranteurs (like Pierre Troisgros) to beat a path to his door to purchase his old vintages of Sauternes." Robert Parker
Julie (pictured above and current custodian alongside Réné Médeville) in front of the concrete vat which ages the wines for at least 15-20 YEARS before release.
