Château Gilette 1946
The 1946 Château Gilette Crème de Tête is a sweet white Sauternes wine from Bordeaux, produced by Château Gilette, a property of the Gonet-Médeville family. It blends 90% Sémillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc, and 2% Muscadelle. This cuvée originates from a selection of botrytised grapes harvested across multiple passes. True to the method specific to Crème de Tête, the wine undergoes long ageing in hermetic concrete vats, without contact with wood, prior to bottling and late commercial release.
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Sweet
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bordeaux
- Appellation
- Sauternes
- Producteur / Domaine
- Château Gilette
- Cuvée
- Crème de Tête
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 90% Sémillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Muscadelle
Château Gilette
Château Gilette is a 4.5-hectare estate situated in the heart of Preignac, within the Sauternes appellation. The estate has been owned by the Médeville family since the early 18th century and is now run by Julie Gonet-Médeville and Xavier Gonet. Its wines, made from botrytised grapes, are aged for many years in airtight concrete vats before bottling.
- Owner
- Julie Gonet-Médeville et Xavier Gonet
- Maître de chais
- Julie Gonet-Médeville
- Surface (ha)
- 4.50 ha
Histoire du domaine
Château Gilette is situated in Preignac, in the Sauternes region. The estate came into the Médeville family’s possession in 1710 and has remained in the family ever since. During the 1930s, René Médeville developed a method of extended ageing of wines in vats, which gave rise to the estate’s distinctive style. After the Second World War, observation of the favourable development of a wine aged in vats reinforced this approach. Christian Médeville, René’s son, took over the estate in 1953. In 1967, he decided to devote the entire output of the 4.5-hectare vineyard to the ‘Crème de Tête’ selection, which is aged for an extended period in cement vats. Julie Gonet-Médeville, Christian’s daughter and René’s granddaughter, took over the management of the estate in 2004. She now oversees the winemaking process alongside her husband, Xavier Gonet, who is also a co-owner.
Crème de Tête
Crème de Tête is the emblematic sweet Sauternes from Château Gilette, produced only when the harvest reaches the required quality level. The botrytised grapes are rigorously selected, and the wine is then aged for approximately 15 to 18 years in cement vats, without oak aging, before being bottled and released late on the market.
- Cuvée creation year
- 1937
- Style of the cuvée
- Rich, concentrated and unctuous sweet Sauternes, retaining remarkable freshness and aromatic youth thanks to very long reductive aging in vats, with no influence from oak.
- Position within the range
- Emblematic cuvée and qualitative pinnacle of Château Gilette, produced only when the harvest is deemed exceptional.
Histoire de la cuvée
In the 1930s, René Médeville implemented the extended aging in cement vats that defines this cuvée, with the 1937 vintage marking the first documented production. From 1967 onwards, Christian Médeville reserved the production of the Château Gilette vineyard exclusively for Crème de Tête, and only in years deemed of sufficient quality.
