Best known for its Sauternes, the domaine has been working closely with the ISVV Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin to identify aromatic precursors from botrytis.

The complex analysis provided Château d’Arche with essential information about the quality of the grapes so that the harvest can be started at the precise moment when the botrytis starts to develop. Timing is critical because this is when the aromas of the Sémillon and Sauvignon grapes multiply to create a dry white wine with the same intensity as Sauternes. Château d’Arche has combined its savoir-faire for making Sauternes with this innovative technique to develop its new dry white Bordeaux, A – Château d’Arche.

The wine is made from a blend of 85% Semillon and 15% Sauvignon grapes grown on vines averaging 40 years old in soils which are a blend of 80% gravel and 20% clay-limestone. The grapes are hand-picked on the very of botrytis and then matured on fine lees for six months, half in temperature-controlled vats and half in barrels, 20% of which are new and 30% in Sauternes barrels to reinforce the wine’s identity and aromatic impact.

Hall 6, H 133