he origin of Chateau Coutet, which takes its name from the Gascon word for knife, dates all the way back to the 13th century when the estate was originally built to be used as a fort. You can clearly see that in the estates design today. Chateau Coutet became a full time Sauternes wine producing estate in 1643. At one time the estate was even owned by the Lur-Saluces family, who are better known for also owning Chateau d’Yquem. The vineyard was sold to the Rolland family in 1925.
While there is clearly a lot of history at Chateau Coutet, the modern era began when Chateau Coutet was purchased by the Baly family in 1977 from the Rolland family. Aline Baly, the manager of the estate joined her family at Chateau Coutet in 2005. The first vintage for Aline Baly, where she worked full time,from start to finish on a vintage was the 2009. The 110 meter cellars of Chateau Coutet are the longest in the entire appellation. It’s one of the most interesting cellars to visit in the Sauternes appellation. Before it underwent it’s renovation and was turned into a wine cellar, the buildings were used by the owners of Chateau d’Yquem as a horse stable.
The popularity of the wines from Chateau Coutet dates back hundreds of years. In fact, our third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson called their wines the best that could be found in entire appellation of Barsac!
Chateau Coutet is planted to 75% Semillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. At 38.5 hectares of vines, Chateau Coutet is the largest vineyard in Barsac. The vineyard has a terroir of sand, red clay and limestone with gravel soils. With vines averaging 35 years of age.
______________________________________________________________
Tasting Notes:
Vintage – 2005
92 Points, Neal Martin “The Wine Advocate” (June, 2015) - “Tasted blind at the 10-Year On Tasting in Sauternes. The 2005 Château Coutet has a slightly muffled bouquet at the moment: honeysuckle, dried quince and a dab of kerosene in the background. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry with plenty of botrytized fruit, tensile and linear in the mouth with fine mineralité, though missing the sheer ambition and dimension of the Climens ’05. Nonetheless, one can appreciate the tensile nature of this Barsac that should give 20 to 30 years of pleasure."