Region: Sauternes
The Sauternes region produces sweet white wines. The sweetness is caused by a fungus that develops on the grape during the moist fall. The fungus extracts water from the grape and the grape shrivels, thereby increasing the concentration of the grape juice. At the same time, they have an effect on the taste of the juice. It leads to a wine that is very sweet and aromatic, with tropical fruits in the palate.
Producing such a wine is very risky. Rain during the harvest may cause real rot instead of noble rot that makes the grapes unsuitable for producing wine. Also, the noble rot does not attack the whole vineyard at the same time. Some bunches may be covered with it while others, at the same vine, may not. To make the best possible wine, grapes have to be harvested in several batches, and even then the bunches are selected by hand. This of course is very labor intensive. Together with the low yields that result from the shriveling of the grapes, this means the production price of a high quality Sauternes is amongst the highest in the world.
The 1855 classification gave Château d'Yquem the status of "Premier grand Cru Supérieur", the only one with the "supérieur" appended to the "Premier grand Cru" as if to say it is a class apart. Indeed it is, even today d'Yquem is the unrivaled number 1 in Sauternes.
Premier Cru Classé status was given to the following wineries:
Château Rieussec, Château Guiraud, Château La Tour Blanche, Château Lafaurie Peyraguey, Château de Rayne-Vigneau, Château Sigalas Rabaud, Château Rabaud-Promis, Clos Haut Peyraguey and Château Suduiraut. Château Climens and Château Coutet were also rewarded a Premier Cru Classé status but belong to Barsac.
| Château d'Yquem | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Rieussec | 3 wines out of 5 are from Sauternes |
| Château Suduiraut | 5 wines out of 6 are from Sauternes |
| Château Guiraud | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Rayne-Vigneau | 2 wines out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Doisy-Daëne | 2 wines out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Raymond-Lafon | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château La Tour Blanche | 2 wines out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Fargues | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Bastard | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Malle | 2 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château Filhot | 3 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Myrat | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Sigalas Rabaud | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Le Dragon | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Bastor-Lamontagne | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Rabaud-Promis | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Unknown | 2 wines out of 254 are from Sauternes |
| Château Liot | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Gilette | 3 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château d'Arche | 2 wines out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lamothe Guignard | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Caillou | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Gravas | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Rochefort | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Roûmieu-Lacoste | 4 wines out of 5 are from Sauternes |
| Castelnau de Suduiraut | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Haut-Bergeron | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château les Justices | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Romer du Hayot | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Société Agricole Vinicole d'Exploitation | 2 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château Roumieu | 3 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Barton & Guestier | 1 wine out of 73 are from Sauternes |
| Dourthe | 3 wines out of 17 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lamothe | 1 wine out of 5 are from Sauternes |
| Cru Barréjats | 4 wines out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Haut-Mayne | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Haut-Sauternes | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Laribotte | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château du Pick | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Cosse | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Petit Védrines | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Cantegril | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château du Levant | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Clos du Roy | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Maison Nicolas | 2 wines out of 20 are from Sauternes |
| Dauphin de Guiraud | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Grillon | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Hallet | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Laville | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Clos Dady | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Waitrose | 1 wine out of 7 are from Sauternes |
| Château Partarrieu | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Dudon | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château La Riviere | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Thomas Barton | 1 wine out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lamourette | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Haut Charmes | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Simon | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Château du Coy | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Baron Philippe de Rothschild | 2 wines out of 59 are from Sauternes |
| Château Closiot | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Cru D'arche Pugneau | 2 wines out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Rolland | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lange-Réglat | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château Les Tuileries | 1 wine out of 7 are from Sauternes |
| Château Peyron | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Denis Dubourdieu | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Château Fontebride | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château La Chapelle | 1 wine out of 4 are from Sauternes |
| Château Lafon | 1 wine out of 16 are from Sauternes |
| Château Saint-Amand | 3 wines out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Clos Fontaine | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Lucien Lurton & Fils | 2 wines out of 6 are from Sauternes |
| Château Charrier | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
| Château de Veyres | 1 wine out of 2 are from Sauternes |
| Commanderie du Bontemps | 1 wine out of 3 are from Sauternes |
| Bichot | 1 wine out of 1 are from Sauternes |
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