Masterclass Château de Fargues met Philippe de Lur Saluces

For @thestoryofmywine I was fortunate to attend this masterclass which was organized by wijnkoperij Okhuysen, at restaurant Zarzo.

Owner Phillipe de Lur Saluces of Château de Fargues himself travelled to Eindhoven to talk about his top Sauternes.

My conclusion of this masterclass: this exciting, complex, very versatile wine is severely underrated!

But first, let's start talking about the centuries-old history behind the Château de Fargues. The Château has been in the hands of the de Lur Saluces family since the Middle Ages. A marriage in the 18th century ensures that the family has both Château de Fargues and Château d'Yquem. At the time, Château de Fargues mainly served as a farm and only red grapes were planted for their own wine consumption. For this reason, despite its great terroir, this Château was not included at the time of its prestigious classification in 1855.

Around 1930, the red grapes were replaced by the planting of Sémillon. The first harvest year was in 1943, but bottled in 1947 due to the Second World War.
Château de Fargues has deliberately been in the shadow of Château d'Yquem, despite the same vision, perfectionism and the prioritisation of quality. In 1999, Château d'Yquem was sold. However, the connection can still be seen in the distinctive crown on the label.

After that the full attention of the de Lur Saluces family to Château de Fargues ensured success. This success will probably grow. In the coming years they will expand the vineyards with a total of 25 hectares of adjacent land. The cellar has already doubled in size. 

Is Sauternes a dessert wine? 

Phillip says that a sweet dessert is the least suitable for his wines. This is because the sweetness of the wine should be the addition to the dish. In a 'sweet' dessert, this factor is already present, making the 'sweetness' of the wine less complimentary. In his opinion, you should remove all the aromas present in the wine from the dish and let the wine add them. For example, he stated that duck with a classic orange sauce, you can let the Sauternes act as the sauce. Personally, I think the latter is going a bit far, but I certainly understand the meaning of his story. I therefore agree with him that Sauternes has too much stigma of dessert wine and that this needs to change. 

When you look at the wine list of a restaurant, you usually see these types of wines under the heading 'dessert wines'. Too bad, because these wines can add so much more to dishes. Sweet wine is drunk relatively little and I wonder why? Is this because of the years-long trend to consume less sugar and alcohol? Or are they possibly after-effects of the Glycol scandal? Either way, the conclusion is; there should be more room for savoury dishes. Personally, I find it very intense in terms of alcohol and structure, to end the dinner with these kinds of wines. But then you can also say that it will be intense to make a transition to the next course, if you serve them during the dinner. That's true, but this can easily be solved with a cleanser that cleans the pallet after the course, such as a tomato consommé.

For example, Phillip told the story that a very well-known restaurant in Paris, had combined Château de Fargues with one of their main courses and that this dish was ordered significantly more often than the other main courses. Inquiries showed that the guests were very curious about the combination of wine and food.

I was able to experience this myself during the particularly tasty lunch of Adrian and his team from Zarzo. It was a vertical tasting of 6 vintages of Château de Fargues. It is bizarre how much difference there is in style and aromas between the different vintages. This is partly due to the weather conditions, the degree of Botrytis Cinerea and the number of harvest times. The harvest takes place in waves, which means that there are several moments when pickers harvest the parts of the grape bunches infected by Botrytis.

The planting consists of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, the blend for the wine is about the same, but then again not. In fact, nature and the pickers determine mostly the blend and taste of the wine, because they determine what is picked. 

The Lunch
The Zarzo team made a three course lunch which complimented the wines

Starter
Paling | Avocado | Koffie
Combined with the 2005 and 2002 vintages of Château de Fargues
2002: picked early, has finesse and a remarkably long finish. Characteristic is the aroma of pine sap.
2005: more complex, an almost perfect balance of sweet and sour. Very delicate, but also a strong structure and wood. This wine was the winner for me with the dish and brought more power.

Main Course
Calf | Vadouvan | Manchego
Combined with the 1997 and 1998 vintages of Château de Fargues
1997: was a difficult year. The wine has a lot of spice aromas, saffron. The wine has a higher acidity, is fairly powerful and is fully developed. For me the best pairing, more edgy.
1998: The yield was high due to the beautiful Indian Summer and the wine has a higher sugar content. Lovely complexity, a great classic.

Last Course
Liver | Vanilla | Pistachio
Combined with the 2004 and 1996 vintages of Château de Fargues
2004: a year with very bad weather conditions. In the spring, 60% loss due to hail and of the remaining grapes, another 50% was lost due to sour rot. The yield was 6 HL per hectare and only 12,000 bottles were bottled, but of very good quality. The glycerol content is higher, as is the acidity. This ensures a particularly fine mouthfeel.
1996: about this wine the father of Phillip said; "it's a great white wine which turns out to be sweet". The wine is fresher, fruitier and spicy. The sweet and sour are nicely balanced. For me, the best pairing with the dish. 

As you can read I enjoyed the experience very much and fell further in love with Sauternes. I liked them all, but for me 2005 was the overall winner.

Thank you,
Château de Fargues
Wijnkoperij Okhuysen
Zarzo