Tasting
Tasting note of Xavier Planty, co-owner & winemaker of Chateau Guiraud: "A great evolution with a pure wine. Blend of complex spices that are very fined now: as pepper, curry, saffron, musky. Very pleasant palate with zest of mandarin, both a fresh acidity and vivacity, a long and exotic wine with a long potential in bottle."
Blend of the 1996 vintage
- 65 % Sémillon
- 35 % Sauvignon
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 1996 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with sémillon, sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris, muscadelle — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 1996 sheet
- 10 hl/haYield
- 35 yrsVine age
- 105,000 bottlesProduction
Winemaking
Harvest 1996: Starting date: 28th August. Ending date: end of October. Number of trie: 5. The main trie: the 2nd. Uniquely hand picked, by successive selections through the vines, selecting only botrytised grapes. A minimum potential of 20% alcohol is required to start the harvest. Fermenting: In barrels over a period of three weeks to two months. Different batches are fermented until they reach their own equilibrium, which is dependant upon their selection. Chaptalisation, cryoextraction and all other techniques used to enrich the wine are absolutely forbidden.
Ageing
In barrels, from 18 to 24 months depending upon the vintage.
Terroir
The vines are cultivated upon very diverse soils and sub-soils. The soils are sandy gravel for 80% of the surface and clay gravel for the remainder. The sub-soils are extremely diverse. With profound translucent sands, pure gravels crossed through with red clay and limestone marls, fossilised oyster beds and red and white clay.
An offer on Château Guiraud 1996
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 1996
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
This wine’s visuals are grouped in the media library. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 28, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.