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Chateau Delmond

The 14-hectare Château Laville in Sauternes is Jean-Christophe Barbe’s family property. He is also a Professor of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux, where he has taught, among others, Stéphane Defraine of Château de Fontenille and Mélanie Pfi ster of Alsace. Jean-Christophe’s particular area of expertise is ‘noble rot’, which, as a producer of Sauternes, he has had plenty of opportunity to study at first hand. Jean-Christophe also has a 1.3 hectare vineyard of red grapes at Château Laville, which is sold as ‘Château Mahon-Laville’. “The problem with red grapes in this part of Bordeaux is to get them ripe enough,” he says. He overcomes this problem thanks to the team of pickers he has constantly present at Château Laville to do the various passes through the vineyard required to make top Sauternes. Their presence ensures he can wait to pick the Merlot and Cabernet when they are ripe, rather than when he has the pickers available.