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Château de Myrat

It is easy to overlook the fact that Sauternes as well as the Médoc was sufficiently prestigious to be classified in 1855; when we talk of first growths, the premiers grands crus classés, our minds readily turn to Latour and Margaux, and not so much Guiraud or Rieussec. But the Sauternes estates were most certainly classified, although they have not all faired so well over the last century as their Médoc counterparts. This is particularly true when we look to the deuxièmes crus, some of which are infrequently sighted and even more rarely tasted. One such estate is undoubtedly Château de Myrat, a 30-hectare estate which fell on hard times in the latter years of the 20th century, so much so that for a period of time viticulture and winemaking ground to a halt here, leading to an fifteen-year hiatus during which the vines were ripped up. Happily the vine has since returned to Myrat, and the wines can now be very good; but before we get ahead of ourselves, we should look at Myrat's earlier history in a little more detail.

Early History

The origins of Château de Myrat are not clear; this is true of many Bordeaux châteaux of course, but it is hardly surprising in the case of Myrat with its uncertain, stuttering performance in recent years. The current proprietors, the de Pontac family, make much of their history and relevance to Bordeaux. And rightly so; they are descended from none other than Jean de Pontac who founded what was to become Château Haut-Brion - although it was then called Château de Pontac of course - back in 1533. Nevertheless, the de Pontacs only came to Myrat in the early 20th century, and the name Myrat is certainly not derived from Pontac.

What we do know of this estate is that it has a history that, although sketchy, seems to stretch back at least to the early 18th century, although I suspect the whole story, if we knew it, would begin much earlier. The name Myrat appears to be derived from that of the Dumirat family, who were proprietors here at this time, and who were responsible for the erection of the very grand château some time around 1730. They maintained their dominion over the estate until the early years of the 19th century, and by the time of the 1855 classification, when the estate was ranked by the Bordeaux merchants charged with drawing up the list as a deuxième cru, the property appears to have been passed on to the Molle family.

Arrachage and Rebirth at Château de Myrat

It was not until 1937 that Max de Pontac acquired Château de Myrat, and he remained at the helm for more than 40 years. Although he invested, making improvements in both vineyard and cellar, his reign still came to a rather ignominious end. A series of lacklustre vintages in the 1960s combined with increasing difficulty selling the wines, as tastes moved away from lusciously sweet wines like those of Sauternes and Barsac, forced Max to crisis-point, and ultimately he made the very difficult decision to rip up his vines. Although this was not an uncommon practise in France - indeed, in an attempt to stimulate development of the French wine trade the government had been offering compensation for uprooting vines since the 1950s, and many vignerons took advantage of these pay-outs - this was the first time that such a highly regarded estate, classified as a cru classé in 1855, had taken the plunge. Unsurprisingly the decision caused quite a stir; nevertheless, Max went ahead, the vines were uprooted - a process known as arrachage in French - and viticulture and winemaking at Château de Myrat were no more....for the time being, at least.

Max de Pontac died in 1988, and his two sons Jacques and Xavier de Pontac, both of whom lived in Paris, inherited the estate. Perhaps they sensed a shift in attitude, or perhaps they saw in their crystal ball great vintages ahead, but for some reason the siblings decided that vines should be replanted at Myrat, and that wine should be made here once again. But French law goes beyond subsidising the uprooting of vineyards; there are also strict regulations concerning the planting of new vines, a process that cannot be undertaken without government approval. These planting rights are hard-won, and rely on vines elsewhere being ripped up. Fortunately for the de Pontacs, the planting rights for Château de Myrat remained valid, and they were free to re-establish the vineyard; unfortunately they soon discovered that there were only a few months before their rights expired, and replanting such a grand estate as Château de Myrat can take a long time!

Xavier and Jacques struck while the iron was hot; in what must be a record amount of time, the ground was prepared and 150,000 vines were sourced and planted, and within a few weeks Myrat suddenly had a 22-hectare vineyard to its name. A winemaking team was drafted in, the chai and other facilities were restored the following year, and Myrat was back on course to take up its place alongside the deuxième crus once again. Vines take time to bear fruit of course, three years when the soil and the climate is favourable (it can be much longer under harsher conditions), and so it was 1991 before the first vintage of the newly reborn Myrat was produced. More than twenty vintages later it is the children of Jacques de Pontac, Elisabeth de Pontac-Chabot and Slanie Ricard who have taken control, the reins having been handed over at the turn of the century.

Vineyards and Vinification

The vineyards of Château de Myrat are situated in Haut-Barsac, the plateau of 30-40 cm deep red clay which lies over fissured limestone in the south-western section of the appellation where the majority of the Barsac properties of note, including Coutet, Climens, Doisy-Daëne and Doisy-Védrines are to be found. The estate is spread over 30 hectares in all, of which the original 22 hectares planted up in 1988 remain dedicated to the vine, the remaining 8 hectares being parkland. The mix of varieties in the vineyard is very weighted towards Semillon, this variety accounting for 88% of the vines, with the remainder being 8% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscadelle. The fruit and musts are handled in a fairly traditional manner, without any great surprises; harvest is naturally by hand, as the production of Sauternes relies on the picking of the fruit in tries, a berry-by-berry selection of botrytised fruit, usually with between four and six tries at Myrat. Yields are naturally very low, as botrytis infection results in a profound dehydration of the fruit, hence concentrating the sugars and providing the basis for the wine's ultimate sweetness following fermentation. The freshly harvested fruit is pressed slowly and fermented in oak barriques, where it remains for the élevage, typically 18 months in oak. One-third of the barrels are replaced each year, so there is a blend of new, one- and two-year old oak in use. The wines are regularly topped up, racked every three months, and are fined before bottling.

Château de Myrat: Tasting and Drinking

The wines of Château de Myrat do not come my way very often, and I'm sorry to say I have only tasted a tiny selection of recent vintages. This is a shame, as the story of this château-reborn is in itself captivating, and thus I find myself drawn towards the wine. Château de Myrat might have been lost forever; happily this is not the case, and thanks to the efforts of Jacques and Xavier de Pontac - and now their descendants - we still have the opportunity to taste and enjoy these wines. We should perhaps look upon this opportunity as a musical scholar would view the serendipitous discovery of a long-lost Brahms concerto. There is more here than mere fermented grape juice or musical notes; there is a fabulous story behind it all as well.

Of course, no story can compensate for a disappointing wine; happily, this is not the case here. The first vintage of Château de Myrat to come my way in the last ten years was the 2003, poured at a celebratory dinner held at the Théâtre de Bordeaux in 2009. It was uncommonly good; rich in the style of 2003, complex in terms of flavour, and pleasing, and although the experience was somewhat tempered by the lower acidity typical of the vintage I was impressed. The 2007 vintage, tasted much more recently, was most certainly a much better proposition. This is a wine richly composed but now with fine acidity to freshen the palate, again very much in keeping with my experiences of Sauternes from 2007. This is not a château whose wines are commonly encountered, in my personal experience; nevertheless, should you spot one, it is certainly not a château that should be ignored. (26/1/12)

Contact details:
Address: 33720 Barsac
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 27 09 06
Fax: +33 (0) 5 56 27 11 75
Internet: www.chateaumyrat.fr
GPS: 44.597242, -0.334263

Château de Myrat - Tasting Notes

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Château de Myrat (Sauternes) 2007: A rich orange-gold in the glass. The nose is enticing although somewhat reduced at first, remaining tight, inexpressive, and yet it seems overtly sweet. It was only really after 24 hours that the wine really came together, the wine blossoming to reveal a pure and more evocative layer of fruit, principally bitter orange more than tinged with botrytis apricot and barley; it is much more convincing than I had originally hoped. The palate is full and rich, intense and brightly defined. It has a lively style, the bitterness and bite of Seville oranges coming through here very nicely, matching the sweetness, bringing the fruit elements to the fore, carrying them through to the finish. This is an impressive showing from this relatively unknown estate, even if it does feel rather pithy at times, and somewhat robust in the finish. Alcohol 13.5%. 16.5/20 (January 2012)

Château de Myrat (Sauternes) 2003: This is a Sauternes estate of which I have minimal experience, so it's great to get a taste here. A mid-gold hue. Plump fruit on the nose, slightly high-toned, with touches of coconut and apricot. A full and plump texture to match, sweet, quite lush fruit, with lots of texture. Tangible tropical and citrus substance, but the most notable aspect is the rich, fat mouthfeel. Not a lot of acidity, in keeping with the vintage of course, so this is not the most lively of wines. Nice appeal in terms of flavour though. 15.5+/20 (March 2010)