Château Gilette: Vineyards
While in theory the Sauternes appellation runs right up to the edge of the Garonne, in fact most vineyards are of course located a little distance away, to the west. This avoids planting on the palus, the silty alluvial flatland along the water’s edge, and of course it also leaves room for the town of Preignac, which sits very close to the river. And yet the Gonet-Médeville facilities (as noted in my introduction there is no ‘château‘ as such at Gilette) are to be found here, right at the heart of Preignac, down a narrow avenue, a spur coming directly off the main road through the town. There are two vineyards of note nearby, Gilette and Les Justices.
The vineyard of Château Gilette is in fact a small clos in the centre of Preignac, next to the cemetery, which is quite easy to locate. The origin of the name Gilette is unknown, but Xavier hypotheses that it probably reflects the name of a long-forgotten proprietor, Gilette being the feminine form of Gilles. There are 4.5 hectares of vines here, 90% Semillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle, planted on sand and gravel over limestone. The vineyard is “managed like a garden” says Xavier, such is its small size. Unlike Les Justices (the other Gonet-Médeville vineyard which I will come to below), Xavier and Julie don’t aim to make a wine from these vines every year. It depends on what the vintage does, and from Xavier’s description it seems as though it is the clos and vines that decide what happens. On visiting the vineyard as harvest time approaches, Xavier asks himself if he feels that he can make a “top wine”, and if the answer is yes, then he will pick, and pick quickly too, the vineyard being very small. If the answer is no, however, then he will wait, and if the answer never changes from no to yes then he as a result he won’t pick, and will make no wine that year.
