Château Nairac: Vineyards
Heading south from Bordeaux and Pessac-Léognan, Château Nairac is the first cru classé estate encountered as you drive into Barsac. It occupies a prominent corner position on the right-hand side, it would probably make for an imposing sight were it not for the fact that the château itself is largely shielded from view by the trees that run around the front of the estate. Many of the other prominent estates of this appellation are off to the right, a little further from the Garonne, and on slightly higher land. This explains why the estate was one that succumbed to flooding in 1981, and it also accounts for the soils at Château Nairac which are not entirely typical of the Barsac appellation.
There are today 16 hectares of vines in the Barsac appellation, mostly adjacent to the château. This section amounts to about 9 hectares, and its proximity to the Garonne means the soil has more silty, alluvial characteristics as well as some clay, rather than the richer, red-brown soils and deeper limestone the appellation is famous for. There are plots elsewhere, however, including some vines planted up on the more classic Barsac soils, close to Château Climens. These vines dig their roots into soils that lie over deeper limestone bedrock which is typical for the appellation and which is frequently credited as being responsible for the character of the wines of this appellation.
