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Now Viewing: Chateau Sigalas Ribaud
The history of Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud my be traced as far back as 1660, when the estate was under the ownership of the de Cazeau family, who held tenure here for over 150 years before the property was sold. From then onwards, the Sigalas-Rabaud story has been one of division, reunion, expansion and division once again, eventually giving rise to the property that we know today as Sigalas-Rabaud. In 1660 the estate that came to the de Cazeau family, part of the dowry of Madame Peyronne de Rabaud, was Chateau Rabaud. The de Cazeau family, of noble descent, ran the vineyards without any significant event until 1819, when Pierre-Hubert de Cazeau sold it all to Gabriel Deyme, who did sufficiently well to see his charge ranked as a premier cru in the 1855 classification of Sauternes. The first Sigalas comes into the story in 1864, when Deyme sold Chateau Rabaud to Henri Drouilhet de Sigalas. During Henri 's tenure he also purchased Chateau Pexoto, a 10 ha property classed as a deuxième cru, and this new land was incorporated into the Rabaud holdings, Chateau Rabaud mystically retaining its premier cru status for its wine. The first sign of Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud as we know it today came in 1903, when Henri's son, Pierre Drouihet de Sigalas, sold part of the estate to Adrien Promis, thereby also creating Chateau Rabaud-Promis. For 26 years the two properties were quite independent, but in 1929 the opportunity came for them to be reunited. The property had passed from Pierre to Gérard, his son, and then to Gérard's daughter, who married the Marquis René de Lambert de Granges. The Marquis employed Fernand Ginestet with the day-to-day management of Sigalas-Rabaud. Ginestet, however, was also in charge at Rabaud-Promis, running this estate for the Promis family, Adrien's daughters to be precise. For two decades the estate was essentially reunited, the wines displaying the names of both properties on the label, but it was not to last. In 1949 the Marquis bought his portion of the estates out of the arrangement, and Rabaud Promis was sold to Raymond-Louis Lanneluc. By 1952 the parties had settled, and Chateau Rabaud has remained divided until present day. The Marquis and his descendents have remained the owners of Sigalas-Rabaud until present, although with assistance from Domaines Cordier in recent years. In 1972 the family formed a company to run the estate, common practice in Bordeaux, and some other French wine regions, as this avoids the infinite division of the family estate as it is passed down through the generations, with each son taking his share. This must have been seen as a pressing need at Sigalas-Rabaud, with four sons all staking a claim to the family property. The four ran the company, with one, the Comte Emmanuel de Lambert des Granges, taking up residence in the chateau, which dates back to the time of de Cazeau family. It was in 1994 that Cordier took a minority share-holding in the estate, and today they play a major role in advising on vinification and marketing. The vineyards of Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud cover about 14 ha of land, making this the smallest premier cru. They border those of Rabaud-Promis, perhaps unsurprisingly, as well as Rayne-Vigneau, near the town of Bommes, in the northwest of the Sauternes appellation. They are planted with 98% Semillon and 2% Sauvignon Blanc, no Muscadelle, with vines averaging more than 40 years of age. The fruit is harvested in tries, typically at 17 hl/ha. Under the direction of cellar-master.
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