It’s been a while since I wrote about any historical heroines of Bordeaux. It’s not for lack of candidates. One has been on my mind for a while, La Marquise Marie-Antoinette de Lambert des Granges. In no small part because her granddaughter, Laure de Lambert Compeyrot, who looks remarkably like her, is following in her footsteps. She is now honouring her memory with a new wine. 

La Marquise Marie-Antoinette de Lambert des Granges inherited Château Sigalas Rabaud, first classified growth of Sauternes, from her father Gerard. Her brother Henri was a lieutenant during the second world war. He sadly lost his life in battle in 1940. He was quite a personality, a handsome man and would be Olympian rider if the war hadn’t put paid to the games. In 1998, a second wine of the property was created and named in his memory Le Lieutenant de Sigalas.

Origines

Created by Le Conseiller Rabaud, the property dates from the 17th century and originally covered 60ha. In 1863, Henri de Sigalas purchased the property, upon his death in 1895, he left a prestigious and renown property, included in the 1855 classification as a 1^er Growth.

He left his son a young orphan. Pierre Gaston de Sigalas, was raised with a family in the nearby Landes forest. A childhood that created a passion for the great outdoors, horses, and apparently women, but sadly not vines. 

A Jewel 

In 1903, he sold the Château Rabaud building and 45 ha of vines. He did however have the good sense to keep a small plot of 14 ha of vines on the southern slope of the vineyard and the ‘farm house’ an elegant 17^th century chartreuse. Even he considered this plot to be the ‘jewel’ of the vineyard.  To differentiate the property from the newly formed neighbour Rabaud Promis, he added his name and Château Sigalas Rabaud was born. Both vineyards kept their first growth status.  

Small is beautiful

Château Sigalas Rabaud became, and remains, the smallest of the first growths of Sauternes and Barsac. In fact, the smallest of all the first growths of the 1855 classification, red or white. 

Pierre Gaston’s grand daughter, Marie-Antoinette de Sigalas married le Marquis de Lambert des Granges and in 1951, the couple took over the property. They created a new vat room and started rebuilding the reputation of the property, bringing it back to its place in the Bordeaux hierarchy. Passionate about art, Marie-Antoinette, was responsible for the collection of art work that hangs in the barrel cellar. She instigated a competition and exhibition with the school of Beaux Arts to be hosted in their new cellar. The winning artist’s work was to be purchased by the property. Unable to decide, they purchased all the original works. They remain in the cellars for visitors to enjoy today. 

L’intrépide

As her portrait shows, La Marquise was a great beauty, and quite the personality. As a young women, she loved to drive and would race around the region between the three family properties. A skill that came in handy during the Second World War. Living close to the dividing line between free and occupied France, she put her driving licence and charm to good use, smuggling goods and food across the border.

The family properties were occupied during the war and Château Sigalas Rabaud was requisitioned by the Turkish Embassy making her adventures even more perilous.

Post war, she travelled the world, alone or with friends leaving her husband and four children at home, carrying back souvenirs, Russian carpets and other treasures that remain with the family today. She was an avid poker player, enjoying a weekly game right up until her death in 1998.

In 1984, Gérard, Marquis de Lambert des Granges, their eldest son, and his siblings took over the property. Le Marquis continued to pursue excellence, associating with the technical team of neighbouring first growth Château Lafaurie Peyraguey to continue modernising the property. An association that lasted 15 years, reinforcing the reputation of this small Sauternes gem.  

New beginnings 

Since 2006, Gérard’s daughter, Laure de Lambert Compeyrot is the sixth generation of the family at the helm of the property. The likeness to her grandmother is striking. Gentlemen of a certain age, often stop her, saying you must be ‘Mademoiselle Tanny’s’ granddaughter, with a twinkle in their eyes. 

Like her grandmother, she is also intrepid, introducing change and innovation to this historic property. She is rightly proud of the heritage and keen to preserve it. Not only the history but also the natural history. Working with the Chamber of  Agriculture, they are preserving and cloning the most ancient vines of the property, shunning herbicides, preferring sexual confusion, and eliminating fungicides (especially important for a wine that depends upon the development of noble rot). Laure is also working to identify and to create the perfect environment for bats, helping to combat vine moths. 

In 2016, Château Sigalas Rabaud obtained the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) certification, preferring a global approach to sustainability rather than a narrower definition of organic viticulture. 

Dry Sauternes

Laure is a champion of the dry white wines of Sauternes.  She introduced a dry white in 2009, already honouring her grandmother by naming it Demoiselle de Sigalas. It’s a blend of 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Banc, with Sémillon fermented in barrels to favour fruit and floral aromas, and the Sauvignon fermented in stainless steel for freshness. 

Intrigued by the complexity the dry Sémillon showed, in 2013, she released La Sémillante de Sigalas, a 100% dry Sémillon. (Watch the interview dating from the release with her and consultant Jacques Lurton here). Although a varietal wine, there is a blend, a blend between plots and picking dates rather than between varieties. Just like the Sauternes.

Single varietal wines are a rarity in Bordeaux, Sémillon even more so, although others have since followed in her footsteps.  

Innovation 

Never one to sit on her laurels, she continued experimenting by producing a sweet wine with no added sulphur. Inspired by a friend with a sulphur allergy, it was quite the technical challenge. Le 5 de Sigalas is a sweet wine with 60g of residual sugar per litre, compared to an AOC Sauternes at 120 g. It hovers around 85% Sémillon. Laure loves to serve it, with a twist of orange zest and a couple of ice cubes, as an aperitif on the terrace of the property. 

Now, Laure has taken the audacious step of pushing the expression of her favourite grape variety even further, creating a sparkling 100% dry Sémillon. 

Sparkling 

She wanted a wine that was bright, bubbly and attractive. Perfectly expressing the dynamic energy and personality of her grandmother, and I’m tempted to say herself, although she’s too modest to own up to this. 

The first cuvée of La Marquise, just released is the 2020, fermented in one year old barrels for Burgundy inspired buttery aromas and aged for 36 months on lees in the bottle in the traditional method. At just 12° alcohol the cuvée is extra brut despite the ‘liqueur d’expédition’ being Château Sigalas Rabaud. Only 807 numbered bottles are available for this first cuvée. You’ll find them at the property or in a few selected restaurants, thanks to sommeliers that are already fans of Laure’s wines. 

I recommend sipping it on the terrace of the chateau. In fact, I recommend visiting Château Sigalas Rabaud for a tasting of all her wines. Six very different expressions of Sémillon; dry, semi-sweet, sweet, botrytised and now sparkling. It’s a masterclass in the expression of Sémillon, a often overlooked ancient Bordeaux variety, now coming back into its own. 

Lucky visitors can even stay the night in the beautifully renovated guest rooms of the property. Some things really are worth travelling for.  

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