Château Sigalas Rabaud Sauternes 2012 - 1er Cru Classé (37,5cl)

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

One of the region’s most successful wines in this very challenging year, characterized by freshness, yet with a lovely richness on the palate and no hints of iodine or mushroom. This terroir drains beautifully. Best enjoyed before 2032.

About the estate:

Located right next to Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sigalas-Rabaud is a small, 14-hectare vineyard in a single block (the smallest classified growth in Sauternes), ideally situated and capable of producing a very sweet wine of transcendent finesse. Due to its early ripening, the grapes develop a particularly noble botrytis here, as evidenced by the great vintages of the past twenty years. Laure Compeyrot de Lambert is steering the estate toward more sustainable viticulture and producing dry wines with character.

Decanter

About the wine:

Intense sweetness (131 gm/l of residual sugar) with beautiful balance and wonderful precision. This wine lacks the density of the best vintages, but it offers balance, harmony, and freshness in what was a challenging vintage. Eric Boissenot is the consultant for this estate. 2019–2027

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Founded in the 17th century by a family of magistrates at the Bordeaux Parliament, Château Rabaud was acquired by Henri Sigalas and became Sigalas-Rabaud in 1863. In 1903, his son Pierre sold 30 hectares to the Promis family, retaining only “the jewel of the terroir”—the current 14 hectares, planted on a hilltop of gravel over clay. The estate’s history was subsequently turbulent (leasing, mergers, and divisions) until the family-owned land was reclaimed in 1951 by Marie-Antoinette de Lambert des Granges, née Sigalas, whose granddaughter, Laure de Lambert Compeyrot, now serves as its director.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

The Lambert family cultivates this magnificent, homogeneous terroir, which provides ideal conditions for the development of noble rot. The wine’s style is unparalleled: while it rivals the Haut-Sauternais premier crus in richness and power—with a bouquet of a similar nature—it reveals a more pronounced, immediate finesse that only intensifies with aging. Ultimately, these are true little miracles that a core group of loyal connoisseurs have elevated to the pinnacle of Sauternes. Laure de Lambert-Compeyrot took over the management of Sigalas Rabaud in 2013 and is energetically expanding the production of dry white wines (La Sémillante de Sigalas and La Demoiselle). She is also advocating for the recognition of a new “dry Sauternes” appellation.

Wine Spectator

About the wine:

This wine features notes of toasted coconut, warm brioche, pear, and peach cream. It has a lovely length, with a hint of candied lemon zest that adds depth to the finish. A fine effort for the vintage.

Jancis Robinson

Vinous

About the wine:

The 2012 Sigalas Rabaud has a beautiful, very pure bouquet with aromas of white peach, quince, and saffron. On the palate, it is well-balanced with a syrupy attack, good body, density, and delicate acidity, with much more botrytis toward the finish than the 2012 Château de Malle. It is not a wine meant for long-term aging, but it is definitely worth trying. Tasted blind during the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Le Figaro vins

About the wine:

Sigalas is a well-crafted wine with great elegance; while it lacks the usual intensity, it is medium-bodied yet beautifully balanced.