The estate took the name of Suduiraut in 1580 on the marriage of Nicole d'Allard to Léonard de Suduiraut. The château was plundered and burned down during the Fronde insurrection, then rebuilt in the XVII century. It was re-named Cru du Roy in the late 18th century on being taken over by a nephew of the Suduiraut family, Jean Joseph Duroy, Baron of Noaillan. The family home then acquired a cartouche featuring the Suduiraut and Duroy coats of arms, which was to give rise to the escutcheon used by Château Suduiraut today. The property was planted with magnificent formal gardens, designed by Le Nôtre, King Louis XIV's renowned gardener.
On 18 April 1855 the estate was classed as a Premier Cru during the official wine classification programme in the Gironde winegrowing area.
Suduiraut, an iconic Sauternes wines A rigorous selection, in the vineyard and in the cellars, guarantees the elaboration of the wines of Château Suduiraut, representing the successful expression of this exceptional terroir. The Premier Grand Cru Classé has belonged to Axa Millésimes since 1992, alongside Châteaux Pichon Baron and Pibran and is one of the 4 largest vineyard of the appellation. Its 91-hectare vineyard lies on sandy-clay soils. The stones capture the heat of the sun and thus allow the grapes to reach maturity more quickly. This unique terroir gives the wine its opulence. The chosen proportions of the grape varieties are decisive in the unique profile of the wines. 90% of the Suduiraut vineyard is made of Semillon and 10% of Sauvignon Blanc.
AXA Millésimes acquired Château Suduiraut in 1992 with the aim of preserving and perpetuating the estate's remarkable tradition of vineyard management and winemaking. Inspired by the great Suduiraut wines of the past, the new management has enabled this great vineyard to fulfil its full potential in recent years.
The birth of Sauternes
Although winegrowing in the region can be traced back to Roman times, there is unquestionably a Dutch influence in the emergence of these wines. In the XVII century Dutch merchants were well-established in the Barsac vineyard, where they produced sweet white wines without using noble rot. It was only in the early 18th century that the practice of harvesting over-ripe grapes through a process of successive selections was introduced.
