Château Rieussec is one of the biggest estates in Sauternes-Barsac, covering 93 hectares of gravelly sandy-clay soils. The property used to belong to the Carmelite monks but was confiscated during the French Revolution and put up for sale in the 1970s at which time it was purchased by the owner of Château La Louvière. The Domaine changed hands many times until 1984 when it was purchased by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).
Under Domaine Barons de Rothschild management, new systems were put in place to facilitate meticulous selection of the grapes and fermenting in barrels to make the Grand Vin. In 1989 investments were made in a new barrel room that allowed them to extend the ageing period of their wines resulting in an entire decade of remarkable wines from 1995 to 2005.
“The wines of Sauternes are so wonderful that we wanted to have our own, and Rieussec’s vineyard is outstanding”
Baron Eric de Rothschild
