The centrepiece · Bordeaux red wine
Sarabande2024
Still maturing in our cellar — released only in its drinking phase.
Arriving
Like an evening in Paris.
A wine of calm and depth. Dark fruit, graphite and the cool elegance of long ageing.
Slow, dignified, of quiet complexity — that is how a sarabande sounds, and how this wine tastes.
Outside, evening falls
The first glass
The flavour profile of Sarabande 2024
This cuvée is the heart of our estate and is made each year from all the red grape varieties of the Domaine. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec bring the taste of dark berries, cocoa and graphite, underscored by the earthy notes of Cabernet Franc. A many-layered red wine that gains in complexity over the years.
Why Sarabande
A slow dance in triple time.
A suite is a sequence of dances. Each has its own character, and only all together do they make the whole. That is how our estate is built: each cuvée is inspired by a movement of this suite and takes on the character of its form.The Sarabande is the grave, dignified dance that takes its time. Among our reds it stands in the middle, between the lively Gigue and the majestic Allemande. That is why this wine ages long, and why it wants to be drunk slowly.
Sarabande is the quiet centre of the Suite, built for long ageing.
Claude Debussy — Sarabande, Pour le piano
Maturity — how it drinks today
Still maturing in the cellar
Our principles
Why we take the trouble
Ageing in our own cellar
Most of our wines go on sale only once they are ready to drink; until then they mature with us, and we carry the risk.
Composed plot by plot
Each plot is vinified separately; only at the end do we compose the cuvée from them.
Time as an ingredient
Depth takes time. We give the wines the years in barrel and bottle that they need.
Organic & HVE4
The Domaine's vineyards are certified organic and HVE4, set within a 19-hectare ecosystem of woodland, meadows, water and vines.
The terroir and the wine it yields
Where it comes from
Precision & method
In the tradition of modern oenology
Aux Conseillans was for decades the Domaine of Jean Ribéreau-Gayon — one of the co-founders of modern oenology, founder of the Institute of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux (1949) and long-time owner of the estate. We work in that tradition: each plot analysed and vinified separately, the ageing guided under control, drinking maturity checked in a blind tasting.
The second hour
Over the second hour the wine gains further in expression.
Your evening
A wine for the table.
Dishes to pair
A selection from our recipe kitchen, matched to the structure and maturity of this wine.
Basse côte from the grill – pepper-herb crust
Grilled bavette – sauce bordelaise & shallot confit
Braised mountain lentils – root vegetables & sherry
Bœuf en croûte, mushroom duxelles
Chapon rôti aux marrons
Châteaubriand, sauce béarnaise
Civet de lièvre, jugged hare in red wine
Coq au Vin – Sarabande & morels, jus assembled
The mood to match the wine
A playlist for the moment
If you are a friend of classical music, here is a playlist that may suit your evening and the character of this wine. One possibility among many; listen in, if you like.
Ageing before bottling
Not yet ready to drink
For us, a vintage is ready to drink only once an internal blind tasting declares it so. When that will be, we ourselves never know exactly.
Frequently Asked Questions · Sarabande 2024
Good to know
Technical data sheet · Sarabande 2024
| Wine | Sarabande 2024 |
|---|---|
| Estate | LaSuite aux Conseillans |
| Origin | Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France |
| Type | red wine |
| Appellation | AOC Cadillac |
| Plots and soils | predominantly clay, with clay-gravel |
| Maturity | after an internal blind tasting |
| Viticulture | Organic-certified vineyards, HVE4 |
| Place in the Suite | The middle of the reds, between Gigue and Allemande; “the centrepiece” |
| Musical reference | Claude Debussy — Sarabande, Pour le piano |
| Item number | LS-SARA-24-075 |
The vintages
Sarabande through the years
Every vintage plays the same movement, each in its own key. The bar shows when a vintage opens and how long it carries; the line marks today.
-
2014
Library
The earliest vintage of the series, sixteen months in barrique.
Drinking window 2019 – 2024In the library -
2015
Ready to drink
A dry year with a warm, dry late season and good ripeness.
Drinking window 2025 – 2032View vintage -
2016
Ready to drink
A wet spring, then a dry summer and a slow, even ripening.
Drinking window 2025 – 2036View vintage -
2017
Maturing in the cellar
The year of the April frost in the Bordelais, followed by a calm season and a small harvest.
Drinking window 2027 – 2035View in the cellar -
2018
Maturing in the cellar
A demanding early summer, then ideal ripening weather from mid-July to the end of September.
Drinking window 2028 – 2053View in the cellar -
2019
Maturing in the cellar
A cool spring, a hot July and a harvest free of rot pressure.
Drinking window 2029 – 2040View in the cellar - 2020 Maturing in the cellarView in the cellar
- 2021 Maturing in the cellarDrinking window 2031 – 2045View in the cellar
- 2022 Maturing in the cellarView in the cellar
- 2024 Maturing in the cellarThis vintage
- 2025 Maturing in the cellarView in the cellar
- 2026 Maturing in the cellarView in the cellar
The repertoire
The other movements of the Suite
Each cuvée has its own voice, from the rosé to the red that needs decades. In weak years we skip one entirely; that is why the repertoire is rarely complete.
We release each wine only when we would most like to drink it ourselves.Marc & Ellen Ruhland
For us, time is an ingredient.