Sarabande — Vintage in maturation

Sarabande 2017

Slow, dignified, with quiet complexity – that's how a sarabande sounds, that's how this wine tastes.

This cuvée is the heart of our winery and is made each year from all of our estate's red grape varieties. Thanks to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec, it unfolds flavors of dark berries, cocoa, and graphite, underscored by the earthy notes of Cabernet Franc. Typically, 18 months of aging in mostly used barriques lends depth without heaviness. A multi-layered red wine that invites contemplation and gains in complexity with each passing year.

Vintage
2017
In barrel
18 months
In the cellar since harvest
9 years
Release planned
2027
Drinking window
2027–2035

Why this vintage is still in the cellar

We only release a bottle once it is ready to drink. Until then it stays with us: that costs space, ties up money and brings in nothing for years. Anyone who opens it later has not had to wait ten years for it themselves.

Time as a principle Where our style comes from
The series

The other vintages

Six vintages of Sarabande are with us: two ready to drink, three in the cellar, one withdrawn from sale.

Ready to drink and available: 2015 and 2016.

To the cuvée: Sarabande

The vintage

A warm February and March brought early budbreak; by mid-April the shoots already stood thirty centimetres high and were therefore unprotected. On the nights of 27 to 29 April the temperature in Bordeaux fell to minus six degrees in places. The damage followed elevation: slopes and plateaus were spared, lower-lying parcels lost almost everything. After that the season passed quietly — successful flowering at the end of May, a sunny June, a cool July, the red harvest in the second half of September. At 31 hl/ha, Bordeaux brought in one of its smallest crops.
In the cellar

This vintage's path to maturity

From harvest to release

  1. OriginHarvest & fermentation
  2. CharacterBarrel & amphora ageing
  3. HarmonyBottle ageing
  4. FinaleBefore release
Release planned for 2027

Find out which vintage will be released next

The wine is still resting. Our newsletter is the first place to read which vintage is leaving the cellar — along with a few notes from the vineyard.

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The sound of maturity – Sarabande 2017
Album Art

Sound of Sarabande 2017

To the playlist
Origin & Soil

The terroir: Sarabande

The Sarabande is the most polyphonic cuvée of the suite: seven plots, all four red grape varieties of the Domaine, the Merlot leading. The foundation is laid by the clay of plots C1, C2, C3, C5 and C9 — a calm, supporting ground. The clay-gravel of plots C8 and C12 adds spice and tension with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. From this interplay comes the depth for which the Sarabande stands at the centre of the red wine range.

Which plots go into the blend is decided by the vintage; the assignment can therefore vary slightly from harvest to harvest.

Plot map
Plot overview
Aerial view
The cuvée

Sarabande 2017

Sarabande is the centerpiece of our suite – a wine that only develops its balance and unique identity over time.
Full data sheet & facts: Sarabande 2017 Expand or collapse data sheet
Full data sheet & facts: Sarabande 2017
Winemaker & place LaSuite aux Conseillans – Domaine aux Conseillans
Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux (France)
Philosophy Plot-by-plot vinification in a nature reserve
New Bordeaux
Vintage 2017
Grape varieties 63% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc
Limited edition 7621 Bottles
Technical analysis 13.5 % vol · pH 3.70
Drinking window (ideal) 2027 – 2035
Suitable recipes