Château Lamothe

The estate

The name is the place. La motte is the earth mound of a feudal castle, and the buildings of Lamothe still stand on it, some of them from the 16th century; the estate was Lamothe d’Assault until 1814, when it became plain Lamothe. The brokers of 1855 classified it a second growth under the widow Baptiste, and by then the property was already coming apart. Charles Cocks, whose Bordeaux, ses environs et ses vins of 1850 was the first edition of what became the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, gives Lamotte under Baptiste 60 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels); William Franck, whose Traité sur les vins du Médoc first appeared in 1824, already splits the name in 2 in his edition of 1853, Baptiste aîné at 25 to 30 tonneaux and the widow Déséméri at 40 to 50; and by 1908 the 2 Lamothes of Sauternes, under Bergey and Numa Espagnet, were making 6 and 8.

Armand Bastit Saint-Martin brought part of the old property back together in 1958 under the name Château Lamothe. In 1961 Jean Despujols bought 8 hectares of it and added his surname; the rest became Château Lamothe-Guignard 20 years later. Guy Despujols has run the estate since 1989.

The vineyard is 7 and a half hectares in 1 piece, planted 85% Sémillon, 10% Sauvignon and 5% Muscadelle, with vines about 40 years old on average and some past 70. Pickers make 4 or 5 passes over 4 to 6 weeks from the end of September, and the yield, 15 to 20 hectoliters a hectare, sits well below what the appellation allows. The wine is raised in tank and in oak, about 1 quarter of the barrels new. Les Tourelles de Lamothe is the second wine, and there is a dry white as well.

At a glance

Appellation

Sauternes

Commune

Sauternes

Classification

Deuxième Cru Classé 1855

Owners

The Despujols family, since 1961

Direction

Guy Despujols, since 1989

Vineyard

7 and a half hectares in 1 piece; vines about 40 years old on average, some over 70

Grapes

Sémillon 85%, Sauvignon 10%, Muscadelle 5%

Harvest

By hand, 4 or 5 passes over 4 to 6 weeks; 15 to 20 hectoliters a hectare

Cellar

Tank and oak, about 1 quarter of the barrels new

Wines

Château Lamothe; Les Tourelles de Lamothe; a dry white

The division

Divided in 1961; the other part is Château Lamothe-Guignard

In history

60 tonneaux under Baptiste in 1850; 2 Lamothes making 6 and 8 tonneaux in 1908

Sources: Guide Hachette des Vins, Château Lamothe Despujols · INAO, cahier des charges Sauternes · Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855, the classified growths