France · Sauternes & Sweet Wines

Chateau de Myrat - Jeanne de Pontac

Château de Myrat is a Barsac estate in the Sauternes appellation, classified as a Deuxième Grand Cru Classé in 1855. Its sweet Bordeaux wine brings together Sémillon, French oak, honeyed fruit and fresh acidity.

The producer

Château de Myrat makes sweet Bordeaux wine in Barsac, a commune within the Sauternes appellation, and holds Deuxième Grand Cru Classé status in the 1855 classification. The de Pontac family acquired the estate in 1937, but its recent history turns on a much larger gamble: Max de Pontac uprooted the entire vineyard in 1976 during a period of poor demand. Jacques and Xavier de Pontac completed the replanting in 1988, and the first vintage from the new vines followed in 1991. Sisters Elisabeth and Slanie de Pontac now manage the estate, which produces about 2,000 cases annually.

Sémillon is vinified and aged in 30% new French oak, while the final blend spends an average of 18 months in 33% new French oak before bottling. The 2019 vintage shows dried apricot, honeyed tropical fruit, flowers, spice, vanilla, roasted nut and candied orange. The 2017 brings honeyed sweetness, candied citrus and fresh acidity, while the 2016 leans toward pineapple, apricot, mango and vanilla bean. Limestone on the Haut-Barsac plateau contributes mineral freshness, keeping the wine lively through its sweet finish.

Known for

Sweet Sauternes from Barsac, with Sémillon aged in 30% new French oak and final maturation averaging 18 months in 33% new French oak.

Notable facts

The story

The fifteen-year vineyard gap

In 1976, during a period of poor demand for Sauternes, Max de Pontac uprooted the entire Château de Myrat vineyard. The decision left the estate without its working vines and created a long wait before new plantings could bear fruit. Jacques and Xavier de Pontac took on the replanting, but the project was not fully completed until 1988. The first vintage from the replanted vineyard was released in 1991, fifteen years after the old vines had been removed. During that interval, the family moved through the unglamorous stages of starting again: clearing the property, planting replacement vines and waiting for them to reach production. Bottles returned only after the vineyard had been rebuilt from the ground up.

From the atlas

Chateau de Myrat - Jeanne de Pontac

At A Glance

Château de Myrat is a sweet Bordeaux estate in Barsac, a commune within the Sauternes appellation. It holds Deuxième Grand Cru Classé, or Second Growth, status in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. The estate's wine centres on Sémillon, French oak ageing, honeyed fruit and the fresh acidity that keeps sweetness lively rather than heavy.

The Producer

Château de Myrat's recent history is marked by a complete vineyard restart. The de Pontac family acquired the estate in 1937, and sisters Elisabeth and Slanie de Pontac now manage it. The family connection to Bordeaux wine reaches further back: Jean de Pontac founded Château Haut-Brion in 1533.

The estate produces about 2,000 cases of sweet Bordeaux wine each year. That modest annual volume sits alongside a formal classification and a clear house style, built around ripe fruit, French oak and acidity that keeps the palate moving.

Place

Barsac is the commune, while Sauternes is the appellation named on the broader wine map. Château de Myrat belongs to both descriptions: a Barsac estate making sweet Sauternes wine. The distinction helps place the bottle accurately. Its label connects a specific commune with one of Bordeaux's recognised sweet-wine appellations, while the wine itself carries the ripe fruit, honey and floral character associated with the style.

Soil And Site

The estate sits on a limestone-based Haut-Barsac plateau. Limestone and the elevated plateau are linked here with mineral freshness, giving the wine a firm, lively line beneath its sweetness. Fruit and honey can feel generous in the glass, while the site keeps the finish from becoming flat or cloying.

Story

The de Pontac family bought Château de Myrat in 1937, adding the Barsac estate to a Bordeaux history that began with Jean de Pontac and Château Haut-Brion in 1533. Four decades later, poor conditions in the Sauternes market led Max de Pontac to uproot the entire vineyard in 1976.

Jacques and Xavier de Pontac took on the long work of replanting. The project was completed in 1988, and the first vintage from the replanted vines was released in 1991. The change was physical as well as commercial: an estate with no working vineyard had to wait for new vines to bear fruit before bottles could return.

Vineyards And Cellar

Sémillon is vinified and aged in barrels that are 30 percent new French oak. The final blend then matures for an average of 18 months in 33 percent new French oak before bottling. The cellar work places vanilla, roasted nut and spice alongside the wine's sweet fruit, while the extended ageing allows the palate to broaden and lengthen.

The vineyard's own history also shapes the bottle. The complete replanting created the current foundation of the estate's production, and the return of wine in 1991 marked the first vintage from those replacement vines. Fruit ripeness and oak flavour sit within that longer agricultural reset.

Wines

The range centres on Château de Myrat, a sweet Bordeaux wine from Barsac, made at approximately 2,000 cases annually. No second cuvée, dry wine or separate vineyard bottling is established here, so the vintage is the main point of variation.

The 2016 reads as luscious and honeyed, with pineapple, apricot, mango and vanilla bean. The 2017 shifts toward honey-coated candied citrus and flowers, with fresh acidity balancing the sweetness. The 2019 brings dried apricot, honeyed tropical fruit, flowers and spice, followed by vanilla, honey, roasted nut and candied orange. Across the vintages, sweetness, ripe fruit, oak, floral notes and fresh acidity define the range.

In The Glass

The 2019 begins with dried apricot and honeyed tropical fruit, then lifts toward flowers and spice. On the palate, the sweetness arrives with ripe tropical fruit, followed by vanilla, honey, roasted nut and candied orange from the wine's fruit profile and oak ageing. The acidity keeps the mouth lively as the flavours build, and the finish remains fresh instead of heavy.

The other vintages show how the same style can move. The 2016 leans into pineapple, apricot, mango and vanilla bean, while the 2017 brings more candied citrus and floral lift. In each case, acidity gives the sweet fruit movement and leaves the palate clean enough for another sip.

A Bottle To Understand It

Château de Myrat 2019 is the bottle to begin with. It brings the Barsac setting, the estate's Sémillon-led cellar work and its sweet Bordeaux style into one glass. Dried apricot, tropical fruit, flowers and spice rise first, followed by a sweet, lifted palate with vanilla, honey, roasted nut and candied orange. Fresh acidity keeps the wine moving through the finish, while 18 months of final maturation in partly new French oak adds breadth and savoury detail.

Anecdote

In 1976, during a period of poor demand for Sauternes, Max de Pontac uprooted the entire Château de Myrat vineyard. The estate had to begin again from bare ground. His sons, Jacques and Xavier de Pontac, replanted the property, but the work was not fully completed until 1988. The first vintage from the new vines arrived in 1991, fifteen years after the old vineyard had disappeared. Between the uprooting and that first returning bottle, the family carried out a complete agricultural restart before the estate could make wine from its own replacement vines.

Final Word

Château de Myrat brings together a precise place, a family estate rebuilt from the vineyard up, Sémillon, French oak and the bright acidity that carries sweet fruit. Barsac supplies the setting; the cellar shapes the honey, vanilla and roasted-nut detail; the finish stays fresh.

Sources

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