The history of this estate first begins in the 17th century when the Suduirauts had something of an altercation with the local governor, the Duc’dEpernon, who levelled their property, thereby forcing them to go back to the drawing board. They seized the opportunity, and the result is one of the most elegant chateaus in all Bordeaux.
After the death of Blaise du Suduiraut, the property passed to his daughter Marie-Anne, but it was his nephew that inherited it on her death: Joseph du Roy. The estate was temporarily renamed, and a lasting legacy is the phrase Ancient Cru du Roy that can be found on the Suduiraut label. The estate passed in turn to another parliamentarian, Jean du Roy, and then Louis-Guillaume du Roy in 1788. Upon his death it went to his widow Marie-Rose-Louise Le Tellier, but without any feasible heir it was instead bequeathed to her steward, Nicolas Edme Guillot. His sons inherited it in turn, and it was during their tenure that the 1855 classification took place, through which Suduiraut was considered to be of Premier Cru calibre.
The property then changed hands, going to Henri-Ferdinand Rabourdin in 1875, who a mere four years later gave the property to his daughter Lucie, who was married to Emile Petit de Forest, an engineer. During the late 1800s Suduiraut enjoyed great success, racking up a vast number of accolades: A ministerial Gold Medal in 1867, the First Prize of the General Council of the Gironde in 1887 and the Gold Medal of the Meeting of Podensac in 1890. The international exhibitions of Paris that characterised the latter half of the 1800s also resulted in many awards, and in 1897 Petit de Forest who also commended for his work in reconstituting the Suduiraut vineyards using vines grafted onto American rootstock – the new and highly innovative solution to the Phylloxera pestilence.
Emit Petit de Forest passed away in 1899, his wife following him some 30 years later in 1929. Chateau Suduiraut then passed onto their daughter, Isabelle Petit de Forest. Sadly, attempts to confirm drier – not sweeter – styles resulted in a drop in quality. In 1940 the estate was sold onto the industrialist Leopold-Francois Fonquernie who, together with manager Pierre Pascaud, implemented a program of improvement and renovation; soon Suduiraut was returned to its former glory. On his death the estate passed onto his daughters, with Madelaine Frouin being the most active. Despite this, the property was once again to change hands, as the family sold it onto the wine subsidiary of the AXA insurance group: AXA Millesimes. AXA has carried on the revitalisation of this and other leading properties in Bordeaux, incluing Lynch-Bages and Pichon-Baron. Pierre Pascaud stayed on during the chateau, though the managing director is now Christian Seely, assisted by technical director Pierre Montegut.
The vineyards of Suduiraut span 92 hectares, situated very close to those of Yquem. Sand and gravel predominate, with wines being planted at 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon blanc. Vine age averages at 25 years.
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