Château LIOT has belonged to the DAVID family for several generations. Today Jerry David tends to the production of the 20 hectares of vineyards.

The property is located on the Haut-Barsac plateau and lias the full benefit of Sauternes' micro-climate. The characteristic of Haut-Barsac is its red clay soil which lies on a splintered limestone bed.

The vines, mostly surrounded by low stone walls are planted partly with Semillon 85 %, Sauvignon 10 % and Muscadelle 5 %.

The owners are very particular about the harvesting.

The noble grape-berries are very carefully selected one by one and vinification is carried out according to traditional methods, maturing in tanks and barrels.

Vine harvest in Barsac-Sauternes
The essential originality of vinification in Barsac and in Sauternes concerns how the vine-harvesting is carried out. Ordinary maturing is insufficient.

One has to wait for the "overmaturing" of the grapes and a specific rot which is so particular to the local climate it has been dubbed "noble".

It is induced by a specific mould which appears naturally in this area- It is called "Botrytis Cinerea".It is a tiny mould which produces in great vintage years the famous "roasted aromas" which are recognizable in old bottles.

To make the best of Botrytis is no easy task.

Its action on the bunch is not uniform. This why the berries are picked one by one- When it rains the harvest is postponed so that the grapes may dry. This leads to a spreading out of harvest time which may last up to a month. It may also lead to a loss in quantity for the benefit of quality which may yield under 20 hectolitres (528 gallons) per hectare (2.471 acres).

Amateurs of Barsac are not always aware of these facts which account for the high cost price per bottle of this "cru" compared with other Bordeaux wines.