Formerly known as Château de Bayle, Château Guiraud was classified as a First Growth in 1855 and is, along with Château d’Yquem, the only First Growth located in the commune of Sauternes. The family who owned Guiraud before the 1855 Classification, and which can be traced back to the 17th century was one of the most influential vineyard-owners in the Sauternes region. But Guiraud had to wait until the 1980s to really achieve world recognition for the outstanding quality of its wines. In 1981 it was bought by the Canadian ship owner, Frank Narby, who gave the running of the property to his son, Hamilton. It was Hamilton who put his mascot, the dolphin (in French, dauphin), on the family crest and on the Guiraud label. Logical, then, that Guiraud’s second wine should be named Dauphin de Guiraud. In 2002 Guiraud was bought by French company, FFP ,of which the majority shareholders are the Peugeot family, Domaine de Chevalier (the Bernard family), Neipperg Invest and Xavier Planty, the current estate manager. With such a strong team behind it, Guiraud’s future is most certainly assured.