Bordeaux Wine Basics - Sauternes Region
The Sauternes region is located 40 km southeast of the city of Bordeaux. It is near the Garonne river and its tributary, the Ciron river. The Ciron has cooler waters than the Garonne and in autumn, the climate is warm and dry. The different temperatures from the two rivers produce mist that descends on the grapes in the evening and morning. The sun in the afternoon dries the grapes but if the grapes are ripe, Botrytis cinerea fungus develops, which is known as noble rot.
The Sauternes wine region consist of five communes: Barsac, Sauternes, Bommes, Fargues and Preignac. Barsac, even though it is in the Sauterne region has decided to promote their own region and label their wines "Barsac". In general, Barsac wines are drier, more acidic and are lighter in body. Wineries in Sauterne also produce dry white wines, particularly in years where noble rot does not occur.Semillon is the main grape varietal used in Sauternes wines. Semillon has thin skins, so they easily get infected with the Botrytis fungus. Semillon adds texture to Sauternes wine.
There are 3 major grapes grown in Sauternes:
Semillion - this is the predominant grape grown in Sauternes. It is a thin skinned grape that is very susceptible to noble rot.
Sauvignon Blanc - this grape is less prone to developing noble rot. Sauvignon Blancadds more acidity and crispness to the Sauternes wines.
Muscadelle - Muscadelle is a very fickle grape that is susceptible to many other grape diseases. For this reason, not a lot of Muscadelle is grown in Sauternes anymore. It adds a floral aroma to the wine blend.
There was a classification of Sauternes wines in 1855 divided into
Premier Cru Superiore (First Great Growth) - Chateau D'Yquem
Premier Cru (First Growth) - 11 wines
Chateau La Tour Blanche
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey
Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey
Chateau de Rayne Vigneau
Chateau Suduiraut
Chateau Coutet
Chateau Climens
Chateau Guiraud
Chateau Rabaud-Promis
Chateau Sigalas Rabaud
Chateau Rieussec
Second Cru (Second Growth) - 14 wines
Chateau de Myrat
Chateau Doisy-Daene
Chateau Doisy Dubroca
Chateau Doisy-Vedrines
Chateau d'Arche
Chateau Filhot
Chateau Broustet
Chateau Nairac
Chateau Caillou
Chateau Suau
Chateau de Malle
Chateau Romer du Hayot
Chateau Lamothe Despujols
Chateau Lamothe Guignard
Пікірлер: 38
D'Yquem is the most amazing wine I've had. Pure brilliance!
Big desert wine fan. Never had the chance to try high end sauternes. However, big fan of Eiswein from Germany.
Sauternes is definitely one of my favorites. La Tour Blanche and Rieussec are probably the ones I drink the most of, but I'm always looking to try other producers. Rieussec 2003 is amazing, up there along with 2001 for me. Lucky enough to have a few more bottles waiting in the cellar for special occasions! Hopefully you enjoy the bottle you have.
Bravo! Yup, a bit disservice to actually serve with dessert. IMHO its better with a cheese/honey/charcutrie than desserts. Heck, serve it when you are having Fried Chicken, or Pizza, or Butter Chicken, or even a Pasta (like with Alfredo sauce).
Informative video. But it would have Been nice if you tasted and evaluated the wines. With Rieussec you really get very high quality for the price. Sauternes is still affordable compared to red clasified growht Bordeaux.
Nothing is very or quite unique. Something is unique or it is not.
I have one Sauterne in the cellar, 2016 Clos Haut-Peyraguey. Planning on finally trying it during this winter break. Thanks for the overview
I recently had a 1996 D’Yquem. Amazing experience. Will save the 2013 for at least 10 years, or so I hope
Where is Gillette ranked?
Do you tend to get half bottle vs whole bottle for Sauternes? I feel it’s hard to finish a whole bottle and do you notice a difference when aging these wines?
Really loving your educational videos, I enjoy with the video lecture style!
Great video- I'm not hugely experienced in Sauternes, though I do enjoy it and other Botyrized dessert wines (BA/TBA Riesling and Tokay) occasionally, so I appreciate the content. I appreciate that you mentioned the color changing over time, bc it is quite striking. I have noticed that the color change can be variable from bottle to bottle. For example, two bottles from the same vintage, the same producer, and stored the same way can be very different colors. The older the wines, the greater the variability. What do you attribute this to? Bottle variation? Cork closure differences? Do the color changes correlate with the taste? And finally, though maybe not traditional, the dry whites of Sauternes can be fantastic. A recent 2015 Ygrec was one of my best white wine experiences ever!
Great overview thanks. I have a 1990 D'Yquem thats been sleeping in my chiller for quite some time now. You reckon its ready to drink? I been reading that these things may take decades more to fully achieve the greatness it is truly meant to. My only previous experience with Sauternes is the 2001 D'Yquem (drank in 2018)... i was quite overwhelmed with how sticky sweet i found it and struggled to get past its sweetness to discover anything else. Would an older bottling like say the 1990 in theory develop some other characters of more interest?
I thought this noble rot environment also occurred in Hungary to get Tokaji wine?
O love Sauternes wines!