Sauternes

Sauternes is an intensely sweet, white dessert wine from the Graves region of Bordeaux, France. The primary grapes are semillon, sauvignon blanc & muscadelle. Thanks to a fungus called botrytis cinera, which removes the moisture and leaves a shriveled raisin-like fruit, the sugars are concentrated and sweetness approaches dessert wine levels. Because there is less juice to start with, more grapes must be used. This and several other factors (hand picked bunches, fermentation in smaller oak barrels) increase the cost of this unique wine.

Chateau Y'Quem is the pinnacle of Sauternes. I consider myself fortunate have enjoyed this prohibitively expensive wine... However, it was decidedly not an ideal introduction to Sauternes. I've set the bar too high.

Chateau Belingard Sauternes
France - $11
Amazing flavor and richness for price point. Pineapple flavors and aromas. The little wine that could. Good value dessert wine. Obscure enough for most people not to bother with detecting the nuances between a $11 and $40 bottle. Most are just happy to have something deliciously different. 3.5/5


Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2006
France - $30
Aromas of honey and tropical fruit, most notably pineapple. Honey, walnut and pineapple flavors emerge under a silky smooth and clean body with extended finish. First-cru Sauternes. Cleaner, purer, and more complex than the less expensive Chateau Belingard - no surprise. Not sure if it's worth the additional money, especially if consumed after a long night of wine drinking. A raft-up wine from 2008. Previous vintages have received a 92 rating from WS. 4/5

Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes 2004
France - $40
Another first-cru Sauternes. A raft-up wine from a mystery year, but we loved it. Rated 88 points in WS, 95 by WE. 4/5