A Sauternes with tart tartine, cooked apple and caramel. It’s full-bodied, juicy and sweet, yet there’s lots of caramel and spice, too, such as cloves. Comes across almost dry. But lots of sweetness. Pure semillon. Unique. Tiny production.
(97-98) points, JamesSuckling.com (May 2021)
Full of pleasure, silky and richly textured, easy to sink into but carefully measured at the same time, addings its layers of orange peel, bloody orange, white pepper spice and truffle slowly but surely as it inches through the palate. Tiny floral notes accompany the saline minerality on the finish. Almost no botrytis in September, and then when the weather deteriorated at the end of September things really became a bit worrying. But they were able to hold on until October 19 (after stopping at the end of September, I imagine needing nerves of steel). Yields of around 8hl/ha. 3,000 cases of Suduiraut. 137g/l of residual sugar. A great example of what botrytis does - the pH is at 4, so the freshness comes from the bitterness of botrytis not high acidities. Drinking Window 2022 - 2045
96 points, Decanter (May 2021)
100% Sémillon. RS 137 g/l. Essentially produced from the third (19 to end October) and fourth (2–6 November) tris. Cask sample.
Golden hue but still a little cloudy. Pure aromatics with peach and nectarine notes to the fore. Palate rich, fat and unctuous but balanced by the zesty, bitter-edged note of the botrytis. Very little acidity but there’s freshness all the same. Pretty long finish as well.
17+ points, James Lawther, JancisRobinson.com (April 2021)
Made from 100% Semillon, the 2020 Suduiraut is being aged for 16 to 20 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. It has 14% alcohol and 137 grams per liter of residual sugar. Pale to medium lemon-gold in color, aromas of pineapple upside-down cake, green mango and peach preserves tumble effortlessly out of the glass, followed by hints of honeycomb, preserved ginger and allspice. The palate is rich and decadent, delivering a seductively oily texture and just enough freshness to lift the long, spicy finish.
(93-95) points, Wine Advocate (May 2021)
Sauternes is home to arguably the most prestigious and long-lived sweet wines in the world. Located 65 km south of the city of Bordeaux at the southern tip of the Graves, the appellation has 2100 ha of vineyards planted on flat, alluvial gravels overlying thick layers of limestone. Although viewed as one appellation, Sauternes actually consists of five communes; Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignanc, and Sauternes with Barsac also a designated appellation in its own right. What makes Sauternes unique is its special mesoclimate caused by the confluence of the Ciron and the Garonne rivers.
The region experiences evening mists in autumn which set in until late morning and are subsequently burnt off by warm sunny afternoons. It is precisely these conditions that provide the ideal environment for the growth of botrytis cinerea – a fungus that attacks the grapes, causing them to dehydrate leaving sweet shrivelled fruit, ideal for sweet wine production. Sauternes wines are made predominantly from Sémillon with Sauvignon Blanc with small amounts of Muscadelle. Golden in colour with enticing aromas and flavours of honey, acacia, stone-fruit, candied citrus and marmalade, classic Sauternes is rich, unctuous and beautifully balanced by fresh acidity. Capable of long-ageing, the wines turn deep amber with age, taking on more tertiary caramel flavours over time.
