2021 Château Suduiraut, Sauternes, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
There is a piddling 500 cases of the 2021 Suduiraut this year due to acute frost damage. Winemaker Pierre Montégut told me that there was good botrytis, yet to add to their woes, there was also an attack of drosophila (vinegar flies). Those 500 cases equate to 0.9hL/ha, and incredibly, there is a second wine, picked over three tries through the vineyard! It contains 138g/L residual sugar and sports a very pure bouquet of wild honey, white peach and light quince notes. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, lightly spiced and fresh, showing ample botrytis toward the finish, which maybe just misses a little complexity. Fine if inevitably elusive Sauternes.
Drink 2025 - 2055
Neal Martin, vinous.com, (May 2022)
This is gorgeous, jumps out of the glass with its grated ginger, white fleshy pear and luscious quince, 138g/l sugar, 50% new oak. A brilliant Sauternes, this is gorgeous, just a lovely wine, but only 1hl/h yield.
Drink 2023 - 2038
Jane Anson, janeanson.com (May 2022)
Straw yellow colour. Complex and multi-layered with incredible balance and freshness. Intense and richly botrytised on the nose with marmalade, honey and floral notes. Palate rich and pure but matched by a line of pithy acidity that gives it balance and great length. A real elixir but beware, there’s not much to go around.
Drink 2025 - 2060
James Lawther, jancisrobinson.com (May 2022)
Terrific potential and pure botrytis character to the aromas and flavors of dried mushrooms, clove-like spices and dried fruit, such as apricot and pineapple. It’s full-bodied, very long and intense with a great finish. Lively and compact with a dense but agile center-palate.
James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (May 2022)
About this WINE
Chateau Suduiraut
Château Suduiraut is located in the commune of Preignac and its vineyards border those of d`Yquem. The property has a long history stretching back to the 15th century. Only a solitary wing remains of the original château, as it was destroyed by the Duc d`Eperon in the 16th century. The present château was built in the 17th century by the Suduiraut family, who also commissioned a spectacular garden designed by Le Nôtre. Suduiraut was classified as a 1er Cru Classé in 1855.
Since 1992 Suduiraut has been owned by AXA which also owns Château Pichon-Longueville in Pauillac and Château Petit-Village in Pomerol.
Suduiraut's 90 hectares of vineyards are planted with 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are harvested in several "tries" and are fermented in 50-hectolitre stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in small barriques (33% new) for 24 months.
Suduiraut's winemaker Pierre Pascaud has produced a series of outstanding wines which are powerful, complex and beautifully harmonious. The wines show at their best with at least 10 years of bottle age.
Sauternes
Sauternes is where arguably the world's finest sweet white wines are produced. The Sauternes appellation actually consists of five communes: Barsac, Preignac, Bommes, Fargues and Sauternes itself. Barsac is also an appellation in its own right.
Sauternes literally has an atmosphere different from any of the other major communes. At the southern tip of the Graves,close to the Garonne, not only is the land hillier and decidedly more bucolic but it also enjoys a specific mesoclimate of evening autumn mists which linger until well into the following day, unless burnt off by warm sunshine.
The mists are caused by the cool, spring-fed waters of the Ciron River meeting the warmer tidal Garonne, and the result is an ideal environment for the growth of the mould botrytis cinerea. When its arrival is felicitous, it feeds on the water in the ripe grapes, dehydrating them and leaving sweet, shriveled fruit.Other regions in Bordeaux (ie Cadillac, Loupiac) produce wines in a similar style from the same method, but none achieve the profundity and complexity of Sauternes.
Recommended Châteaux : Ch. D'Yquem, Ch. Climens (Barsac), Ch. Suduiraut, Ch. Rieussec, Sigalas- Rabaud, Ch. Coutet (Barsac), Ch. de Fargues, Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Ch. Doisy-Védrines (Barsac), Chateau Partarrieu, La Tour Blanche
Sémillon
The main grape for Sauternes and particularly successfully grown in Australia's Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley Sémillon is one of Australia’s iconic and unique wines, totally unlike any wine produced elsewhere in the world from the same grape variety.
In youth the wines are quite citrusy and fresh, but are generally perceived to gain hugely in complexity as they age and are deemed to be best drunk when at least 5 years old, frequently lasting for 10 or more years. Unusually for Australia, the alcohol levels rarely exceed 11.5%.
In Bordeaux it is the most widely planted white grape and is blended with Sauvignon Blanc to produce the great long-lived dry whites of Graves as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It is high in alcohol and extract and relatively low in aroma and acidity. Its thin skin makes it very susceptible to botrytis which is prerequisite for the making of Sauternes. It responds well to oak ageing and, while having a lightly lemony aroma when young develops lanolin flavours which some describe as "waxy", as well as a rich, creamy, intense, texture and a deep golden colour.
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Description
Sémillon 100%
We were honoured to have tried this wine given the miniscule quantities produced this year. Ravaged by frost and fruit flies, volumes were poor even by Sauternes standards – just 0.5 hl/ha, a mere 500 cases. This 100% Sémillon is packed with character, with a delicately fragrant nose of acacia, honeysuckle, white peaches and stone-fruit. This merges with some beautiful botrytis notes of honey, hazelnuts, ripe apricot, allspice and a gently weighted palate. Citrus acidity brings a lifted freshness to the finish. Drink 2024-2050.
Our score: 17.5/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd, April 2022
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