Sauv.Blanc & Sémillon
Prices:
Bottle
£12.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 5cs
Max Lalondrelle, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£13.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 250cs
Max Lalondrelle, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
H/Bottle
£14.25
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 239cs
Bottle
£20.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
The freshness was there; the heft and volume on the tongue were comforting and complex, owing to ageing in French oak and frequent lees’ stirring. That delightful nose of citrus acidity is matched on the palate, chased by fragrant white flowers. Lilac and acacia dance, and give way to a flourish of pineapple and mango. Good Graves always flows easily, and this is drinking excellently now. Have a second bottle to hand; it will be needed!
Tariq Khan - Wine Advisor
Bottle
£21.00
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 10cs
Ninety percent of the blend is Sauvignon Blanc, which lends a characteristic nose of elderflower and white peaches, while the balance of Sémillon adds weight and a citric waxiness to the finish. Barrel fermentation adds a further degree of complexity to the finished article. More of a food wine than an apéritif, this will cope well with everything from shellfish through to quite rich, creamy chicken dishes. It is also the most fantastic partner to goats’ cheese, and one of the few truly great matches to asparagus.
Bottle
£24.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 9cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 16cs
Bottle
£25.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle
£45.00
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 28th Oct 2016
Bottle
£28.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 16cs
Case price (Bottle 12 x 75cl)
Bottle 12 x 75cl 32cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Case price (Bottle 12 x 75cl)
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Ch. Coutet is really pretty in 2013. It is rather light and more floral than many from this vintage and shows lots of engaging acidity. Focused, showing signs of dried apricots and even a little mango, this is very tasty wine indeed.
Bottle
£35.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Drink: 2017-2027
Jane Anson - decanter.com - April 2016
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 52cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 12cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 1cs
Bottle
£56.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 5cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Bottle
£78.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 12cs
Bottle
£85.00
H/Bottle 24 x 37.5cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
46% Sauvignon Blanc, 48% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 1% Muscadelle
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Fine Wine Team
A dry and zippy white Bordeaux full of pure pineapple freshness on the nose with layers upon layers of lemon and chamomile scents. As soon as you take a sip, there is a lively attack and lots of fleshy Sauvignon character, gently supported by sweet spice from the oak. The acidity keeps this wine beautifully balanced and although it is deliciously fresh now, it will get better and better until 2028 or so.
Laura Atkinson, Fine Wine Team Dry white Bordeaux is one of the greatest food-matching wines in the world. When produced by a chateau as great as D’Yquem, it has to be tried. In the 1855 Classification, Ch. d’Yquem was the only chateau to be given the top ranking of Premier Cru Supérieur. Its unsurpassed concentration, complexity and longevity has meant that it has always commanded high prices and huge demand.
The estate traces its history to the early 18th century, when Thomas Jefferson notably visited the estate in 1787 and ordered 250 bottles of the 1784 vintage for himself. It is unlikely that the wines at the time were as lusciously sweet as the method for creating sweet wines through botrytis infected grapes had not been developed. In time it became famous for producing probably the greatest sweet wine in the world, however the estate has produced a limited number of dry wines since 1959.
A powerful wine, with an inverse blend to the sweet wine, the dry ‘Y’ or ‘Ygrec’ is made with 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon. A tiny amount of botrytis is allowed on the Semillon giving an extraordinary depth to the wines. Ygrec is made with the same uncompromising quest for quality as their sweet and is one of the most impressive dry whites to come out of Bordeaux in years.
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
H/Bottle
£128.00
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Case price (H/Bottle 1 x 37.5cl)
H/Bottle 1 x 37.5cl 35cs
H/Bottle 1 x 37.5cl 1cs
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 8cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Ben Upjohn - Fine Wine Sales Manager
The long awaited 2011 release certainly doesn’t disappoint and draws inevitable comparison to their faultless 2001. Wondrous flavours; pineapple, peach, mango, orange zest, honey, ginger and blossom. Voluptuous across the palate, multi layered but it is the balance and finesse which is simply remarkable. Precise and fresh, somehow ‘light on its feet’. An ethereal d’Yquem for which the word finesse could have been created. A long future awaits....
Martyn Rolph - Private Account Manager
In putting forward our notes on Yquem I can do little better than quote the charming, highly talented winemaker at the property, Sandrine Garbay, who told us that “ it was wonderful year for Sauternes with perfect autumnal conditions for botrytis, or noble rot. Acidities are on the low side but there is a great freshness and purity to the wine”.
Little to add, really, but we’ll have a go. The bouquet is very clean and appealing, with notes of stone fruit such as apricot and peach along with some citrus zest. On the palate the sweetness is crystalline and pure, not remotely cloying, and the finish is again wonderfully fresh and enticing. A wine that will come round quite early, I feel, and despite its apparent low acidity it does not feel at all heavy or unbalanced. This was the first Sauternes we tasted but subsequent experience indicated that this will be a year of great finesse and elegance for these wines.
Case price (Bottle 6 x 75cl)
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Case price (Magnum 1 x 150cl)
Magnum 1 x 150cl 6cs
Case price (D. Magnum 1 x 300cl)
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 4cs
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 1cs
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 1cs
H/Bottle 12 x 37.5cl 1cs
Magnum 1 x 150cl 1cs
Our picks this year are Châteaux Doisy-Védrines, Doisy-Daëne, Guiraud and Suduiraut. 2011 is a great vintage for Sauternes.
Whilst the 2001 vintage may never be surpassed, 2011 is easily at or above the level of the brilliant 2007 vintage, and may well match 2001 in some cases. The wines have flesh, weight, energy with fresh acidity to boot. This is an exceptional case for the cellar. 2011 Ch. Doisy-Védrines, Barsac
One of the stars of the sweet wines this year and seemingly indicative of a strong showing for the commune of Barsac. The bouquet is truly a thing of beauty, with pure, vivid aromas of citrus peel, apricot and honey. The palate is again wonderfully pure and clean, and the length, albeit with lowish acidity, impressive. The sweetness is very clean and not at all cloying.
“The most extensive of the Doisy estates has made a stunning wine in 2011: fine, elegant and beautifully restrained with peachy concentration balanced by flavours of citrus peel and pink grapefruit. Powerful and dense, this is rich yet refreshing on the palate, promising up to a decade of bottle development. 8+ years. 95 points.” Tim Atkin MW
2011 Ch. Doisy-Daëne, Barsac
“Nothing better than a fresh glass of Sauternes!! Every time I have one I just think “why do I not have this more often!!”. Following from great 2001-2005-2009-2010 the 2011 is yet again a very strong Sauternes vintage and Doisy Daene is one of the best when it comes to the combination of both elegance and freshness. Although sweet it is one of these wines that drinks effortlessly. Lovely perfumed sweet nose, pineapples and peach. A touch sweeter than usual for this wine but extremely well balanced and lovely fresh elegant long finish.”
(Max Lalondrelle, Berrys’ Fine Wine Buying Director)
“A wine that has "more of everything, but is still in balance" according to Fabrice Dubourdieu, this is a super concentrated sweet wine with a massive 175g/l of sugar, a touch of smoky reduction and exotic characters of pineapple, barley sugar and citrus fruit. Delicious now, but will age for a decade or more. 10+ years. .”
95 points -Tim Atkin MW 2011 Ch. Guiraud, Sauternes
“Since being sold a few years ago to a consortium of quality-minded Bordeaux producers and the Peugeot family this famous old Sauternes property has made steady progress. This year it has excelled itself with a wine of unusual elegance, in slight contrast to the slightly richer style it is more known for. The bouquet displays an abundance of stone-fruit aromas with hints of coconut and citrus peel. The palate has wonderful purity and finesse with a long finish of piercing precision.”
Alun Griffiths MW, Berrys' Wine Buying Director
“As it did in 2009, this bio-dynamic estate has made one of the sweet wines of the vintage, with a marked percentage of Sauvignon Blanc adding verve and freshness to the blend. There's a tangy, citrus peel note underlying the 139g/l of sugar here, giving some backbone to the sweet, exotic fruit flavours. 8+ years. .”
95 pointsTim Atkin MW
2011 Ch. Suduiraut, Sauternes
“Tasted twice, and both times impressing with its finesse. A wonderful bouquet of honeyed orange zest and acacia, followed by great elegance on the palate with a laser-sharp sense of natural sweetness. Purity again the hallmark, as seems to be the case this year with the Sauternes.”
“Stylishly oaked with viscous, peach and honeycomb fruit, this is subtle and well balanced with luscious stone fruit flavours, a hint of lemon tartness, good freshness and enough acidity to balance the 150g/l of sweetness. This should develop more gravitas in barrel over the next year as the wine fattens out. 8+ years. .”
94 pointsTim Atkin MW
AS x24 hf 1 x 900cl 1cs
The blend used for White Graves and Sauternes and rarely encountered outside France. In the great dry whites of Graves, Sauvignon Blanc tends to predominate in the blend, although properties such as Smith Haut Lafite use 100% Sauvignon Blanc while others such as Laville Haut Brion have as much as 60% Sémillon in their final blends. Sauvignon Blanc wines can lose their freshness and fruit after a couple of years in bottle - if blended with Sémillon, then the latter bolsters the wine when the initial fruit from the Sauvignon fades. Ultimately Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its aroma and raciness while Sémillon gives it backbone and longevity.
In Sauternes, Sémillon is dominant, with Sauvignon Blanc playing a supporting role - it is generally harvested about 10 days before Sémillon and the botrytis concentrates its sweetness and dampens Sauvignon Blanc`s naturally pungent aroma. It contributes acidity, zip and freshness to Sauternes and is an important component of the blend.