Sauv.Blanc & Sémillon

This exquisite wine has been carefully vinified for us by one of the finest châteaux in Sauternes, Ch. Climens. The fruit comes from different parcels within the vineyard, producing a wine with classic honey and orange blossom notes on the nose. The palate is intensely sweet yet beautifully balanced by fresh, lively acidity. It will pair brilliantly with a tarte tatin or with blue and goats’ cheeses.
Max Lalondrelle, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Overshadowed by the prodigious 2001 vintage,  2002 is nevertheless a fine year for Barsac-Sauternes, and by all accounts as good if not better than any of the vintages between 1992 and 2000. The wines shows plenty of noble rot character with caramel, beewax and honeysuckle notes, fat texture and concentrated flavours. A great, intense effort of excellent value for money.

Gloriously aromatic on the nose – lemon sherbet and elderflower: the palate is full of vibrant, crunchy white-currant fruit, with a touch of spicy richness from the oak fermentation. Everything is in superb harmony; fresh, elegant and balanced.
Philip Moulin - Fine Wine Buyer

G is a wonderful example of the dizzy heights white Bordeaux can reach when terroir, vintage and winemaking skill align. It’s an equal split of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, aged for seven months on its fine lees in one year old barrels (previously used for the château’s Sauternes). Its complex aromas include ripe citrus, quince and yellow plum. Bone dry, the palate combines a glorious, rich texture with fresh acidity. To top it all, there’s a beguiling saline note to the finish. Frankly, it’s difficult to imagine how this wine could be any better!
Will Heslop, Buyer. Berry Bros. & Rudd.

There are certain things expected of a Graves Blanc; a zippiness, followed by a citrus-led palate that ends with a pleasant finish. This wine, however, is a far more complex affair.

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

Some tempered classic Semillon notes of fleshy white fruit, coupled with floral hints on the nose. That lovely white fruit again on the palate, crisp acidity from the 14% Sauvignon Blanc content, keeps everything in check, taut and mineral. A bit more richness then comes through on the finish, ripe yellow plums and the tell-tale Semillon hint of boiled sweets. Good depth and breadth and nice length.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

Very pale. Smoky, mineral, Sauvignon-like. Not the weight of some – and this wine makes me wonder whether there aren’t, say, Pouilly-Fumés that would deliver more satisfaction in this mould? A bit spindly.
Jancis Robinson. 8th August 2007. 

From the younger vines of this fabled estate, l'Esprit is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillion. It's aged for 12 months in new and used oak. Extensive batonnage adds weight and texture to the palate, complimenting the fresh acidity characteristic of the '14 vintage.
Will Heslop, Wine Buyer

Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting. The 2012 Château La Louvière Blanc has a feisty and attractive bouquet: lemon curd, citrus fruit and beeswax scents all leaping from the glass. The palate is very well balanced with decent weight, though it does not deliver the same complexity as the aromatics. The acidity is well judged and there are attractive ginger and grilled walnut notes. I would leave this another year and see if it can evolve more nuances in bottle, but I was pleased to see this gaining substance since I last tasted it in barrel.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 28th Oct 2016

Ch. Coutet is one of the largest Barsac properties and has been owned by the Baly family since 1977. Classified as a Sauternes Premier Cru Classé, Coutetis located in the south of the appellation. The wines are aromatically complex and lusciously concentrated.

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.

A fabulous wine for the vintage with plenty of botrytis on the nose and  intensely sweet, seductive, fruit flavours. This has a wonderful balance between elegance and power. Very fine indeed.

Following on from the very fine 1998 vintage, 1999 proved to be another fine year for Sauternes. The botrytis shows well on the nose, with plump, honeyed fruit on the palate and crisp acidity holding the wine together. Beautifully balanced and with a great future ahead of it.

One of the stealth wines of the vintage, where the acidity – here zingy lime zest – builds slowly over the course of the palate, along with good tension and savoury herbs. Grasps on to the available freshness in the grapes and run with it. A lovely wine that will develop.
Drink: 2017-2027
Jane Anson - decanter.com - April 2016 

There is a lovely saline edge to this tasty Graves. The eponymous gravel soil lends a crisp saline edge to the Sauvignon Blanc which is tempered by the roundness of Sémillon. Oak-aging exerts a pronounced, spicy, vanilla-laced complexity. Lovely and golden in colour, the nose is voluminous, with citrus, white peach and lychee in abundance. Nicely concentrated, there is a crisp and weighty complexity.

46% Sauvignon Blanc, 48% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 1% Muscadelle

There is a qualitative similarity between 2012 and 2011 for the dry white wines of the Graves, high praise indeed given the undoubted quality of the latter. However the summer of 2012 was hotter and drier, giving what Remi Edange at Domaine de Chevalier called a "pulpeux" quality to the wines. That is to say a fleshy and juicy character. This 2012 white is very impressive with a bright firm fruit showing citrus and stoney flavours in equal measure. As usual as 70/30 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, this is sure to be an outstanding wine once it has finished its maturation in oak.
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director

In great Sauternes vintages we offer our “Liquid Gold” selection. We pick our favourites from the vintage in terms of both quality and value, and this is a fantastic way to enjoy a selection of the vintage’s best sweet wines. The wines are packed in their own wooden cases, and are offered in halves (six halves of each wine) or bottles (three bottles of each wine).

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