2008 Château de Fargues, Sauternes, Bordeaux

Tasted blind. Round, intense and satisfying. Not the most refreshing but with integrity and length. Preserved peaches. Good freshness of fruit. Long.

Drink 2016-2030

Bright yellow-gold. Captivating aromas of pineapple, quince, ripe peach, spices, hazelnut and vanilla. Large-scaled, honeyed, rich and full but with a light touch owing to very nicely integrated acidity. A very sweet style, displaying hints of tropical fruit and good saline grip. This glyceral, chewy wine really melts into the palate like sake on the very long finish.

This harnesses the steely, nervy quinine edge of the vintage and buries it nicely in a core of lemon chiffon, shortbread and honeysuckle notes. The pure finish shows a nice sweet-sour interplay and fine length. This could age on a fairly slow track. Best from 2014 through 2024. 830 cases made.

Drink 2014-2024

Candied ginger, cloves, truffles, rich concentrated exotic fruits, pineapple and passion fruit. Great quality, this is a wine that levitates over the palate, all the while pulling you down to be seduced. It remains extremely young, elegant but gourmet. A vintage that is sometimes lost among the successes for Sauternes) on either side, but it is worth seeking out, and is extremely enjoyable. 20% new oak, and a vintage where frost reduced the crop by 20%, down to around 8hl/h. François Amirault winemaker.

Drink 2022-2038

Tasted single blind against its peers. Whereas last year the de Fargues 2008 was immediately forthcoming, a few months later this example demands much more coaxing from the glass. Eventually, it reveals scents of dried pineapple, limestone and a touch of cooking apple with some VA notes lending it a bit of a kick. The palate is medium-bodied with a mellifluous texture. It is very well-balanced with a tangible sense of tension from start to finish, attractive notes of dried honey and quince interlacing the long structured finish. This constitutes a serious Sauternes for the serious Sauternes-lover. Tasted January 2012.