Sauternes

The 2001 vintage resulted in truly exceptional, hedonistic sweet wines in Sauternes, and the Cru Classé estate Ch. Guiraud produced a very fine and rich example. A perfumed bouquet of honey, beeswax and honeysuckle entices – and the palate doesn’t disappoint, with good acidity supported by a glorious freshness. The finish is long, persistent and intense. This is a classy wine from a classy estate.

Delicate aromas and flavours of hibiscus and peony, plus orchard fruit and honey. Elegant, fresh, juicy and vibrant. One of the more refined Sauternes of the vintage.
Drink: 2020-2030
Ian D’Agata - decanter.com

With inconsistency across the communes of Sauternes & Barsac, the Sauternes from Ch. Guiraud was a gem that really shone out. The nose is beautifully poised, restrained orange blossom, nectarine with hints of honey and quince. The body has a lovely viscosity and mouth feel allied to a lightning like streak of acidity (missing from other top Sauternes). Dances on the palate with grace ending with moreish vanillin spice. Once bottled this should prove to be a very good Guiraud.

An absolute triumph this year, this offers everything you would wish to see from a good Sauternes – complex, rich but not overly viscous or sweet. Orange rind, peaches and pineapple are encased in a honeysuckle perfume. The palate comes alive with more tropical fruit and refreshing acidity which bounds round the mouth playing tricks on your taste buds. The finale is a perfect finish which just goes on and on. This is extremely different to recent offerings and, if you are a Sauternes fan, an absolute must.

Beautifully made, with a gorgeous nose of tropical fruits, peaches, coconut, and apricots. Surprisingly well-integrated acidity, and a seamless, full-bodied power, unctuously-textured; just starting to reveal its complexity and enormous weight.

Rieussec is always such a benchmark Sauternes and seems to deliver reliably year in, year out. A rewarding wine, this would be a fine addition to any cellar.

Suduiraut emerged as one of our preferred Sauternes wines in 2010, possessing an excellent primary sweetness of fruit and less evident botrytis; its acidity levels are good and it maintains an excellent balance. The finish is long and the overall impression is one of balance and a good purity of fruit.
Nick Pegna, SE Asia Director

Wow! Ch. Suduiraut is in Ch. d'Yquem's rear view mirror this year. It is almost as good and will be a fraction of the price. Enjoy it early.
Simon Staples, East Asia Fine Wine Director

Acquired in 2006 by Olivier Bernard from Domaine de Chevalier, together with three other vignerons and the Peugeot Family, this property can only be on the road to success. It has great intensity on the nose with touch of oranges, apricots and pineapple, and a delicious, viscous, yet fresh mid-palate. The energy in this wine makes you reach for another sip and the finish is intense and very persistent: a lovely wine.
Max Lalondrelle, BBR Bordeaux Wine Buyer

"...This shows wonderful aromas of pineapples, apples and lemons with loads of botrytis. Full-bodied, but incredibly refined and long. Superfresh and racy. It goes on and on and on. Fabulous. This has an incredible purity and brightness. Like a perfectly cut diamond."
James Suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr-2005

Ch. Suduiraut’s 90 hectares of 1er Cru Classé vineyards have produced another fantastic Sauternes in 2014. It emerged as our preferred Sauternes wine, along with Ch. d’Yquem, and possesses all the glorious sweetness of fruit one would expect in this type of wine.

With orange blossom, apricot and peach flavors – and a wonderful honeyed nose - the wine has huge concentration too and a perfect balancing acidity. Classically Suduiraut, with it’s fresh style of citrus and hints of kiwi fruit, it is a wine of great balance and purity. The finish is breathtakingly harmonious, with layers upon layers of complex, seductive flavours. – none of last year’s mangoes this time!

Wow, what a wine! I totally agree with where the Chateau are coming from as I had the same feeling when I tasted the 2001. Definitely worth the wait but all we need to know is the price! So complex and perfectly layered, tropical fruits with the signature marmalade on the finish you really could drink this now. If you have this in the cellar and can be patient then I suspect you will be very happy in about 40 years or if you’re impatient don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed.
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.

The 2014 d’Yquem displays stunning notes of white peaches and apricots on the nose. On the palate it has delicious honeyed fruit with a wonderful freshness, but also underlying power and intensity maintaining a three-minute finish.

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.

Rieussec is always such a benchmark Sauternes and seems to deliver reliably year in, year out. The bouquet is more opulent than some, with classic aromas of ripe stone fruit allied to a honied richness, while the palate has a creamy texture and lovely complexity and intensity.

The finish is long and balanced and the overall impression is of a deeply rewarding wine. Still, one can feel a great sense of freshness, which seems to me to becoming one of the hallmarks, and a very attractive one, too, of this vintage in Sauternes.

Breathtakingly complex and vibrant nose of lightly burnt creme brulee, white peaches, apricots, mustard seed and gorgeous light new oak heralds the way to the most magnificent mouth-filling essence. With the texture of melted butter and a perfect balance of precision acidity it feels as fresh,zingy and exciting as any wine you can imagine with a concentration you cant imagine. Total nectar. If the nose and the palate aren't enough to blow you away the 30 minute (at least) after taste is ethereal.
Simon Staples - Berrys' Sales Director

Intense and luscious with ripe notes of orange peel and pineapple, the 2009 Suduiraut is our favourite Sauternes of the vintage. The palate has a wonderful depth of rich citrus and passionfruit flavours whilst a vanilla cream note adds to the broad, lush, honeyed mouthfeel. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making this an absolutely delicious Sauternes.

Warm, rich, honeyed crème brûlée topping on the nose with a lush, decadent and plump mouthfeel, attractive freshness and impressive length. Ch. Rieussec rivals Ch. d'Yquem but is behind Ch. Suduiraut...Just!

Fine and with lovely elegance, the 2009 Ch.Guiraud is a beautifully harmonious wine. Intense, ripe pineapple mingles with lemon and lime marmalade notes of botrytis whilst a seam of wet-stone minerality adds freshness. This, in conjunction with the crisp acidity, makes this a very sophisticated Sauternes.