Sauternes

An outstanding wine in 1997, big powerful with flavours of honey and raisins. A truly exceptional Sauternes.

This Sauternes from the Rothschild stable is often under-rated. The Muscadelle adds a light, honeyed white-blossom bouquet to the richer, botrytis notes – with classic aromas of marmalade, apricot, pineapple and peaches. There is still a zing of citrus to the palate, balancing the wine’s intense sweetness. This will open up before the 2015.

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

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

The 2015 Château d'Yquem is a blend of 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc that was picked on the gravelly soils as early as 3 and 4 September until 21 October, four tries through the vineyard. It delivers 144 grams per liter of residual sugar, with six-grams of tartaric acid, a pH 3.65 and 13.9% alcohol. It has a show-stopping bouquet that is beautifully defined and very complex and exuberant, infused with greater mineralité than recent vintages - intense but not as flamboyant as say the 2009 Yquem at this stage. The palate boasts absolutely stunning balance. This is a Yquem without a hair out of place: fantastically pure, botrytised fruit caressing the mouth. That is as per normal. What distinguishes this Yquem is the sense of electricity that is imbued by that razor-sharp acidity. There is just unbelievably tension here and to be frank, there is little point in me continuing to write this note, because it is simply an astonishing Yquem that will rank alongside the 2001 and 2009. Drink 2028 - 2090.
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate Mid gold. Very direct and glossy. Edge of veg and toast. Real tension! Tense pear juice with lots of grip and attack. Lots of acidity as well as all that sugar. Really energetic. Long. Amazing persistence. So neat. Real attack. Massive apparent acidity. Drink 2027 – 2055.
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com

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 restrained nose of frozen pineapple, Orange Marmalade, hazelnut with a beautiful streak of mineralite on the nose – ozone, wet stone, chalk. No obvious botrytis on the nose. Unctuous and mouth filling on the entry, the richness and textural intensity coats the palate with laser like acidity which gives the intensely ripe pineapple notes and apricot, an ethereal lift across the finish.  Impressive power and persistence. 2020 – 2030+.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

A luscious nose with bitter orange, orchard fruit, pineapple and booze-soaked apricots. Alongside a wave of fully ripe fruits lies a spicy weight with deep scented undertones of honey and dried mushroom. Then vanilla and roasted nuts. An impressive weight in the mouth with a touch more sweetness than I was expecting. The acidity is refreshing and the tropical characters remain prominent with a pleasing, ever so slight bitterness. There is more blood orange, fresh pineapple and roasted nuts, with a nectarine marmalade tang to finish.
Fine Wine team
Honey gold in colour with a glass-coating viscosity, the 2013 Yquem brings excitement and anticipation. Greeted by a graceful bouquet of nectarine, Seville orange, and dried apricot, under laid by scents of sweet ginger and nougat. Gloriously textured, the palate is delightful, a rich enveloping body with concentrated flavours of botrytis fruit, honey glazed peaches and vanillin are perfectly integrated and wrapped up with a cleansing acidity, effortlessly retaining freshness and balance. Incredibly rich, powerful and generous with 150g/l residual sugar, yet the finish is long, clean, and rewarding. Irresistible now, the 2013 d'Yquem is a real success which will evolve for decades, exceptional
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager

Simply put they don’t come much better than this. Yquem sparked my love for wine and my enthusiasm and taste buds have just been refreshed with this delectable 2013. Supremely elegant and effortless it brings an instant sense of calm and relaxation to ones thoughts. Gentle aromas of soft white fruits are complemented by subtle yet vibrant apricot, delicate oak notes and a generous helping of botrytis. Beautifully silky and unforced, there are notes of dried papaya, pear and pineapple here, all cloaked in a thin sheen of honey and caramel that leaves you in an almost zen like state of well-being. The sweetness is perfectly balanced with a fresh streak that also gives rise to an attractive bite of apricot kernel to the long, flowing finish. It perhaps doesn’t quite reach the heights of the remarkable 2001 but it is certainly not far off. Yquem started my love of wine and this confirms just why it did.
Peter Newton, Private Account Manager

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

Density and sweetness exude from the outset, the nose showing subtle lychee aromas with gentle citrus and marmalade overtones. The density is a joy, providing a wealth of richness on the palate, a touch of light spice amongst the abundant orange and citrus flavours. One of the fuller and sweeter offerings from the vintage, this has just the right amount of acidity to cleanse the palate and leave a buoyant long finish.

Ch. d’Yquem’s dry white wine, of which approximately 10,000 bottles are produced, comprising a Sauvignon Blanc dominated blend with Semillon. The fruit for the Ygrec is sourced from the same vineyards as the d’Yquem, the 2015 vintage provided ideal weather condition conducive to the style of Ygrec; early ripening Sauvignon Blanc was harvested from 25th – 27th August retaining its freshness, with the ripe Sémillon grapes harvested a week later on 3rd and 4th September having developed a fraction of botrytis. A complete balance between the respective qualities derived from these two Bordeaux white grape varieties owes to the fabulous character of this rare, dry 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.

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

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.

In 2001 winemaker Pierre Pascaud has produced a quite extraordinary wine that is a real contender for 'wine of the vintage'. With an elegant honeyed nose, this seductive, creamy, opulent wine explodes on the palate with layers upon layers of complex flavours. The sweetness and acidity are in perfect harmony and the finish is breathtaking. A real revelation.

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.

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!

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.
Nick Pegna, Director (South-East Asia)

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!

With a refined fragrance of honeysuckle, citrus peel, and barley sugar, this has very elegant sweetness on the palate but it is not at all blowsy, with good acidity to provide excellent balancing freshness. Not a blockbuster, it is however beautifully harmonious and truly fine, almost Barsac-like rather than Sauternes, with a very long finish. The wine is still undeveloped at this stage but one senses great ageing potential.