My new wine obsession: Sauternes

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:31 pm

I've always really liked Sauternes, but of late this has become my wine obsession. There is just something so compelling about these magical wines, the complexity, the sweetness combined with lift and delicacy, the length and longevity. The 1959 de Suduiraut was my WOTN of night at the DC BWE Convention, but it almost seems unfair to hold a dry wine up against the nectar of the gods!

I've recently been scouring the internet for all the 2001 Sauternes I can find (at reasonable prices). That vintage is just so amazing, so aromatic, so balanced, so long. From 2001, I've had the Suduiraut, Lafaurie-Peyraguey, La Tour Blanche, Guiraud, Coutet, de Malle, Nairac, Doisy-Daenes, and Caillou, and they are all world-class.

I tend to prefer Sauternes vintages like 1986, 1988, and 2001 which have lots of acidic verve to balance the sweetness.

How do I love Sauternes? Let me count the ways: I like Sauternes young, middling and old, and it ages forever. It's convenient that it holds up in the fridge for days after opening. It's great that so many sensational Sauternes from the 1980's can be had at auction for less than the current releases! There's something romantic about a wine that requires so much TLC to make. I think the wines of Barsac a really nice; I enjoy their drier style. The only negative is that so-so Sauternes tends to bad, filled with acrid, rotten notes. I guess selection is everything when vinifying rotten grapes.

If our livers could stand it, I'd like to have a Sauternes tasting some time.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:07 pm

Hi Patrick, good post

I empathise with you, and have a few observations:

- I adore sauternes (and barsac) too...
- ...but I drink very little of it...
-...therefore, owning several cases of the stuff I already have more than enough
- I particularly like young sauternes...the 1990 Yquem is much more enjoyable to drink than the 1950
-...but the best wine I have ever drunk is a 37 Yquem
- There is much hype around the 2001 vintage, and you probably pay a premium for it
- For example why should Yquem 01 trade at such a premium to the 1988/89/90 trimuverate?
- The 2003 vintage may be the one to go for:
1) As per your Coutet you bought to the rhone tasting
2) Rieussec 2003 is incredible
3) Alex, our resident Bordeaux genius, prefers the 2003 Yquem to the 2001
4) I can get the Yquem 2003 for $240, probably a fraction of what the 2001 costs
- Doing a sauternes tasting would be fun in theory, probably very tough going in practice?

Cheers Ian

Jay Winton · Post by **Jay Winton** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:31 pm

The 2001 Liot at Bassins is a good QPR for $26 (I think). I did see signs of seepage on a few so if you buy online, ask them to inspect your bottles. I also have had the 2005 which was also good and a bit cheaper. Does anyone have any info about this producer?

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:01 pm

I agree Ian, the top 2001's are overpriced, but I've recently snagged some 2001 Coutet for $25 (375ml), Nairac for $35 (750ml), and Doisy Daene for $25 (375ml). Remember how incredible the 2001 Lafaurie-Peyraquey was that Arv brought to finish off the Pauillac tasting? You're no doubt correct that multiple bottles of Sauternes would be too much of a good thing.

I've never heard of Liot, Jay, but I'll check it out.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:15 pm

Don't forget Climens.

A couple others with connections to d'Yquem to keep an eye out for: de Fargues and Raymond Lafon.

I really like Sauternes/Barsac a lot more with 10 to 20 (or even 30) years on them.

Chris Bublitz

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:17 pm

Comte, Joe Belmaati had an epic d'Yquem tasting a few years back, the sense I got from reading the notes from afar was that it was just too much. But I may have just misread between the lines. I'm a fan of that great BWE mainstay, the '05 d'Yquem. I really enjoyed the '03 d'Arche that steveH turned me on to.

SteveH · Post by **SteveH** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:18 pm

Sauterne / Barsac is always a guaranteed turn-on for non wine-folk dinner guests, as well. Non-wine drinkers are usually polite and appreciative of the reds, but when we pour the sticky... they always rave, especially when served with a fresh baked chocolate something. These are wonderful, hearty wines which I enjoy best with foie gras.

A worthy obsession, Blanquito!

gmarie · Post by **gmarie** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:39 am

One of my absolute favorites too !
We'll bring a good one along to the NY dinner in the Fall.
Gail

Houndsong · Post by **Houndsong** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:20 am

It seems to me that Sauternes/Barsac (and German wines of all stripes) are the best values in "established" fine wine. I can get closer to the nominal top ring of wines in these regions with my money than I can for certain with red Bordeaux for instance - Burgundy (red or white), fugaddaboutit.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:29 am

You picked a good obsession, there, Patrick! I too love them, and wish I made more occasions to open them. I love them with foie gras, and was recently turned on to how well they can match with a pineapple-based dessert.

I've also been a big fan of Gail's obsession with Sauternes, Yquem in particular. She can be relied upon at any dinner at Tom's to pipe up, sometime after the dessert has been brought out, "Tom, where's the Yquem? There's no Yquem!?!?! We have to have Yquem, Tom!" To the great benefit of all of their guests, Tom reliably responds "Yes, dear" to these requests...

AlexR · Post by **AlexR** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 7:20 am

Patrick,

High time you made it to the mother lode.

You do it, and the corks will be flying.
So to speak.

Alex

Rieslingfan · Post by **Rieslingfan** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:21 am

2005 Rieussec is no slouch (though it does not hold a candle to the 2001).

greatbxfreak · Post by **greatbxfreak** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:50 am

Blanquito,

Sweet wines of Bx have been my love since 1987. I tasted many vintages and properties through all these years. Recent tasting of 5 vintages of Yquem and 37 vintages of Climens were mind-boggling.

http://www.greatbordeauxwines.com/Saute ... arsac.html

I agree with you on your impressions but if I were you I'd go out and try 2003 vintage. It's not that classic vintage for Sauternes & Barsac due to much sweetness, but nevertheless extremely exotic and fabulously pairing with oriental food.

jal · Post by **jal** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:40 pm

I'm with Ian on this, a little goes a long way and I prefer them on the youngish side. I have a few bottles and half bottles to open with friends but am not buying more.

Also Yquem from a mediocre year beats anything else from a great year but that's just my bumbling opinion.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:40 pm

>>
How do I love Sauternes? Let me count the ways: I like Sauternes young, middling and old, and it ages forever.
>>

Amen, Patrick!

>>
a little goes a long way
>>

Sure, Jacques, but a lot goes even farther! Many are the nights when stefanJr and I have killed a bottle after dinner.

>>
Also Yquem from a mediocre year beats anything else from a great year
>>

Yquem is special, of course, but there are so many excellent Sauternes in such varied styles that my perception is much different, Jacques.

stefan

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:18 pm

not an obsession for me, but I like Sauternes and Barsac. These are Marie-Claude's favorite wines. Unfortunately, i don't buy too much because I did not find any way to enjoy them over all the lenght of a dinner. But for sure, these wines are the most compealing and complex wines of all. Their definition on the nose is amazing, and any non used to wine drinker, will have fun to smell all the different aromas, easily recognizable.

For Yquem, it is probably THE BEST wine of all. Every tim I had Yquem, I thought that his was the perfect defintion of what wine should/must be : complexity, concentration, elegance, lenght... I did not taste all the Yquem from the last 30 years, but from what i have sample and read, i think that they did not produce a bad Yquem in the last 30 years, making it the most reliable First Growth.

Nic

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:18 pm

Lately, i opened 2 biottles of the 2003 Chateau Caillou, what a nice Sauternes. Not a lot of botrytis, but so complex and balanced...

Nic

sdr · Post by **sdr** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:25 pm

Nice choice, Patrick. I heard that '59 Suduiraut at BWE DC was pretty good . . .

No surprise to those who know my necrophiliac taste, but I prefer Sauternes at least 10 years old, preferably 20+ (especially Yquem). When they are young I sometimes find the sugar and the acid have yet to integrate (generalization). I find almost all of them from the great '88/'89/'90 trio still very youthful but delicious and drinking well, as are the '83s. It nice to know that even if you over-buy, you don't have to worry about them going OTH. Another plus is the general availability of half bottles, especially for new releases.

My favorite one (after Yquem, and sometimes including Yquem) is Climens, but the rest of the world has already figured that out, and the price reflects it. I have a sentimental attachment to de Fargues after touring the property with Comte de Lur Saluces himself with BWE in 2005. The '88 he served us was simply fabulous.

~stuart

Rick · Post by **Rick** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:26 pm

One just has to walk in my celler and you would say ...wow lots of sauterenes in here

Here in Chicago Binnys has these insane half price sales on Sauternes and I just can not help myself
recently they blew out Kracher wines at 69/59/49 per btl all for 19.99 ....Stefan made me buy all I could get my hands on so I ended up with over 50 btls

I have found it is fun to open because so many people say I do not like dessert wine until they taste a real dessert wine like sauterenes
Y quem is just so good but I have not invested enough here 3 - 375s of 90 , 3 - 750s of 95 and 1 - 750 2001(my most most $$ in have paid for a btl of wine)
We had the 87 3.5 yrs ago at our wedding and it was incredible.

Like stu I really enjoy older sauternes but any from the 80s are fine with me

rick

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:58 pm

What is everyone's favourite sauternes/barsac (experience) outside Yquem?

Ones that come immediately to mind would be:

1988 Ramond Lafon
1989 La Tour Blanche
2001 Lafaurie Peyraguey
2003 Rieussec

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:44 am

Too hard a question, Ian. All of the ones you mentioned are wonderful. '90 Filhot Creme de Tete would be on my list as well as '86 Climens and '24 Coutet--the last provided by François at our first meeting.

stefan

finner · Post by **finner** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:33 pm

The best Sauternes I've ever had is the 1986 Climens, which is other-worldly. I have never drunk Yquem and don't plan to.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:59 pm

Some of my favorites:

1971 Climens
1986 Climens
1988 Raymond Lafon
1989 Climens

Chris Bublitz

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:04 pm

Blanquito wrote:I agree Ian, the top 2001's are overpriced, but I've recently snagged some 2001 Coutet for $25 (375ml), Nairac for $35 (750ml), and Doisy Daene for $25 (375ml). Remember how incredible the 2001 Lafaurie-Peyraquey was that Arv brought to finish off the Pauillac tasting? You're no doubt correct that multiple bottles of Sauternes would be too much of a good thing.

I've never heard of Liot, Jay, but I'll check it out.

I think we're going to revisit that 01 L-P again this Saturday.

I was prowling through the board to find recent TN's on candidate Sauternes.

We didn't drink as much Sauternes as usual this summer.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:13 pm

I like Sauternes too but honestly often end up finding them too heavy. A little goes a long way for me, even for the best.

I find that Loire dessert wines are often better for my palate as they are lighter and more acidic but still have a lot of depth and complexity.

P.S. I WILL FORSWEAR AND DENY THIS POST IF ANYONE USES IT AS AN EXCUSE TO DEPRIVE ME OF A POUR OF D'YQUEM

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:19 pm

One thing -- I think I would drink more Sauternes if there was a way to make them match with a main course. I am not a big dessert person. If anyone has ideas for savory courses to match with Sauternes (besides foie gras of course) then I for one am all ears.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:19 pm

My most recent wine purchased included 55 items of Sauternes, mostly half bottles. I intend to drink Sauterne more often in the near term. Lucie rarely partakes, so I usually do not either when we are alone, but with more half bottles I'll be quicker to open one for my self. Also, I've been using Repour lately to save left overs that I might not drink within a day or two.

I like 2001 Sauterne, but I prefer 2003 to 2001 for drinking now.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:30 pm

Marc, I think Sauterne, particularly youngish Sauterne, matches well with many things; lobster and crab come to mind immediately. Also white fish in a cream sauce, chicken or veal done similarly, savories of all kinds, popcorn, Fritoes, fruits, blue cheese, tarts, liver pates, turkey with cranberries and trimmings, ... I am thinking about having a Sauterne option for Thanksgiving this year, when we'll have 15 dining and some of them other than I love Sauterne. I know the match is good.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 5:45 pm

Barring Y' Quem, my favorite is Climens...The best Climens I had was '86 version. Just few days back I had 03 Climens, and it was fabulous. I also love Suduiraut and Lafarie-Peraguey. I buy splits only, but I have a lone bottle of 90 Filhot Creme de Tete, bought after stefan et al raved about it...

I think one of the best food-wine pairings is Foie gras-Sauternes. A little goes a long way, but there are very few food-wine pairings that are as complementary as foie gras- sauternes...

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:20 pm

marcs wrote:One thing -- I think I would drink more Sauternes if there was a way to make them match with a main course. I am not a big dessert person. If anyone has ideas for savory courses to match with Sauternes (besides foie gras of course) then I for one am all ears.

It sounds weird but we've had some orange flavored shrimp with Sauternes and/or Quarts de Chaume and those pair up very nicely.

That was a suggestion from the proprietor of Henrys Evergreen (now closed) in NYC.

BordeauxNut · Post by **BordeauxNut** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:08 am

FWIW -- I did a 2005 Sauternes / Barsac tasting with Jean Marc Quarin at Nairac after we finished several days of tasting through the 2005 reds in the spring of 2006. After the tasting the 2005s, we worked through a vertical of recent vintages of Nairac, which were terrific. Following that the Heeter Family treated us to a fantastic meal that featured Monkfish, wrapped in spinach and poached in their second wine. It was a terrific pairing for the second wine, which is quite good itself.

Jean Marc, who knows more about Sauternes/Barsac than anyone I've ever met, felt that the 2003 vintage was superior to 2001. That was, and still is, a contrarian opinion but one he held strongly. I very much like the 2003s too. He is a big fan of Nairac and is a critic of the cryo-extraction used at some estates.

I have a lot of Sauternes and Barsac. I'm going to start using my Coravin with them -- probably a really great use case...

Harry C. · Post by **Harry C.** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:58 am

Wines of the past: 1975 De Malle This was the wine that opened my eyes on better dessert wines
1980 Climens shelf price was $13- 750ml. A steal from a year that was much better in whites than reds.
1988 Yquem IMO best of the trio 88,89,90 due to the better acidity
2001 Yquem only young Sauternes I gave 100 points.
Years ago my wine tasting group did a Sauternes dinner. I'll try to find the notes, but steak with a blue cheese sauce was a good match (The saltiness matched with the richness.) Also, courses with chemical heat work well. But at the end we all agreed that all Sauternes was way too much. And dessert wines are out of fashion even at tasting dinners as they get short shrift. By dessert people are thinking about how they have to drive home, etc.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 3:38 am

stefan wrote:Marc, I think Sauterne, particularly youngish Sauterne, matches well with many things; lobster and crab come to mind immediately. Also white fish in a cream sauce, chicken or veal done similarly, savories of all kinds, popcorn, Fritoes, fruits, blue cheese, tarts, liver pates, turkey with cranberries and trimmings, ... I am thinking about having a Sauterne option for Thanksgiving this year, when we'll have 15 dining and some of them other than I love Sauterne. I know the match is good.

Lots of good advice here.

AlexR · Post by **AlexR** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:33 am

I will be there tomorrow, visiting Ch. Sigalas Rabaud.

If a great wine, Sauternes is a misunderstood one. How so? In English-speaking contries it is almost invariably served with the dessert, whereas in the region of production it is served as an aperitif or at table. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Sauternes is no longer fashionable and it is becoming less and less economically viable to produce. The exisiting clientele is ageing and not necessarily replaced.

Still, the crisis does not threaten the existence of Sauternes, which will always be one of the world’s great wines.

All the best,
Alex R.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 3:50 pm

marcs wrote:One thing -- I think I would drink more Sauternes if there was a way to make them match with a main course. I am not a big dessert person. If anyone has ideas for savory courses to match with Sauternes (besides foie gras of course) then I for one am all ears.

Heck, I had the 03 Climens with lamb shank and I loved it.

However, I modified my shank to match well with sweetness of Sauternes. Along with usual veggies, I cooked the shank with tomatoes (to increase acidity) and added a tinge of more salt than usual. I also picked the shank with a bit more fat content and slow roasted in the oven along with veggies...Will do it again..

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:56 pm

AlexR wrote:I will be there tomorrow, visiting Ch. Sigalas Rabaud.

If a great wine, Sauternes is a misunderstood one. How so? In English-speaking contries it is almost invariably served with the dessert, whereas in the region of production it is served as an aperitif or at table. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Sauternes is no longer fashionable and it is becoming less and less economically viable to produce. The exisiting clientele is ageing and not necessarily replaced.

Still, the crisis does not threaten the existence of Sauternes, which will always be one of the world’s great wines.

All the best,
Alex R.

I had a little underwhelming 2007 Sigalas Rabaud recently. It didn't seem to show enough botrytis. Maybe it needed to be cooler, or more air.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 11:28 pm

I like Sauternes with blue cheeses. And of course with a pate or foie gras. Savory works best. I have it with lobster and that was fine. Except for Yquem and Climens, most Sauternes are relatively cheap.

Chris Bublitz

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:28 am

Sauternes needs to be served ice cold, like Champagne.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Thu Oct 25, 2018 1:07 am

There was a 1983 Beerenauslese opened before dinner at the offline I went to last Monday that was awesome!
I still haven't had a Sauternes which reaches that level.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Thu Oct 25, 2018 1:13 am

Saturns goes surprisingly well with beef carpaccio.

Anything that goes with off-dry Riesling works pretty well with Sauternes too-- seafood, Thai food, etc.