Sauternes
From EncycloWine
Sauternes is an appellation in the Graves section of Bordeaux, France. The term is also used to refer to the sweet dessert wines produced in this appellation.
A Sauternes is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle grapes. The winemakers do not harvest their grapes when other winemakers do. Instead, they leave the grapes on the vine, and as a result the grapes become infected with the fungus known as Botrytis cinerea. This fungus is also referred to as the "noble rot." This causes grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines, typically with an arresting golden color. Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence, due to its mesoclimate. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from year to year.
Wines from Sauternes, especially its flagship estate Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, due largely to the very high cost of production. It is not unusual for a bottle of Château d'Yquem to cost several hundred U.S. dollars. Barsac lies within Sauternes, and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac.
Note that lower quality dessert wines, primarily American, are occasionally labeled as 'sauterne'.
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Wine pairings
Sauternes is a very sweet, intense wine, and is typically not served as a table wine. It can be drunk by itself in place of dessert, with a dessert, or with rich savory foods like foie gras (the canonical pairing) or Roquefort cheese.
Sauternes chateau classifications of 1855
Premier Cru Supérieur
Premiers Crus
- Château Climens
- Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey
- Château Coutet
- Château Guiraud
- Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey
- Château Rabaud-Promis
- Château de Rayne-Vigneau
- Château Rieussec
- Château Sigalas-Rabaud
- Château Suduiraut
- Château La Tour-Blanche
