WINES OF SAUTERNES AND BARSAC

Localization

Sauternes’s area extends on approximately 2000 hectares and is at 40 kilometres in the South of Bordeaux, on the Garonne. It is all around the “mountain” of Yquem, on a clay, sandy and gravely dome, on a series of gravely soil resulting from the Garonne old terraces. The most prestigious châteaux are located in this area.

Sauternes’s History

The Sauternes’s history would start at the XVIth century. During a year of this century, a spring and a summer had been very hot and followed by a series of rains, which obliged the wine makers to postpone the date of the grape harvest. But the grapes were then rotted, the producers decided, despite of this, to ferment the grapes. At this point, they discovered that the wines offered an aromatic bouquet out of the common run. The history of Sauternes was born.

It is during the XIXth century that the syrupy white wines have been developed. Some people contributed in particular to their success at that time.

Thomas Jefferson, in love with the wine, visited the vineyard of Bordeaux. This large amateur of great vintages ordered bottles of Yquem 1784. He also identified the Sauternes and Barsac vineyards.

The Yquem’s wines were in particular very famous near the court of Russia; indeed, in 1859, the duke Constantin, brother of the tsar, visited also the vineyards of Bordeaux. He tasted there an Yquem 1847 and bought a barrel for 20.000 gold francs.
The syrupy white wines are today known and recognized through the whole world.

The botrytis cinerea

If we can appreciate and taste syrupy wines, with so unique tastes and flavours, we owe it to a surprising thing, a mushroom. Few wines resulted from this famous microscopic mushroom, the Botrytis cinerea. It is only magic for some wines, in particular in Alsace, in Vallée de la Loire and in the area of Bordeaux as well. For the other wines, it is a true plague. This mushroom can be beneficial only under certain climatic conditions, in particular during an alternation of wet and dry periods. The mushroom feeds itself with the water of the grape, which makes it possible to increase the sugar concentration of the wine. This phenomenon is more usually called “pourriture noble” (noble rot). It makes it possible to the wines to acquire a unique aromatic complexity.

The Sauternes’s soil

Sauternes grow on Graves grounds, rich in clays, which are rather slimy and which rest on basements of limestone or marly. The ground of Graves, of variable thickness, is the result of the Pyrenees’ erosion. The argilo-limestone basements come from the ripe rocks erosion.

Type of vines

The vines used in Sauternes are sémillon (70%), sauvignon (25%) and muscadelle (5%). These types of vines are in the composition of Sauternes’s wines with, of course, different percentages.

Sémillon is the type of vine which leads in the Sauternais. It takes all its splendour and its aromatic power within the syrupy white wines. It is also used for wines from the Graves, chiefly in the Pessac-Léognan’s area.

The sauvignon is the type of vine used for the most of the white wines most worldwide. It corresponds as well to the syrupy white wines and to the dry white ones.

The muscadelle is a type of vine of assembly, which is used, in addition of the sémillon and of the sauvignon.

The appellations of Sauternes

The Appellation area is located on 5 communes: Sauternes, Fargues, Bommes, Preignac and Barsac. Thus, there are the appellations of Barsac and Sauternes. Wines located on the commune of Barsac can take either the appellation of Sauternes or the appellation of Barsac, or even the appellation ofSauternes-Barsac.

The reciprocal is however not possible, i.e., that a wine produced on the commune of Sauternes will not be able to claim with the Barsac’s appellation.

General information

Regarding wines of Barsac’s appellation: Gathered on 600 hectares around the village of Barsac, syrupy wines of Barsac, can be served at around 10°C. They are very specific, combining honey, spices, caramel and candied fruits.
Regarding wines of Sauternes’s appellation: Larger area of production of syrupy white wines of Bordeaux, this appellation extends on 1.500 hectares. Sauternes rhyme much with the Master of Sauternes, Yquem. Many dishes will be perfect with these wines, with their subtle and complex bouquets: foie gras, blue-veined cheese, desserts…
The preserving capacity of the syrupy wines: These wines must age, on average, between ten and twenty years in order to develop all their aromatic potential. The best vintages will have to age longer.
Syrupy wines have been often critized for presenting high prices. However, taking into account the obligation and meticulousness of the human intervention, of poor yields caused by many climatic risks, and of the unequal development of the noble rot, these prices can be justified.

How to read a wine label of Sauternes?
There must be various mentions on a wine label:
- The name of the producer, of the domain or of the field
- The wine denomination: Appellation in French
- The alcoholic strength
- The bottle-filler, i.e. the name and the address of the person who made the bottle-   filling
- The country of origin
- The volume of the bottle
- The number of batch
- The mentions allergens

Other mentions can be present on this same label:
- The year. It will be presented on the label only if all harvest comes from only one year.
- The Mode of culture. Ex: biological wine

The classification of the wines of Sauternes and Barsac.
In 1855, the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux requires to list and classify the great wines from Medoc and Sauternes. This classification has been presented during the 1855’s World Fair, organized by Napoleon III. The brokers based themselves on the prices usually practised at the time, in order to determine this famous classification. Here is the classification, which was carried out for the vintages of Sauternes and Barsac. It should be noted that this classification has never been re-examined since 1855. 21 Vintages are classified there.
Premier cru supérieur : château d’Yquem, Sauternes (Sauternes)
Premier cru :

1. château La Tour-Blanche, Bommes (Sauternes)
2. château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Bommes (Sauternes)
3. château Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Bommes (Sauternes)
4. château de Rayne-Vigneau, Bommes (Sauternes)
5. château Suduiraut, Preignac (Sauternes)
6. château Coutet, Barsac
7. château Climens, Barsac
8. château Guiraud, Sauternes
9. château Rieussec, Fargues (Sauternes)
10. château Rabaud-Promis, Bommes (Sauternes)
11. château Sigalas-Rabaud, Bommes (Sauternes)

Second cru :

1. château Myrat, Barsac (château de Myrat)
2. château Doisy Daene, Barsac
3. château Doisy-Dubroca, Barsac
4. château Doisy-Vedrines, Barsac
5. château D’Arche, Sauternes
6. château Filhot, Sauternes
7. château Broustet, Barsac
8. château Nairac, Barsac
9. château Caillou, Barsac
10. château Suau, Barsac
11. château de Malle, Preignac (Sauternes)
12. château Romer, Fargues (Sauternes) (château Romer du Hayot)
13. château Lamothe, Sauternes

Vintages of Sauternes

The quality of the wines varies according to the producer and to the vintage. However, some vintages are exceptional and recognized as legends; such as: 1999, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1959, 1949 and 1945. These years can still be kept a few years in a cellar before being tasted.
The years 1982, 1976, 1975, 1971, 1970 and 1967 are also excellent, but they are right now to taste.

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