Sauternes...do you like them young or old?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Young or old?

Yes.

[Fred_Daniels]

Lots of great information in these posts…

The funk thing is pretty true in old sauternes. If you were cooped up in a bottle for 70 years you’d smell a bit, too. But with a bit of air it brings it all together. I’ve missed the best of a few old bottles by using the pop and pour method and not allowing it to open in the decanter/glass. Old sauternes can throw a sediment as well as tartrate crystals and ought to be decanted. If these wash up into the wine it looks like muck.

The more I try these wines, the more it amazes me that the sauternes made today will last 100 years in a good vintage. Absolutely true. Lay some down for the grand kids. Many if not most reds will be dead and gone and these will be singing…

My current question of interest: Given the “eat their sugar” thing, is it a wine characteristic, or is it a storage issue? I’ve had some sauternes that were 80 years old and still sweet with a sweet finish (no metallic thing going on), and I’ve had twenty year old Yquem from great vintages tasting like it “ate its sugar”. Since these are stored in clear glass bottles, they are more susceptible to light. Also at issue are other storage problems like steady temperature or heat spikes. I think that bottles that “ate their sugar” have been mistreated significantly in some way during their lifetimes, rather than just being old. Thoughts?

[Alex_Rychlewski]

Fred, you wrote:

"My current question of interest: Given the “eat their sugar” thing, is it a wine characteristic, or is it a storage issue? "

I’d say the former. Obviously, storage is always an issue, but the intrinsic nature of the wine is the deciding factor IMHO.

I have had very old Sauternes from great growth estates, some of them back to the 1920s.
This characteristic was there as well. A sort of haunting presence of sugar rather than actual sweetness in some instances.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[John_Danza]

@Fred Daniels

My current question of interest: Given the “eat their sugar” thing, is it a wine characteristic, or is it a storage issue? I’ve had some sauternes that were 80 years old and still sweet with a sweet finish (no metallic thing going on), and I’ve had twenty year old Yquem from great vintages tasting like it “ate its sugar”. Since these are stored in clear glass bottles, they are more susceptible to light. Also at issue are other storage problems like steady temperature or heat spikes. I think that bottles that “ate their sugar” have been mistreated significantly in some way during their lifetimes, rather than just being old. Thoughts?

I think that you’re correct Fred, that storage problems are the primary reason for a Sauternes losing most of its sweetness. I’ve been able to drink a pretty fair number of 30-50 year old Sauternes, with many of them from the 1959 vintage since that’s my birth year. They had all retained all of their residual sweetness, even with the emergence of the complex flavors of burnt caramel and some coffee. The sweetness of young Sauternes is pretty simple, and I would argue that it’s extremely difficult to tell most of the producers apart in their early years. It’s only with age that the nuances start to come out.

But if you encounter a Sauternes that has little sweetness, I think you’ve got heat and oxidation that’s killled it. The sugar makes them pretty hardy wines, but they’re not indestructible like Madeira.

[cjsavino]

Wine library has 2009 Guirard 750 mls for $54.98, April 2012 delivery

[harry_spithoven]

@Alex Rychlewski

Fred, you wrote:

"My current question of interest: Given the “eat their sugar” thing, is it a wine characteristic, or is it a storage issue? "

I’d say the former. Obviously, storage is always an issue, but the intrinsic nature of the wine is the deciding factor IMHO.

I have had very old Sauternes from great growth estates, some of them back to the 1920s.
This characteristic was there as well. A sort of haunting presence of sugar rather than actual sweetness in some instances.

Best regards,
Alex R.

totaly agree, but I think there is also a cork problem.
Tasted several Sauternes out of the same wooden case , and the same history , but with great differences.


best regards

HarryS