Sauternes, drinking young or old? (aging Sauternes - merged)

WINE TALK
1

In Holland this is a topic.
Drink Sauternes (even the great ones) the first 3 to 6 years, or wait?
I do both, but understand everybody(more or less [cheers.gif] )
Now in my glass the La Tour BLanche 2001… Awesome!

2

Young. Tons of fruit, honey and botrytis glycerin flavors. Keep in mind, however, that “young” for a Sauternes can go as far back as about 15-20 years from its bottling date. I’ve had top-notch 1996 Suduiraut that tasted as fresh and vibrant as a 2007 Sauternes.

3

Old. Nothing like the coppery, burnished gold color. More richness and complexity.

4

Yes.

5

Both.

6

Agreed.

I will say that when sauternes are younger, the range of quality is narrower (ie. cheaper well made sauternes such as doisy daene are relatively close in quality to Rieussec/Climens/etc). As sauternes approach their 2nd or 3rd decade, the best made sauternes improve significantly and distinguish themselves from the chaff. For this reason I try to enjoy cheaper sauternes when young and save a smaller amount for aging and I do the reverse with better chateau (try 1-2 bottles now, and then save the rest for as long as my curiosity can stand).

7

I plan to pop a 09 Rieussec tomorrow night.

Will let you know.

8

Have some '01 La Tour Blanche. Must pop soon.

9

+1. Like them older & older.

10

I like sauternes older, but we must define our terms. To my taste, anything other than a perfect vintage will yield wines that show their sugar separate from the fruit extract…the sugar tastes like sugarcane juice. If the vintage is great (i.e. 2009, 2001) then the wines show well enough for me to drink before they are 15 years old. Else I will hold them until they are twenty or thirty years old to enjoy. 88-89-90 are drinking well now, and I’m finding some 75s are very interesting. The 76s were always enjoyable. I’d like to get my hands on more '59s and '62s. When doing an “all Sauternes” meal, you need some older ones that are beginning to lose some sweetness to go with the duck or fish. All older sauternes need is some light custard or panne cotta. Or blancmange, but nobody makes that any more. Then of course there are the '21s…

11

All Sauternes 2001 is “Hors category” [cheers.gif]
Enjoy!

12

I feel like there needs to be some light amber coloring before I open the bottles. Of course I do like many of them young (insert one-liner here…) as I feel they are lighter and maybe less complex (hmmm… where am I going with this), and sometimes this is for what I’m in the mood (oh boy, I think I’m in trouble with this reply).
[truce.gif]

Regarding recent vintages, my two faves for Yquem are 2003 and 2004. Both are very well priced compared to the latest vintages and drinking quite well right now IMHO. (Disclaimer: I’ve loaded up on 2003 and 2004 for this reason!). Of all the 2000-present vintages, I feel the best value is a 2001 Suduiraut.

-Dave

13

Just browsing my local wine merchant’s list, 2003 Sauternes in particular.

The 2003 Suduiraut, Rieussec, Lafaurie Peyrauguey, Latour Blanche, and Guiraud are at least a quarter of the price of the 2003 Yquem.

Makes me wonder …

14

That’s the marketing premium you pay for d’Yquem.

I like them either way but tend to prefer most botrytized sweet wines on the younger side. The fortified wines OTOH, are way better with a lot of time. That said, I have a number of sweet wines that are aging just because I haven’t burned thru them as fast as I thought I would.

15

Old. We had an 83 Climens this weekend that was wonderful!

16

That’s a terrific wine!

17

Just FYI re 2003. It’s a very divisive vintage. Personally I don’t like them (taste blowsy and lacking acidity to me) but I know others love them. For me 2001, 1988, 1986, 1971 are probably my favorite vintages (of the ones where I’ve tried a decent number). I haven’t had anything post-2004 as I kept reloading on 2001s but from the above comments perhaps I should try some 2009s? It’s the same reason I never bought 1997, the 1988-1990 trio were still widely available at retail for the same price.

18

Old . A young one is a little too sweet&creamy for my palate . Or still unidimensional , such as the Rieussec 2001 .

19

I like them a bit on the older side and generally agree with Jay although I’ve yet to get beyond the 90s, and probably, at my age, will never get past that 88-90 trio. I had a '71 Coutet ( two hard "t"s, please) with some Epoisses last week that was just perfect - slightly browning with gold highlights, complex and some fading sweetness. Unfortunately, I mostly find myself drinking between 15 - 25 years old and thus often miss this sublimity.

20

Thank you! I never knew that.