What is your go to Sauternes?

WINE TALK
61

I have a couple of questions
to thread drift a bit…
I have been told the sugar levels in Sauternes make it unnescessary to recork/recondition these wines for at least 40 years(versus 20-30 for Still wines)
also, once opened how long can Sauternes hold up in the Refrigerator?
[winner.gif]

62

I’ve always felt this estate produces the best bargain in Sauternes -

Château Bastor-Lamontagne

63

Thanks for the info, still really like this wine. My mistake on calling it barsac

64

also, once opened how long can Sauternes hold up in the Refrigerator?

I find that they easily last 5 days or so, but it is rare that I have a bottle around that long. I find that it is almost always better on day two. When I plan ahead, I will open a bottle the night before and just drink a very small glass then recork and place it in the fridge until the next day.

65

cjsavino
"Thanks for the info, still really like this wine. My mistake on calling it barsac

No biggie.

Not alot of peeps know the difference between Barsac and Sauternes. Calling a Basac a Sauternes is not that bad a thing either. Virtually they are the same wines and many times a Barsac can be “better” than a Sauternes. All of these familiar labels are Barsac:

• Climens
• Coutet
• Doisy-Daene (including their L’Extravagent which many times is right up there with Yquem)
• Doisy-Vedrines
and many more.

Monbazillac wines generally are priced “cheap” ($20-$30 a 500ml bottle) except the the Tirecul. Their regular bottlings go for $60-$80. Honestly I’ve not found any of them all that good.

Tirecul’s 1995 Cuvée Madam on the other hand can be absolutely delicious. IMO it is a real ball-buster; one of the best sweet wines I’ve ever had. If you want to splurge the $200+ price point I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how wonderful it is. I think all the other vintages are not that good but the 1995 really delivers!

Let me preach a little: Many people call all of these “dessert wines”. IMO this is wrong! They should be called “SWEET wines”. What is one of the outstanding pairings for a Sauterne?.. Fois Gras. Do you have Fois for dessert? Alexander Lur-Saluces (previous owner of the Yquem estate) once gave me a personal scolding when I called his wine a dessert wine. His favorite pairing is Turbot with a cream sauce. Lur-Saluces is the end-all expert when it comes to Chateau d’Yquem and is down-right emphatic when it comes to dessert vs. sweet.

66

David,
Thanks for the posts.

When the OP posed his question, I didn’t think the answers would be all the most expensive wines from Barsac and Sauternes but, he did mention that his current “go to” was Guiraud. How many Barsac/Sauternes are more expensive than Guiraud? A dozen, 20???. I was actually going to suggest, for a much lower cost alternative, to explore Monbazillac as a less expensive option (Ch. Monbazillac or Haut Bernasse) or the lesser Bordeaux sweet wine regions (Loupiac, Cadillac, Ste Croix de Mont - may have the last one spelled wrong). I have had some decent wines from Cadillac (Suau … the Cadillac labeled one as I think they make a Sauternes as well but, I have never had it. Another chateau to try is Fayau) and the other regions but, I don’t remember the names. Maybe one of the other folks with more experience in these regions could chime in with others. These areas generally cost peanuts relative to the majority of the Sauternes and Barsac suggestions you have while still utilizing the same grape varieties.

67

Scott,
I don’t drink Sauternes as often as I would like, so when I reach for a bottle it is usually something I paid $30-$50 for, which is doable for me and Guiraud falls into that range. If I was drinking a bottle a week of it, I would be going for something quite a bit cheaper, so I am happy to get all the lesser known names.

I think it is interesting that Climens has not had more support. Either it is over priced in general or people left it out because of the “go to” factor.

68

I think that a lot of people will agree that Climens is one of the top 5 Sauternes (or Barsac in this case).

Now, we would have to define what you mean by “Go to” wine. My definition of it would be a wine that I can enjoy on a daily basis, offering good quality without breaking the bank.

Therefore, Since Climens’ price point in a good vintage is quickly north of $ 100 per bottle, it makes it unlikely to become a “go to” wine for most of us.

If your definition of “Go to” moves to a wine that will deliver greatness every time for you and your friends regardless of price, then there’s no discussion that it should be Yquem.

69

Jonathon,
That is kind of what I surmised but, I thought I would toss out some options at the low price points. If D’Yquem becomes your house stickie, will you adopt me?

70

My go-to, when I can get it (Denis’ 2nd definition): Climens, 05 right now to be precise.

My go-tos (still a bit pricey): Suduiraut, Rieussec (good half and full of 01 remain best bottles I’ve ever consumed of any wine)

Best Value(s): Doisy-Daene, Coutet, La Tour Blanche

I’ve had quite a bit of variation with Giuraud, some amazing, some ordinary. Same with Rayne-Vigneau. Haven’t tried very much Lafaurie-Peyraguey yet, ditto Raymond-Lafon.

71

Myrat isn’t just a pet in a cage.

Suau is not just for luaus.

Dizzy is good, whether Dub, Dean or Latrine.

Raymond Lafon ain’t cheap, but it’s a bargain.

de Fargues ain’t close to cheap, but it’s still a bargain.

Lifespan of good Sauternes open in a cold fridge is a year or more.

Dan Kravitz

.

72

Last weekend, I participated in a “Portes Ouvertes” day in Sauternes and Barsac, visiting 14 châteaux.

Were I better organized, I would post my notes.

But, in answer to the question asked in the thread, my favorite value-for-money Sauternes is Ch. Haut-Bergeron in Preignac.
http://www.chateauhautbergeron.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My discovery on Saturday was Clos Dady, also in Preignac.
The wine is as lovely as the owner and winemaker… http://www.la-robe.fr/index.php/les-viticultrices/catherine-gachet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Among the great growths, Clos Haut Peyraguey is a perennial favorite, and their second wine, Haut Bommes is tremendous value.

Ch. Piada in Barsac is quite fine too.

Best regards,
Alex R.

73

I will say this wine cooks well with autumn fare!

74

'75 d’Yquem.

75

Did you run out of the 67 or is this a personal preference? [wink.gif]

76

I maybe drink a sauternes once every two years so if I’m going to pick one it better be a good one.

77

That’s my penultimate dream wine. flirtysmile

How many times per week do you drink this ‘go to Sauternes’?

78

Drop me a note in two years, or whenever you next itch, we’ll got Dutch. The difference in what that wine goes for or in your market vs mine will pay for my flight to where ever you are … and that is assuming I fly the long way round the globe. [cry.gif]

79

That’s my penultimate dream wine.

Freek, Do you have antepenultimate and preantepenultimate dream wines? If so, what are they?

If D’Yquem becomes your house stickie, will you adopt me?

Scott, I just had someone ask me to adopt them on another board so I am kind of full for the moment, but if I do start drinking Yquem on a weekly basis, I may have room for one more.

80

I had a 375ml bottle of Yquem last night. The 2000 vintage is getting mixed reviews and I wanted to see how it was coming along; I’ve got a couple dozen half-bottles and a case of 750s in the cellar.

I can understand the mixed reviews. It isn’t all that sweet but the acid level is almost over the top. But this wine is what Yquem is all about!

Most Sauternes are so sweet the acid component is quashed out. Not so with Yquem. Yquems have consistently higher levels (than most other Sauternes) of acid. If you’re drinking a Sauterne with food the acid is the key in paring. When you’re having a wonderful little piece of fois gras a cloying sweet wine is not what you want. What you want is acid to counteract the fat of the fois.

The 2000 is acid on steroids: I love it. There is the sweetness of apricot layered with the sour of citrus (like an orange Creamsicle) and the acid of sweet lemonade. But the main component of the wine right now (at least in the “faster-aging” half-bottle) is the pucker that coats the inside of your cheeks cleansing the palate so that fois (or anything fatty or creamy) explodes on your palate. IMHO that is what Sauternes is all about! It is not about a sweet sugared cloying liquid that is obtainable from a box of Kool Aid.

BTW you should know that one should never never pair any Sauternes with anything that is freezing-cold like ice cream. The cold absolutely kills the taste buds. That’s why one serves “cheap” Chardonnay at 44°; one can’t taste that it is “bad”. The other thing is not to pair Sauternes with chocolate or anything overly sweet. If the food is sweeter than the wine the wine will taste ugly. I also do not subscribe to the notion that cheese is a good pairing. IMHO the cheese coats the taste buds so much that when one takes a drink most of the sensation of the wine is masked by the cheese.

My top three pairings for Sauternes are (in no particular order):
Terrine of Fois Gras
Seared Fois Gras
Poached fillet of sole with a Béarnaise sauce or plain clarified butter (skip the almonds).
Soufflé with crème anglaise (never chocolate!)
Fruit cobbler (best when the liqued is carmelized)

You can see why one shouldn’t call Sauternes a DESSERT wine. When was the last time you had Fois as a dessert? (Yeah, I know. Last night). So when was the last time you had a fillet of sole for dessert?

One should never call a Sauternes a DESSERT wine"!
It should be refered to as a SWEET wine [thankyou.gif]!