The World of Sauternes

Sauternes is a sweet wine usually drunk with desserts, and in our weight conscious world that is the problem. Named for the region south of Bordeaux where the wine was produced and perhaps invented (some say the process was invented in Hungary), it was an indispensable favorite at the turn of the century, when nobody who could afford it counted calories. Now it is emerging once again. It deserves to be part of your wine world.

Let’s start with the finest. That without question would be Chateau d’Yquem, located in the commune of Sauternes itself. It is expensive (at least $175 a bottle in good years), and it is in a class by itself. That is literally true, for the same 1855 Classification that ranked the wines of the Medoc region also ranked the wines of the Sauternes region, and only Chateau d’Yquem was ranked a Premier Grand Cru Classe.

Chateau d’Yquem is on a small hill bordered by intersecting streams. That geography helps the grapes a great deal, by providing both drainage and the conditions for that misty autumnal weather that makes the wine possible. By the way, each year in Bordeaux’s “Mai Musicale,” Chateau d’Yquem opens its gates for a concert, which is given in the courtyard. Surrounded by rosebushes and fine music within the castle courtyard is a grand experience. Add a few concerts in the Medoc region to your program, and it is worth a trip to Europe in my estimation.

The special feature of Sauternes, which causes the characteristic sweetness, sounds ghastly. In the humid fall, a mold attacks the grapes, causing a super concentration of sugar called “noble rot” (botrytis cinerea if you want to be precise). The trick is to gather the grapes, which now look like raisins, at precisely the right moment, when they have the precise accumulation of noble rot, before the grapes become useless.

At Chateau d’Yquem, this is a painstaking process, and the grapes are individually picked, sometimes as many as a dozen times, for the precise moment they are ready. That labor intensiveness, and the fact that Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces, whose family has owned the estate for hundreds of years, and whose ancestor greeted Thomas Jefferson at the estate, will not produce any wine in a poor year, explains the cost in part. Add to that a perfect location, and heavy infrastructure costs, and the reason for the expense emerges. You pay for what you get.

My title indicates that styles of Sauternes vary, and that is the case. Let’s consider five Premiers Crus Classes from the 1855 Classification. All of them are very good, but they differ markedly.

Chateau Coutet from neighboring Barsac is one of my favorites (as it was of Maurice Chevalier, who according to Alexis Lichine invariably enjoyed a glass before his stage performances). This is Sauternes made in a lighter style. It is still a sweet wine, of course, but less so than others. This would be a good choice if you wanted to sample quality Sauternes, without committing to the heaviness that some of them will display.

Chateau Guiraud is the only Premier Cru Classe in Sauternes. The 1983 I tasted from the cask was superb. It was fresh, fruity and sweet. In the bottle, it is just beginning to come around to fulfill that promise.

Chateau Suduiraut, from Preignac, is Sauternes on the grand scale, a sort of Chateau d’Yquem for those who cannot afford Yquem yet. But it is a fine, rich wine in its own right, often served by the President of France at state dinners. The Suduiraut estate is on the same scale. The fine gardens were designed in the seventeenth century by LeNotre, the landscape gardener who virtually invented the field in France, and who laid out the royal gardens at the Palace of Versailles. This is a property which is well worth a visit.

Chateau Sigalas Rabaud from Bommes is a lighter Sauternes. It does not overwhelm. Rather, you may be sipping it, talking with your neighbor, and then you stop and remark on how fine that wine really is, and ask to see the label so that you can buy some. It’s that good.

Let me mention three other Sauternes wines, well made, but not as expensive as those mentioned, which might average $30-$50 a full bottle. They are Chateau Bastor Lamontagne (long a choice for Bordelais at home), Chateau Filhot, and Chateau Doisy-Vedrines. Try them as well.

Now some ground rules. Sauternes is drunk somewhat chilled. A little does tend to go a long way, and so there is a practice of selling these wines in half bottles. That is what I recommend you try. I have a number of full bottles, and one always goes into the frig for Thanksgiving, and gets finished with the Christmas desserts! It’s a nice custom that you might consider trying.

There have been a number of excellent vintages, and the fact that Sauternes is not far from Bordeaux does not mean that the vintages are similar between the two. Far from it. For one thing, the harvest in Sauternes is later, and for another, the conditions attending the production of noble rot have nothing to do with the production of Bordeaux wines. Good recent years, those most likely to be found in retail shops, include 1995, 1996 and 1997. Before that, the decade of the ‘eighties had a number of fine successes: 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1999, and 1990. If you get the opportunity to taste a fine Sauternes from 1967, 1975 or 1976, don’t hesitate.

Tasted young, Sauternes often have a freshness that is particularly appealing. Combine that with a light style, such as Chateau Sigalas Rabaud or Chateau Coutet evinces, and you have a wine which many Frenchmen prefer as an aperitif, or with a first course of foie gras. They go perfectly together. I’ll mention also that in an effort to meet modern demand, a number of Sauternes producers are now also making dry wines, some identified by initials (Y for Yquem, G for Guiraud). An astute hostess might try serving the estate’s dry white wine with the first course, and the Sauternes with the dessert course.

The well aged Sauternes are another tasting experience altogether. The finest 1967 Chateau d’Yquem I tasted was at a luncheon given by Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces in 1989. To my taste, it had taken that long for the wine to reach the proper plateau of excellence. Once it had, it was in a class by itself. Sauternes are wonderful with desserts, but not sweet ones, where their own sweetness would produce a cloying effect. A well aged Sauternes with the proper dessert ends a meal on a note of triumph.

I mentioned that Hungary also might claim the title as the original producer of sweet dessert wines. This is their famous Tokay aszu, produced in the eastern part of the country. The finest property, interestingly enough, resembles Chateau d’Yquem in the Sauternes region, for it is perched on a hill, with good exposure and drainage, and with a stream also bordering the property, an aid to the production of noble rot in the grapes.

Tokay, though, differs significantly in one respect. There, the aszu grapes are kept apart from other grapes, which are separately vinified. Then the sweet aszu must is added. The resulting wine is ranked from three to six puttonyos, a puttony being a tub of the sweet aszu. The more added, the richer the resulting Tokay. I am glad to note that after years of decline, Tokay is again laying claim to excellence. It is sold in 500 milliliter bottles, just the right size for a dinner party’s enjoyment. If you can taste the even rarer (and much more expensive) Eszencia, which is produced by juices running naturally from the picked aszu grapes without any pressing, be sure and do so. It has a deservedly high reputation.

I hope that you will enjoy trying Sauternes. It’s an acquired taste, perhaps, but one that you will be very pleased to have acquired.

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