All Sauternes, All Night

An epic night surveying 13 Sauternes wines from across the spectrum, and one blind ringer. Not a bad wine among them. Very educational, with some very experienced palates at the table, and great to be able to see a few vertical comparisons. Turns out a Cantonese banquet is a great setting for this kind of experience.

• 2007 Château Doisy-Daëne 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  A nice warm up to the night. A bit of green-herb-vanilla characteristic of American oak, but obviously doesn't see any of that. Fresh squeezed orange, a little marmalade, lighter botrytis spice, a bit of menthol that I've never had in Sauternes before. Lighter-medium bodied; fine boned. Doesn't quite have the wow of some of the later wines.

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• 2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Sémillon Lachryma Montis, Botrytized Old Vine Monte Rosso Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Drank as part of a blockbuster Sauternes night - my blind ringer. A bit ungiving aromatically. Light in color and body, softly sweet, with apricot, barley sugar, grapefruit peel. A bit on the simpler side, but very tasty.

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Wines born after 2000, with some ready to go, but mostly still adolescents.

• 2010 Château de Fargues 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Oooh this is good, a definite step up from the starting pair. Luscious texture, more unctuous and richer, but also plenty of acidity. Effortless on the medium+ finish. A little confit lemon, lovely inner mouth perfume of white flowers and grapefruit peel, medium spicy botrytis, and fans out into a complex array of golden raisins and some tropical fruits.

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• 2009 Château d'Yquem 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Double decanted 24 hours in advance. Still a bit tightly wound upon first pour, and progressively shows more and more over the course of 3 hours in glass. Complex aromatics, steely, with a slug of vanilla oak, super rich and powerful but everything is in balance. Viscous as all get-out, almost motor-oil like, yet juxtaposed with the light caress on the palate. As the night wears on, it shows less unctuous apricot jam, and shows more bright pear, with super refined inner-mouth aromatics. The finish is super long, minutes long. Some spicy botrytis that complements the slightly spicy beef & scallop in XO sauce. 93ish to start the night, but ends up in the 96-97 range. I imagine this will be superb in another .... 25 years?
  
  Day 3: no change - still a bit tight.
  Day 4: with just 3-4 oz left, this has finally started to relax a bit, less showy, and just showing an easy finesse that was lacking on day 2. 97

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• 2004 Château d'Yquem 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  One of my wines of the night, alongside the '86 Climens and '89 Yquem. Although not as powerful or long as the '09 Yquem, the '04 shows an swoonworthy elegance, like a kiss from a fairy. Lightness and higher in acid, with light bitter orange marmalade, jasmine, and light botrytis spice. Winsome combination of apricot, orange and barley sugar on the finish. Great for drinking now, and probably a 40-50 year wine, whereas the '09 is clearly a 100 year wine.

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• 2001 Château de Fargues 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Wonderful and memorable, perhaps a half step behind the '01 Suduiraut tonight, perhaps only because it's more introspective. Really deserves to be contemplated on it's own; I suspect it shows its best when not in a crowded field of loud voices. Moderately unctuous, with saffon, marmalade, some mature secondary notes of burnt caramel and signs the sweetness level is dropping. Very sophisticated.

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• 2001 Château Suduiraut 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Quite an aristocratic Suduiraut - the complete package. Perfectly balanced, effortlessly beautiful, an Audrey Hepburn sort of wine. Everything in it's right place, with vibrant acid playing against the barley sugar, marmalade, and panoply of tropical fruits. Long finish makes a bolder statement than the '01 de Fargues.

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Fully into adulthood, even if some of them are showing impossibly young.

• 1988 Château Coutet Barsac 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Lovely steely nose. Lighter on the palate, sort of dances across the tongue, with grapefruit and burnt sugar. A bit more advanced and a shorter finish than the '88 Climens.

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• 1988 Château Climens 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Wow, how is this wine 35 years old??? Fresh as a daisy, low botrytis, with a laser beam of acid; it ends up feeling younger than the '10 de Fargues, the youngest wine on the table. Lightest color of the night. A bit of a funky cheesy-mushroom note that is a little distracting, although no one else seemed to find this. Glad to have a bottle of this stashed away.

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• 1986 Château Climens 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  One of my wines of the night, along with the '04 Yquem and '89 Yquem. A bigger wine that I expect from Climens, with quite a powerful frame, packed densely with acid, spicy botrytis, flowers, burnt sugar, toffee and some orchard fruit. But still retains such a sense of elegance and harmony. This wine doesn't shout, but you listen when it speaks. Perhaps this is what the '01 will drink like in another 15 years? Still quite youthful and maybe not yet at peak.

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• 1989 Château d'Yquem 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A truly great wine. So much to unpack here. The complete package on the nose - white and yellow flowers, cold steel, botrytis spice, well integrated oak, some subtle white truffle. So complex on the palate, it sends shivers down the spine, with golden raisin, fine honeyed mead, creme brulee, saffron, more white truffle, and a gobsmacking finish that goes on for minutes. Others at the table thought this was perhaps a bit more advanced than it should be, but I found it to be a complete stunner.

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• 1989 Château Suduiraut Crème de Tête Cuvée Madame 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  It's a tall ask to go head-to-head with '89 Yquem, but this held up admirably! Dense, still very young, with tropical mango/pineapple, button mushroom, some savory iodine salts. A bit more monolithic than the Yquem, and while it doesn't tip into ponderous, it doesn't sweep one away like the Yquem (or the '01 Suduiraut for that matter).

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• 1990 Château de Fargues 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Richer than the '01 de Fargues, a bit sweeter, and could use a touch more acid. Still there's a lovely elegance and balance here - seems to be a common theme with all the de Fargues. Grapefruit peel, grapefruit confit, some nutty toffee/caramel, and less complex than the '89s tonight. Again, I feel this wine would show better on its own (than say after '89 Yquem).

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Still capable of teaching the youngsters a thing or three.

• 1959 Château Coutet Barsac 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  What a treat to experience - thanks Fred. Fully tertiary notes of rum raisin, toasted almonds, mushroom, and creme brulee. The acidity here is thrilling, and it drinks like a Sercial Madeira. Acid freaks should find a way to try this wine. A bit of VA, but elegant, notably drier than the rest of the wines but still carries some nice sweetness. Tons of complexity, but doesn't quite have the amplitude of the bigger wines at the table. Still, one of my favorites of the night, with the mouth-watering acidity bringing me back to the glass again and again.

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