Introduction

Successful Sauternes

Although the high acidities sometimes made me feel like the Sauternes barrel samples I tried were more like Loire Valley late harvest wines, the appellation was by and large uniformly successful.

Steve Webb of Bordeaux Gold almost every year says that a given vintage is the best ever. You’ve got to hand it to him! But there was “a bit of emotion” tasting these wines, he said. “At the top level, it was sublime, as the vintage had such a cool summer, which is great for white wine grapes, bringing that bright, fresh acidity.”

What finally balanced the acidities was isolated rainfall in September and October: bursts of rain that set off botrytis, according to Bordeaux Gold partner Bill Blatch. “The final rain burst, in mid October, was outstanding, as the heat went up to 27 degrees at the end of October,” he said.

For me the best are the usually large-scaled and richer-in-style stickies, such as Châteaux Suduiraut, Rieussec, de Fargues and La Tour Blanche. For bargain hunters, seek out Château d'Arche, which was particularly savoury in 2014. Lovers of Barsac will find particular pleasure from the sheer elegance in Châteaux Doisy Daene and Coutet – to take two examples. I did not get a chance to try the various barrel samples of Château Climens, but that will be done in June.

It was not a year of maximum residual sugars, Blatch stressed, averaging between 130-140 grams, hence a “beautifully balanced vintage,” he said. By contrast, the 2009 vintage had an average closer to 150.

Be sure to check out my full tasting notes from Bordeaux 2014 here: http://www.wine-chronicles.com/blog/bordeaux-2014-barrel/

So 2014 does not come off as a particularly rich style of Sauternes. A case in point is none other than the precocious vineyard that is Château d’Yquem, which certainly has tremendous energy, but I am not sure that it falls into the league of 2001 or even 2010. I was reminded more of a Barsac style. It was marvelous of course, as the barrel sample conveyed white pear and citrus notes, and subtle botrytis spice in the form of ginger, white pepper and touches of black tea. But the high acidity made it more linear and “high toned”. For director Pierre Lurton, it was the highest acidity he has ever seen at 4.9 grams per liter, to match the 135 grams of residual sugar.

Flight 1 (17 notes)

Closing

So 2014 does not come off as a particularly rich style of Sauternes. A case in point is none other than the precocious vineyard that is Château d’Yquem, which certainly has tremendous energy, but I am not sure that it falls into the league of 2001 or even 2010. I was reminded more of a Barsac style. It was marvelous of course, as the barrel sample conveyed white pear and citrus notes, and subtle botrytis spice in the form of ginger, white pepper and touches of black tea. But the high acidity made it more linear and “high toned”. For director Pierre Lurton, it was the highest acidity he has ever seen at 4.9 grams per liter, to match the 135 grams of residual sugar.

Be sure to check out my full tasting notes from Bordeaux 2014 here: http://www.wine-chronicles.com/blog/bordeaux-2014-barrel/