Showing posts with label Sauternes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sauternes. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The Sweetest Wine. Rain, Fog, River combine in Sauternes. The winemaker tells the story.

Rain, Fog, River combine in Sauternes. 
The winemaker tells the story.

Jean-Christophe Barbe is a professor of oenology at the University of Bordeaux, and his specialist area is noble rot, and that was the focus of Tuesday’s Liberty Wines Masterclass via Zoom. He has plenty of first hand experience with this, as he and his family own the 14 hectare estate, Château Laville, in Sauternes. The Château Laville Sauternes is a frequent recipient of awards including a Gold at the latest Decanter World Wine Awards – showing Jean Christophe not only has a huge knowledge on the subject of botrytis, he knows how to work with it to create outstanding wines.

When I last visited Sauternes, I actually bought the 2001 vintage of Chateau Laville in the village. That was back in 2014. Things have moved on since then of course. Jean-Christophe reckoned that the best recent vintages were those of 2009 and 2011 with 2010 well up there as well and said his personal favourites are the ’09 and the ’16. “We’ve been lucky, we’ve had lots of good ones over the past 30 years.”

He has been managing the estate for the past 20 years, following five years of working there with his family. Sauternes, as I found out on my visit, is quite a small area, “just five villages” according to Jean-Christophe. The River Ciron is an important factor in the development of botrytis or Noble Rot in Laville (while for other growers, the Garonne is closer). Sauternes is in a slight depression and the river and the regular fog bring “a lot of wetness” and that “fog is powerful for botrytis”. 
The Ciron

But nature needs a helping hand. All that dampness could lead to mould that would just rot the grapes. Jean-Christophe explained: “The wine grower must be clear on the evolution of botrytis as grey mould is not botrytis.” To get the desired Noble Rot, good aeration is required and that can be obtained through judicious pruning and the vines must be properly managed to “have well positioned bunches”.

And then, in the later stages, lots of patience is required. At a certain point, the fruit is ripe enough to make a normal still wine but it will take up to 30 days beyond that and sometimes more before the harvest is completed. And there’s the danger that botrytis could go too far in the riper bunches. Once enough grapes are ready the picking can begin, all by hand, grape by grape, not bunch by bunch (though that may happen in the later stages). A few passes (painstaking picking, berry by berry) are required as grapes will have different maturities. Up to five different pickings are possible.
The 0 is the point (day) at which you'd harvest to make normal white wine. The grapes in the hand show the evolution of
botrytis. The bunch on the right is well advanced.


Where did the love for sweet wine come from? Jean Christophe first told us a “story” that it was born centuries ago when the owner of Chateau d'Yquem went off on a long trip to Russia and gave orders that no wine should be made until he returned. That return was delayed and when he got back to the chateau, the rot was everywhere. But being winemakers, they decided to harvest and were so surprised with the beautiful wine that they decided to wait for the rot every year after that.

“That story is too nice,” laughed Jean-Christophe and then he related the “historical fact”. In the late 17th century, the vineyards were run by tenants and the landlords took their rent in wine and, what’s more, the owner choose the barrels himself. "There is a lot of information on this in writing.”
The bunches here show different stages of botrytis and therefore the need for multiple pickings

After the revolution, there was concerted action by the tenants and that year the harvest was late. The landlords were impressed with the quality of the wine and the price they got for it and they now wished to have wine with a lot of sugar as there was a market for it. That market was between Bordeaux and the Dutch who were indeed looking for sweet wines. So while local conditions made the wine, the market (the Dutch may already have had a taste for sweet wine) allowed it flourish.

Later in the Q&A, Jean-Christophe was asked what did he think of countries who were inoculating the mould to make sweet wines.
“They are perfectly managing their situation, in those areas, they are also able (allowed) to irrigate. But we rely on nature, the river, the fog, the rain."

Another answer revealed that that the industry has problems closer to home. Jean-Christophe: "In France, there has been a drop of 15% in dessert wine consumption as compared to a drop of 30% in overall wine consumption. Often, it is the older drinkers who drink it though the younger people are coming back to it. Some estates are turning to making white wine but at the moment not a very high volume, more a diversification.”
Shot of my 2001 taken in Sauternes in 2014

* My 2001 Laville was one of the very good ones. Here’s what Jancis Robinson had to say about it. “The rain that spoilt the reds encouraged botrytis to such an extent that this is a truly magnificent long-term vintage…..”. So I got lucky when I called to the Maison Du Sauternes in the village and bought four bottles, though just one of the 2001. The helpful man there helped me wade through the catalogue that had many Sauternes on offer, from twelve euro to twelve hundred!


* For a really detailed account of Sauternes, please click here




Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Wine in a Tube! For a cosy tête-à tête. Sweet Sauternes.

Sauternes. Sweet for My Sweet
Wine in a Tube! WIT Or Witless?
Château Lamourette 2005
Château Laville 2001

You've got to hand it to the French, never short of ideas when it comes to marketing. Just been browsing the Maison du Sauternes and came across the WIT (wine in tube). Discover our new concept for a cosy “tête-à tête”. Be astonished. Spend a delicious time - share original Sauternes. Two different wines for moments of delight. This pack contains “S for her” and “S for him”. Special offer. 22€. This price includes postal charges.

Might take a punt on that but then maybe the the revenue might come looking for their share of the proceeds. Maybe not! By the way, I wonder what do they call it in France. WIT or VIT? Looks like WIT on the website.

Just one surprise from Sauternes. The other, for me, on a visit there last year, was that it was quite an ordinary village and indeed the Maison Du Sauternes was one of the bigger buildings there.

Another surprise came in a local restaurant, Auberge des Vignes, where we had an excellent three course Menu du Jour, that also included wine and coffee, all for just sixteen euro per head. Read more about the meal and the village here.

Richard the Lionheart praised the wines of Sauternes in the 12th century and this sweet Bordeaux has been a regular on royal tables since. You’ll pay 1,000 euro or more for the top end but prices start at about 12 euro and that means a Sauternes also appears on more humble tables, including mine!

The World Atlas of Wine, while acknowledging that not all Sauternes is top class all the time, says it is “lamentably underappreciated but incomparable, it is a speciality that finds few real rivals”. "In great vintages the results can be sublime, a very sweet, rich-textured, flower-scented, glittering golden liquid.” Sauternes is widely available in Ireland, not sure though about the tube.

I’m currently enjoying the Lamourette. It comes from a vineyard not too far away at all from the headliner Chateau d’Yquem and is very impressive. It has the usual nose of candied fruit. The palate is creamy, that candied fruit is still there but it is balanced and pleasant with a long spicy finish.



Overall, this is lighter than expected and you could see why the Maison du Sauternes can recommend drinking Sauternes all through a meal, even recommending it with Leg of Venison (which has been marinated in Sauternes, of course!).

It is a sweet wine, no doubt in the world about that. But there is a terrific balance here, a wash of acidity that negates any hint of heaviness or any tendency towards a cloying feel. 2005 saw plenty of noble rot - a good year.

I haven’t tried the Château Laville yet but I'm hugely encouraged by what Jancis Robinson had to say about the 2001 vintage: The rain that spoilt the reds encouraged botrytis to such an extent that this is a truly magnificent, long-term vintage, helped by a greater degree of selection and cellar expertise than ever before. Perhaps the greatest Sauternes vintage in modern times.

For a good insight into Sauternes (including noble rot) see here.
The 2001 Laville is no longer featured on the Maison du Sauternes website but you may check the 2010 here.


The Lamourette now available is the 2009. Info here.


Recipe for the Sauternes Cup

I found this on the website. Doesn't say it is is for one or two. What do you think?
In a large glass bowl, place fruit depending on the season ( apricots, peaches, pears, melon, etc ... ), diced and sliced ​​oranges. Pour the Sauternes (about two glasses per person), add one or two glasses of brandy. Macerate about an hour in the refrigerator. Serve with ice cubes and carbonated water. Sauternes, with the bouquet and strength, lifts the heart: the wine of the happy day.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Sweet End Sauternes. Good Value Lunch There Too.

Sweet End Sauternes. Good Value Lunch There Too.

Wed 18th June 2014
Lunch.
This extended three week wine tasting in Bordeaux just had to end in Sauternes. And that little village was indeed our destination today, the last of our wine journeys this trip. We enjoyed it, the wine that is, and had  a very agreeable surprise in a local restaurant, Auberge des Vignes, when we had a three course Menu du Jour, that also included wine and coffee, all for just sixteen euro per head.

Our first call though was to Maison de Sauternes, a non profit establishment right in the middle of the village that represents dozens of growers and sells the golden liquid (the older, the more golden generally) that they produce at chateau prices.

Luckily, we met a man with quite good English who guided us through the wines and the tasting. We started off with a very promising Sauterne for just under 12 euro and then moved up in price and age. We didn't want to buy too much dessert wine as simply we don't drink that much of it. We had settled on three bottles but our friend was also a good salesman and we left with four and also some very good advice about their care and travel.

One of those tasted today
Then we strolled around looking for food but a Michelin recommended restaurant was expecting a large number in and we two could end up at the back of the queue so we thanked the young lady and moved on down the road where a few metres later we came across the Auberge des Vignes and its friendly staff.

Couldn't believe the Menu du Jour. Aside from the good price, including unusually wine and coffee, there were also some decent choices, three starters and three desserts for instance. My starter was the Rillettes de Thon (tuna) a la coriander while CL picked the Soupe de Melon a la menthe (mint) fraiche. The third starter was Tomates Mozzarella. Don’t know about the third but ours were excellent.

Neither of us wanted to chance the Faux-filet grillé (we had seen a customer struggling to cut through it) so both picked the Andouillette (chitterlings)  grillé, grilled in the fire inside (we were eating outside on a lovely day). They were served with green beans, onions and bits of bacon, a brilliant combination of flavours and textures.

Enjoyed the tasting here today!
Cheese was one of the dessert options, Rice with Milk another. We picked the Panna Cotta, Poire (pear) roti, caramel, Passion (passionfruit, I presume!). We hadn't been expecting much but this was by far and away the best Panna Cotta I’ve ever had.

Back in Arcachon, I had a walk along the Boulevard Deganne (we are based just off it). It is a lovely street, trees galore, one of the best small town streets that I’ve come across. I came back along the Boulevard de la Plage, on the lookout for wineshops. I found just one and asked him if he stocked a Listrac-Medoc that I’m looking for, a Saransot-Dupre. He told me instantly that he didn't know the wine. I was amazed at that, considering its produced about an hour away.

No point in eating out this evening after our big lunch so, before going back to the house, I picked up a tempting looking Salad Nicoise from the local traiteur. A boiled egg or two is being added and all will be ready soon.

No tasting here today. Nor with a while me thinks!







Tuesday, January 4, 2011

THREE OF THE BEST FROM B & G

BARTON & GUESTIER – NÉGOCIANTS
Barton and Guestier are major players in the French wine scene, with a fascinating heritage going all the way back to 1725. Then the company’s founder, 30 year old Thomas Barton (left), departed his native Ireland and emigrated to Bordeaux.

“As a true adventurer he founded his wine