Sauternes & Barsac

Sauternes & Barsac

Sweet white Bordeaux, from two neighbouring communes south of the city where the cold Ciron meets the warmer Garonne and produces the autumn mists that Botrytis cinerea — noble rot — needs. The fungus shrivels the grapes on the vine and concentrates everything in them.

What is here

Sémillon leads, with Sauvignon Blanc and a little Muscadelle. Château d'Yquem is the sole Premier Cru Supérieur of the 1855 classification; below it sit the First Growths — Climens, Suduiraut, Rieussec, Coutet, Guiraud, Lafaurie-Peyraguey — and the Seconds. Barsac estates may label as either Barsac or Sauternes.

What to expect

Sweet, but the point is the acidity underneath it, which is what stops the wine cloying and what lets it age for fifty years or more. Botrytis yields are tiny — the often-repeated figure at Yquem is roughly one glass per vine — which is why half-bottles exist and why the prices are what they are. Beyond dessert, Sauternes is the classic match for foie gras and for strong blue cheese, and it handles rich Cantonese dishes better than most people expect.

Serving and keeping

8–10°C, in small pours. An opened bottle keeps a week in the fridge, so a 37.5cl is often the more practical buy.