SIP YOUNG, SAVOUR OLD

At what stage is it best to open a Sauternes, and how best to enjoy it? Our Contributing Editor gives his expert guidance...

- STEPHEN BROOK

There's been a radical shift within the Sauternes region over the past decade. A producer once told me: 'As an indulgence, you can take a mistress or buy an estate in Sauternes. But nobody can afford to do both.' He was alluding, of course, to the completely uneconomic proposition of producing Sauternes. Yields are minuscule one third of those for red Bordeaux, if you're lucky - and its production is entirely dependent on the caprices of the climate. Unripe grapes, the lack of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), rain at harvest, insect infestation - all can wipe out, or diminish, a crop.

Moreover, it's hard to sell, thanks to a misconception that Sauternes is heavy and syrupy. Those who relish a fine wine from Château Climens or Sigalas Rabaud among others, will know that the wine's richness and sweetness are balanced by bracing acidity that refreshes the palate. The heavy, tarry wines that existed some decades ago are very much a thing of the past.

In order to boost revenue, many producers are reducing the quantities of sweet wine they make and stepping up the production of fashionable dry styles. Consequently, only the best sites within an estate are now reserved for the sweet wine, and quality has risen even as the number of bottles has shrunk.

Style and substance

Sauternes ages like a dream, but climatic conditions strongly influence the style of each vintage. Below, I explore three, all of which can be drunk now but are categorised as: a 'best enjoyed young' - the 2020 vintage; an 'approachable now but will keep for some years' - the 2018; and one 'close to indestructible' - the 2009.