Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - sauternes tag

Chateau Hallet, Sauternes, 2005

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:11:00 GMT

If you've never tried a Sauternes before, you really should. There's just nothing quite like it. Yes, this is a desert wine. No, it's nothing like that syrup that you may have tried in the past. Sauternes are elegant, mysterious, and just yummy.

The first thing I noticed about this one was the light color. Typically Sauternes have almost an orange tint to them -- or at least a darker yellow. This one is much lighter -- looking like a Chardonnay perhaps.

The nose is honey, followed by apricot and maybe some lemon peel. But mostly it's honey! The taste is pretty much the same theme: liquid honey. No, it's not viscous like honey -- I mean it tastes like a honey, but with a lighter consistency. The finish is like I just sucked on a fresh, raw honeycomb -- like right on the farm. I mean, it's not just like licking honey out of a jar off your finger. This has more earth or something to it. Something a little bit more raw. And yet, it's unmistakeably honey.

For me, Sauternes are so wonderful because of their rich depth. Sure, there are lots of "late harvest" desert wines. But there's something more layered and nuanced about a Sauternes.Maybe it's a bit earthier. Whatever it is, it's hard to describe.

The only downside is the price. Many vintners will simply not make Sauternes in a given year if it's not good enough. Plus, making Sauternes is very laborious; all the grapes have to be left to essentially rot on the vines ("noble rot" and all that). And this means there's just no getting around the higher cost.

Cost: ($45 for a half bottle)

Rating: 8.0

Chateau Laufaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes (Premier Cru), 2003

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:55:26 GMT

It tastes of apricot, honey, caramel and earth. Just a hint of honey, not strong. This wine is REALLY good with chocolate cake. Have some more chocolate cake and take a sip. Yum... We thought it would be too sweet for chocolate cake, but noooo. Now there's a hops and hay smell. Also some sort of yeasty, farm smell. Not poopy though. Tastes like buttermilk biscuits, beeswax candles and butter. With clover, too. Smells like honeycombs and baby-powder.

Cost:

Rating: 8.0

Chateau Loupiac Gaudiet, Loupiac, 2003

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:30:00 GMT

Smell: Not super fragrant--like the inside of a grape.

Taste: Intense flavors of apricot, pear and honey. Very sweet, but not sickly sweet. It has this golden raisin and hot mediterranean sun feel to it. A North African, Moroccan taste--like lamb smothered in apricots. Delicious! A wonderful dessert wine (essentially, though not technically, a Sauternes)

Finish: Apricot and honey, but not syrupy.

Cost:

Rating: 8.0

Chateau Rieussec, Sauternes, 2000

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:05:00 GMT

Smell: Grape and peach with hints of apricot.

Taste: Quintessential goodness (and this was THE year: 2000). Peach and apricot. Like the inside of a yummy sweet grape. Had an Oregon late harvest Savignon Blanc the same night, and it tasted like syrup compared this this.

Finish: Grape and peach with hints of apricot.

Cost:

Rating: 9.5