Castelnau de Suduiraut, Sauternes

Sauternes: A Quest for Fresh (Spec's Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods (Brodie Lane, Austin, TX)) : Enjoyed at a local tasting sponsored by Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus, a well regarded Bordeaux wine merchant. Medium gold. Youthful. Sweet white made with younger wines. Second label. Lots of sweet stone fruit and orchard fruits. Good balance. Nice finish.

We had 4 Sauternes, drunk over 2 days, all 375 ml bottles: 1) Castelnau de Suduiraut 2016; 2, Grillon, 2015; 3) Baulac Dodÿs, 2022 and 4) Menota, 2020. These are inexpensive Sauternes. I anticipated that Castelnau would be the best as it is the second vin of Suduiraut. It was hard to understand, some crème brulee and orange, some botrytis, but disjoint and frankly not enjoyable. Disappointing. The Baulac: a typical lower end Sauternes, some acidity and some fruit, fair, …

The nose seems not very noble rot like and is kind of flat like. Palate has good sweet notes with tropical and dried abricots and sweet spices. But the balance dosen’t work really good. The acid dosen’t really come into play. Complexity and lenght is medium. No need to celler this wine further.

Appearance: Clear, medium gold. Nose: Clean, medium+ intensity with aromas of honey, apricot, orange peel, and red apple. Palate: Semi-dry, medium+ acid is masked well by the residual sugar, full body, medium intensity, 14.5% abv with flavors of apricot, honey, and red apple with a medium finish.

Sweet tropical fruits with a creamy body from the 50% new oak. The acidity was present but a bit lacking in contrast with the richness of the entry. Perhaps a 13 or 15 type brightness would suit this type of style better. This likely works great as a 50 ml pour alongside a rich dessert, but it was a bit much for me as a standalone glass.

Damp flavour of tropical fruits. Litttle bitter on the finish. The 2013 vintage was much better!

Pleasant Sauternes. Fresh tropical and citrus fruits with alcohol sticking out slightly. (@Home)

Intense and brilliant golden yellow color, liquid gold. On the nose, it is distinguished by varietal scents with notes of candied fruit such as apricot and peach, honey, saffron, sweet spices, a citrusy undertone, and an incredibly elegant hint of iodine. On the palate, it is sweet, warm, soft, deep, and enveloping, with good persistence. Colore giallo dorato intenso e brillante, oro liquido. Al naso è distinto dai sentori varietali con note di frutta candita quali l'albicocca e la pesca, …

Very good expression of place, including pretty floral notes. Moderate botrytis. Very good concentration, just enough acid, solid finish. Fine pairing with Roquefort. 89-90.

Feminine style. Quite discrete nose but shows good quality. Needs more acid but dosen’t feel to sweet. Again, sign of good quality. Good long lenght.

Good but had a very glycerol quality that one person called "buttery".