Sauternes

[carpet bagger]

I'm not familiar with the original wine, but I would like to suggest 1988,1989,1990 Raymond Lafon Sauterne. I personally prefer them younger, still displaying more acid than the older showing a tea leaf characteristic. Raymond Lafon is immediately next to Chateau D'yquem and is somewhat similar. It is also quite affordable in the sauterne world.

[viejo majadero]

In January 2002 I did a 1999 Bordeaux tasting and they showed four Sauternes,,

Chateau Bastor Lamontagne

Chateau De Rayne Vigneau

Chateau Guiraud

Chateau Suduiraut.

Suduiraut blew away the bunch. Not overly sweet, good balance. Capable of aging. Had some going out the door with crusty bread and brie. Beautiful.

[KatieLoeb]

I had the pleasure of attending a Bordeaux class this evening and the final wine was a Chateau Peyraguey le Rousset 1998 Sauternes. Not the highest quality I've personally ever tasted, but a good example for many folks that had never tried Sauternes before. At $13 for a 375 ml, definitely a bargain too - particularly in Pennsylvania, which tends to be rather Draconian in it's wine availability, as has been discussed on other threads.

[Rebel Rose]

Can anyone tell me about Les Tuileries 2002 Sauterne?

I was comp'd a glass at dinner last night at Cafe Stella in Los Angeles. It tasted of orange rind, almonds, honey and saffron, which I thought was very interesting. That orange-and-tobacco character of saffron was recognizable but subtle, and I liked it. Is that something I shouldn't like? My knowledge of sauternes is abyssmal.

[SBonner]

Serious newbie question ahead.

Last week some eGulleteers went out for dessert in Vancouver (more on this on the Vancouver board soon) and several of us had glasses of Sauternes, 1994 Chateau d'Armajan.  I've only drunk Sauternes a few times but always loved the incredible balance of acidity, sweetness, and alcohol with that weird Botrytis flavor.

So I figured I'd buy a bottle at the big BC liquor store and take it home.  They didn't have d'Armajan, so I picked a first growth at random and ended up with Chateau Guiraud 1999.  Laurie and I opened it last night and hoped for a great experience.

I hated this wine.  All I can taste is oak.  It's a complete unmitigated wood-bomb.  I'm retasting it right now and it's just bitter, astringent, and brutal.

Where did I go wrong?  Is a 1999 Sauternes way too young to drink?  Are the first growths oakier in general?  Is Guiraud known for using more oak than most (they mention the casks on the bottle, never a good sign in my oakphobic experience).  At the restaurant I was babbling about how Sauternes is one of the most incredible achievements of humankind.  How can I drink a Sauternes like that at home?

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The wine you picked is stellar! but give it some more time. It indeed has alot of oak and in my opnion still needs a few years of bottle age for all those flavours to merge into a glorious drop. What temperature and wine glass did you serve the wine in? just curious.

Stephen

Vancouver

[jbonne]

at first i thought, "what's up with Sauternes-style wines in Vancouver?" since we were at West last weekend, doing the foie gras thing. then i realized that part of the thread was two years old.

>> check out some Monbazillac.

seconded. or thirded. or whatever we're up to now. mamster, if you're still drinking this stuff, you're welcome to come over and have a glass of Monbazillac one of these days ...