Most wine enthusiasts are familiar with, or at least have heard of, the famous dessert wines that bear the name Sauternes. These wines are created with the help of a fungus called botrytis cinerea along the left bank of the Garonne river in Bordeaux. The presence of this fungus on produce is usually considered a bad thing, ruining soft fruits such as strawberries. However, under certain conditions, it can play the role of benefactor and earns the nickname “noble rot.”
When a cluster of grapes becomes inundated with noble rot, the fungus extracts moisture from the grapes, shriveling them like raisins, but concentrating solid elements like sugars and acids. Visually, it is indeed as disgusting as it sounds, but botrytis infestation creates a very special condition in the grapes. Afflicted grapes release a super-sweet trickle of syrup when pressed rather than the normal gushing flow of grape juice. This, as one would expect, results in substantially lower fluid yields per grape. Further complicating matters is that botrytis does not tend to evenly afflict grapes on the same vine or even on the same clusters, necessitating that the pickers make many passes through the vineyard to harvest at different times, often picking individual grapes in the perfect condition and leaving the rest of the clusters to mature further. To say that the creation of a bottle of a botrytised wine is more labor-intensive than a typical bottle of Chardonnay of equal size would be a fairly massive understatement.
When a cluster of grapes becomes inundated with noble rot, the fungus extracts moisture from the grapes, shriveling them like raisins, but concentrating solid elements like sugars and acids. Visually, it is indeed as disgusting as it sounds, but botrytis infestation creates a very special condition in the grapes. Afflicted grapes release a super-sweet trickle of syrup when pressed rather than the normal gushing flow of grape juice. This, as one would expect, results in substantially lower fluid yields per grape. Further complicating matters is that botrytis does not tend to evenly afflict grapes on the same vine or even on the same clusters, necessitating that the pickers make many passes through the vineyard to harvest at different times, often picking individual grapes in the perfect condition and leaving the rest of the clusters to mature further. To say that the creation of a bottle of a botrytised wine is more labor-intensive than a typical bottle of Chardonnay of equal size would be a fairly massive understatement.
The area known as Sauternes has the perfect mesoclimate to facilitate, in good years, mass infection of grape clusters with the botrytis fungus. The adjacent village of Barsac enjoys similar conditions and the dessert wines produced in Sauternes and Barsac are held in very high global regard and often very pricey indeed. At the top of this heap is undoubtedly Chateau d'Yquem, the only chateau in either region to be awarded the status of “Premier Cru Supérieur Classé” in the 1855 Bordeaux classification.
With the high regard comes higher prices. A glass of Yquem is a very expensive, albeit delicious, treat. A review of prices at my local retailers show prices ranging from $125 to $350 per half-bottle (375ml), depending on vintage. Most other Sauternes and Barsacs ring up at a much lower price but you can still expect to pay $30-$45 per half-bottle for recent vintages.
The narrow definition under French wine laws of what dessert wines can and cannot bear the name “Sauternes” works very much to the advantage of the frugal wine consumer. Just across the Garonne from Sauternes and Barsac are three other villages that also make botrytised dessert wines in the same manner from the same grape varieties; Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and a often a small amount of Muscadelle. These appellations are Loupiac, Ste-Croix-du-Mont and Cadillac (CAD-ee-yak). However, it seems that each of these appellations contain only a handful of chateau willing to subsist due to much lower sale prices of their finished products.
One of these is Chateau Fayau. Fayau has been in the same family's hands since 1826 and has 10 hectare of vineyards just outside of the city of Cadillac. Their sweet offering contains only Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc (no Muscadelle) and is aged for 18 months prior to bottling.
With the high regard comes higher prices. A glass of Yquem is a very expensive, albeit delicious, treat. A review of prices at my local retailers show prices ranging from $125 to $350 per half-bottle (375ml), depending on vintage. Most other Sauternes and Barsacs ring up at a much lower price but you can still expect to pay $30-$45 per half-bottle for recent vintages.
The narrow definition under French wine laws of what dessert wines can and cannot bear the name “Sauternes” works very much to the advantage of the frugal wine consumer. Just across the Garonne from Sauternes and Barsac are three other villages that also make botrytised dessert wines in the same manner from the same grape varieties; Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and a often a small amount of Muscadelle. These appellations are Loupiac, Ste-Croix-du-Mont and Cadillac (CAD-ee-yak). However, it seems that each of these appellations contain only a handful of chateau willing to subsist due to much lower sale prices of their finished products.
One of these is Chateau Fayau. Fayau has been in the same family's hands since 1826 and has 10 hectare of vineyards just outside of the city of Cadillac. Their sweet offering contains only Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc (no Muscadelle) and is aged for 18 months prior to bottling.
2004 Chateau Fayau Cadillac (purchased locally for $14.99, 375ml). Deep earthy gold and viscous, indistinguishable from most of its more expensive cousins across the river. 2004 was not an earth shattering year for Sauternes but this is a nice effort. It possesses an expressive nose of honey and dried apricots agitated in a blender and these primary characteristics take center stage on the tongue as well. The wine is not at all cloying with solid acidity and lingers deliciously in a moderate to long finish. I tasted the wine at 55° as I find Sauternes tend to be pretty tight when served cooler like an Eiswein. This is a solid buy for those looking for a faux Sauternes at a substantially lower price.
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