Geez, I'm sure getting a lot of mileage out of this show! I've barely drank a drop since, and it seems I haven't needed to; I gleaned enough material that day to keep me going for awhile.
ALRIGHT, Sauternes! Sauternes, Sauternes, Sauternes! My new love, obsession, indulgence and amber restorative. It's a wine I've read lots about in my books, but never had the opportunity of it--until now. So for the uninitiated, here's the skinny on Sauternes:
It begins in the Sauternais region of Bordeaux, where you'll find vines full of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle bouncing in the Maritime breeze. This region experiences lots of misty weather and, as a result, has conditions that foster a particular type of mold called botrytis cinerea. This is different than the mold in your basement, my loves. This is actually a beneficial mold that creeps over fruit on the vine, making them fuzzy and ugly, and creates conditions for the most fascinating dessert wine you've ever tried. The mold (once kept a secret by cautious winemakers, now celebrated as the 'noble rot') shrivels grapes, concentrating their flavours, but doesn't steal their acidity. Grapes are treated extremely gently; harvesters pick only grapes fully affect by the mold. They make several passes through the vineyard of a period of several days and weeks hunting for moldy grapes, selecting only small bunches and even singletons off the vine. Essentially, the wine making is done in the vineyard by the botrytis; yields are typically very low (thus accounting for Sauternes high prices. The world's most famous Sauternes--Chateau d'Yquem--costs hundreds of dollars per bottle in lesser quality years and thousands per bottle in good vintages). Newer Sauternes are beautifully honey coloured; aged bottles darken in colour, taking on a more amber hue.
So what does this sweet nectar taste like? Like the sweat on the brow of an angel, that's what. Sweet honey, peach and apricot flavours are the most prominent. It's a sweet wine, but not syrupy or cloying because the acidity has been preserved. In short, it is one of the most capivating wine experiences you're ever likely to have.
At the wine show, we tried the LCBO's upcoming release: Chateau Rieussec 2006 1er Cru. James Suckling gave it a 93, and describes it as "An intense nose, with vanilla, lemon cream, apple tart and honey. Full-bodied, very sweet and powerful, with a fabulous finish. So generous, with layers of delicious, sweet fruit." Supposedly it'll be best after 2014, but if I had a bottle here right now you'd better believe I'd be tucking into it.
The LCBO number for this wine is 563395 and the cost is a bargain $52.00/375ml bottle.
Below is a video of me and my adorable dad, talking about Sauternes. I mispronounce everything, but you should be used to that by now.
Cheers!
B.
Awesome! "Winish" is its own language, isn't it?! We can just say "I want that one", a la Andy, just because it's funny. And wine names are unpronounceable sometimes. I just mumble, then no one is sure what I said. Hmmm...new challenge, maybe we don't find the wine to go with the cheese, we find the cheese to go with the wine.......... what kind of cheese would you have with Sauternes?? Then again, what kind of cheese WOULDN'T you have with it? It would be perfect with cheese.
ReplyDeleteBlue cheeses, methinks. The classic match is fois gras, but I know how you feel about it! ; ) Dad ordered some blue cheese from Thornloe yesterday, so maybe he'd be willing to share...
ReplyDelete