It's barely seven in the morning in the surroundings of (the wines of) Sauternes . The cold of autumn seems to be accentuated by a fog that, every day, populates the vineyard of this region south of Bordeaux.
The sun is rising, and its light, mixed with the mist, returns to view a mysterious landscape, intoxicating. Hey, if you're lucky, the rushing song of the kingfisher, innocent inhabitant of this privileged corner thanks to the confluence of two rivers, the Garonne and the Ciron.
any sunrise in Sauternes it might sound like this.
Château Suduiraut, Sauternes.
The star king rises and begins to be noticed the effect of him among vineyards. The light passes through the mist and the tiny droplets it leaves on the grapes, making them shine as if they were little jewels and highlighting its golden color. The print is as simple as it is beautiful.
GRAPES, FOG AND SUN
They are the three ingredients that give rise to a unique wine, drunk by tsars and presidents of governments: the wine of Sauternes, a liquid wonder that is the fruit of this landscape where fog plays a fundamental role.
Those drops that dressed up the semillon or sauvignon blanc grapes at daybreak they disappear once the heat of the sun begins to affect the berries and warm the sand and gravel soil on which the vines rest. The humidity that is generated and that has bathed the vineyard first thing in the morning will gradually cause the grapes to develop a fungus that carries the exotic name of botrytis cinerea, whose pseudonym is also an unpleasant term: rot.
Thus, it might seem that This doesn't look good at all.
Botrytis stages, Château Suduiraut, Sauternes.
But in Sauternes, the botrytis becomes a blessing... for calling her that. It is, rather, a miracle. The climatic conditions of this land, between the two rivers, With the morning mist and the midday sun, they develop rot in the grapes, yes, but a rot that, if it is noble, will give rise to one of the greatest wines in the world. And if it is not and it becomes gray rot, it will be a disastrous harvest, with most of the grapes spoiled.
But you have to play. Every year is the same and different in time. Fog and sun develop noble rot and the skin of the grape becomes porous, allowing water to escape from the berry, dehydrating it, concentrating all its sugars and its acidity and developing the production of glycerol, responsible for that silky texture that sauternes have in the mouth, that sweet touch that glides smoothly across the palate.
The fungus also changes the taste of the grape, developing, as the brand ambassador of Château SuduirautAna Carvalho aromas of fresh mushrooms, candied fruit, peach or ginger and other spices.
This transformation is costly to the harvest: the loss of water will decrease the amount of grapes that are collected almost a quarter of what would be usual in other territories. If in a “normal” vineyard, without botrytis, it would be possible to obtain about 3500 liters per hectare, in Sauternes they are satisfied if collect 800 or, in very good years, 1300 litres.
Another of the legendary châteaux, Yqum (the one that was news in October 2021 for the theft of some of the most precious bottles from the Extremadura restaurant Atrio, among them, a Yquem from 1806 which, symbolically, it had in the letter a price of 310,000 euros ), boasts of obtaining only one bottle per strain, that is, 75 cl.
They are wines that, whether you like it or not, are loaded with a undeniable romantic halo.
And even more so when, walking through Sauternes during the harvest, you can see the grape harvesters concentrating on their work to pick only the berries affected by botrytis. It is a leisurely harvest, grape by grape, where the operators have to get to know the vineyard in depth and pass not once, but three, four or five times, on different days. In Suduiraut, a hundred harvesters are responsible for collecting the fruits planted in its 91 hectares: “It is haute couture”, says Ana Carvalho.
Vineyards at Château d'Yquem.
And so much. So far this century, only two vintages, those of 2001 and 2009, have been declared exceptional.
Harvesting is slow, and the wines, perhaps the most legendary sweets in the world, that Thomas Jefferson already drank with delight, also evolve slowly: “They are almost eternal wines”, comments Carvalho, although she also recommends trying them with (only) three or four years of rest in the bottle to taste “his energy and his cooler side”.
when they get older, its bright yellow turns to gold and they develop increasingly intoxicating aromas: saffron, nutmeg, ginger... the promoter Santiago Rivas, who has one of his fetish labels in Suduiraut, says that, in good vintages, with 15 years It's starting to get very, very interesting, though de Yquem comments that he “starts to mess around” with 40. “They are immortal” adds Carvalho.
Château Suduiraut.
It might seem that they are wines intended to be drunk only for dessert, but no. The seafood hits it off with a Sauternes, plus an assortment of cheeses (French? or not). Carvalho, for example, recommends taking them with baked chicken and an accompaniment of mushrooms, because those flavors meet those that the grape was already beginning to develop when the noble rot invaded it in the vineyard.
And all thanks to the fog that is created by the difference in temperature between the waters of the two rivers that surround the region. The Ciron carries cool waters, and the Garonne, warm. the pine forests of Landes they keep it in that privileged triangle to the west and Lupiac , a population at a higher altitude, slows them down to the east.
As if the landscape didn't want him to go away and reminded him where his place is. As if the mist, which many times generates restlessness or is associated with uncertain moments, outside, here, the true treasure of Sauternes, the true person in charge of some wines that inherit that touch mysterious and magical of her nebula friend.
STAY IN SAUTERNES
After the morning walk among vineyards and ancient châteaux, which are not as imposing as those of Bordeaux but are home to centuries of history, the appetite tightens and, once in the town of Sauternes, the Auberge Les Vignes offers a well deserved reward in solid form, with bites from the region and wines from Sauternes. Of course.
To stay in these lands, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey , Grand Cru Classé winery with restaurant with a Michelin star and a five-star hotel, Lalique, with a kitchen that rules Jerome Schiling . Another great option is Château d'Arche , with 400 years of history and Grand Cru Classé wines.
Château Suduiraut, Premier Cru Classe, can be visited and visit, in addition to the vineyard, its gardens, designed by the gardener of the Sun King, Louis XIV.