🍷 Sauternes
Also known as: Sauternes wine
The famous sweet white wine of Bordeaux made from grapes with noble rot.
Sauternes is a famous sweet white wine from Bordeaux in France. It is made from grapes affected by noble rot.
In autumn, in the valley near the Ciron river, mornings are foggy and afternoons can be warm. Because of this, a special fungus grows on the berries. It reduces the water in the berry and leaves a lot of sugar. Such grapes are called botrytised. Harvest happens in several passes: pickers take only the right berries. The crop is small, so the wine is not cheap.
The main grapes are Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The finished wine usually has 13-14% alcohol and often well over 100 g/L of sugar. Sauternes was included in the famous 1855 classification, like other Bordeaux wines. This French wine keeps well for decades, and its sweetness is balanced by acidity. It is often served with desserts or pâté. It is served chilled and in small portions, like other dessert wines.
Facts
| EU category | 1 (wine) |
|---|---|
| Alcohol (% vol.) | Natural ≥ 15% vol.; actual ≥ 12% vol.; total ≤ 21% vol.; sugars ≥ 45 g/l |
| Minimum maturation | Until 15 June of the year after the harvest; sold to consumers after 30 June |
| Registered | AOC by decree of 30 September 1936 |
| Cultivars | Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, Sauvignon gris, Muscadelle |
| Region | Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac, Sauternes (Gironde) |
| Country | France |
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Sauternes ← → ← 🍇 Muscadelle → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Previous step
- 🍷 Noble rot
- Part of
- 🍷 Botrytised wine
- Related to
- 📍 Sauternais, 🗺️ French wine, 🍇 Sémillon, 🍇 Sauvignon Blanc, 🍇 Muscadelle, 🍇 Sémillon, 🍇 Sauvignon Blanc, 🍷 White wine, 🍷 Sweet wine
- Grapes
- 🍇 Sémillon
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Noble rot, 🍷 Botrytised wine, 🏷️ Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
- In other topics
- 🥃 Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Sauternes is simply rotten grape wine?
Not quite. It is noble rot: the fungus reduces water in the berry and leaves sugar, and pickers take only the right berries in several passes.
How long can a bottle of Sauternes be kept?
It keeps well for decades, because its sweetness is balanced by acidity.
What do you serve Sauternes with?
Often with desserts or pâté, chilled and in small portions.
What to read next
- 📍 Sauternais — The Sauternes and Barsac zone, where sweet wines are made from grapes with noble rot.
- 🍇 Muscadelle — A white grape from France, permitted in sweet Sauternes; 1,713 ha in France in 2006, against 6,257 ha in 1958.
- 🥃 Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or — Glenmorangie line finished in sweet wine casks: Nectar d'Or is the predecessor of today's The Nectar 16, 46% ABV; the sweet wine was only in the casks.
- 🏷️ Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 — A list of the best Bordeaux châteaux drawn up for the 1855 World's Fair in Paris.
- 🍷 Sweet wine — Wines with a lot of grape sugar, from 45 g/l: dried, overripe, botrytised or frozen grapes; EU categories 15 and 16.
Similar
🍷 Sélection de grains nobles · 🍷 Late harvest wine · 🍷 Botrytised wine · 🍷 Dessert wine · 🍷 Noble rot · 🍷 Tokaji Aszú
What it includes
Sources
- eAmbrosia: PDO Sauternes — EU register entry
- eAmbrosia: PDO Sauternes — product specification (fiche technique)
- BO agri 26.06.2014: product specification (cahier des charges) of AOC Sauternes