Bordeaux 2009 at Two Years: Sauternes & Barsac
No review of a Bordeaux vintage would be complete without a look at the glorious wines of Sauternes and Barsac. These wines remain under-valued and under-priced, offering tremendous quality in some cases. How some châteaux remain solvent, with the combination of the incredibly low yields associated with the production of Sauternes and a less-than-robust market, is something of a mystery.
For this reason it came as no surprise to me when one proprietor recently told me he was looking to China to increase sales, the sweet white wines perhaps following where the red wines of Bordeaux have led. Unfortunately for the individual in question, I suspect the Chinese taste for wine will remain firmly red rather than white, and dry rather than sweet, regardless of how much more food-friendly – with a variety of Asian cuisines I think – the sweeter white wines of Sauternes, Germany and other regions might be. When the Bordeaux star begins to fade in China, I suspect it will be because their attention is turning to the magnificent low-volume wines of Burgundy instead, rather than the botrytised wines from around the Ciron, Mosel or the Rhine.
Sauternes & Barsac: The Wines
As usual I have arranged my notes under the Sauternes and Barsac headings, as there are certainly two distinct styles of wine here. For that reason the division seems worthwhile, although I am not sure how successful I would be attempting to identify them if tasted blind.
