Bordeaux 2011 at Four Years: Sauternes & Barsac
In Sauternes the requirement early on during the growing season is the same as elsewhere in Bordeaux; it is as harvest approaches that we begin to look for special conditions, those more favorable to botrytis. Romantics will look out for morning mists from the Ciron and afternoon sunshine. In reality showers of rain do as much as those morning mists (if not more) to encourage the development of noble rot, and it is the drying autumn breezes that help to dehydrate and thus concentrate the berries.
In August there were rains, but this came a little too early; the fruit wasn’t ripe, the skins too thick for botrytis to take hold. Nevertheless, some fruit did develop a little grey rot; Sauternes got a little more rain than Barsac, and in both appellations workers were out cleaning up the fruit on the vines, prior to the picking-proper.
After this false almost-start, it was only in September that things really got going. Rain in the first week, accompanied by the very warm temperatures that characterised the growing season, produced a sudden onslaught of noble rot that resulted in a very rapid concentration and, as a result, there was frenzied activity. Many pickers were first sent out on September 5th, making this the earliest vintage ever on many estates. Even earlier than 2003. This was also the case with the picking of the red wines, by the way.
