Bordeaux 2017 at Two Years: Sauternes & Barsac
In this final instalment of my Bordeaux 2017 in-bottle reports I turn to the wines of Sauternes and Barsac, and I also include here some concluding thoughts, reflecting on the wines of this vintage in their entirety.
The main feature of the growing season as it pertains to the red wines was the frost, as has hopefully been made clear from the introductions to my other reports. Here in Sauternes the frost was just as devastating as it was in any other corner of Bordeaux. Just as in Pessac-Léognan, much of the Haut-Médoc and Médoc appellations, and any of the more low-lying vineyards on the right bank, particularly in the St Emilion appellation, the start of the season saw the vignerons of Sauternes and Barsac facing low yields and perhaps also a down-turn in quality.
Thereafter the season was favourable, and by late August the berries were ripening well, the skins thinning, an essential precursor for an effective botrytis attack. A small wave of noble rot appeared after some light rain at the end of the next month, producing a small first picking, rich in vibrant flavour and acidity. Some of the rot was less than clean, potentially further diminishing the yields as it was removed and discarded. The botrytis subsequently only really got going again in October, with several waves producing a series of pickings bringing in larger volumes of fruit, this time richer and sweeter, with lower acidity. This then was the essence of the vintage; two components, one for freshness, one for richness, and all that was required was some careful blending.
Yields were reduced in some parts of the two appellations, with some châteaux included here reporting volumes of just 3.5, 6 and 9 hl/ha. Yields in Sauternes and Barsac, where much of the volume is lost as the berries concentrate on the vine of course, are always much lower than for the red wines, but these numbers are remarkably small. Many turned in much more respectable figures though, with 14 to 17 hl/ha being typical. Quality is also pretty good; while the wines might not have the complexity and exciting structure of a fine vintage such as 2001, 2009, 2010 or 2011, the wines have energy and balance, and overall the 2017 vintage is a good one that will sit well in any cellar. As with the white wines of Pessac-Léognan, it seems as though the frost has been less hard on quality here than it has been on the red wines.
