Suduiraut 2020

Full of pleasure, silky and richly textured, easy to sink into but carefully measured at the same time, addings its layers of orange peel, bloody orange, white pepper spice and truffle slowly but surely as it inches through the palate. Tiny floral notes accompany the saline minerality on the finish. Almost no botrytis in September, and then when the weather deteriorated at the end of September things really became a bit worrying. But they were able to hold on until October 19 (after stopping at the end of September, I imagine needing nerves of steel). Yields of around 8hl/ha. 3,000 cases of Suduiraut. 137g/l of residual sugar. A great example of what botrytis does - the pH is at 4, so the freshness comes from the bitterness of botrytis not high acidities.Drinking Window 2022 - 2045

100% Sémillon. RS 137 g/l. Essentially produced from the third (19 to end October) and fourth (2–6 November) tris. Cask sample.Golden hue but still a little cloudy. Pure aromatics with peach and nectarine notes to the fore. Palate rich, fat and unctuous but balanced by the zesty, bitter-edged note of the botrytis. Very little acidity but there’s freshness all the same. Pretty long finish as well. (JL) 14%Drink 2026 – 2045

(100% SM; 137g/l RS)Picked late, over the last two weeks of October and the first week of November, this is 100% Semillon, with a very pure botrytis, and is surprisingly fresh in impression, even if the acidity is not high (the pH is 4), meaning the actual acidity is relatively low for a Sauternes. Orange-gold; intense, fresh, honey and citrus nose; concentrated, nicely defined by its (moderate) acidity, sweet (but not exceptionally so), tight, complex, and racy, long and elegant and fat yet contained, with a great tenacity of flavor, and great botrytis-spiced persistence. Elegant, classy, complete. Perhaps a slightly more slender expression of Suduiraut in its recent context, but this is gorgeous: a rare, top-notch 2020 Sauternes.

The 2020 Suduiraut is 100% Sémillon this year, picked at 8.5hl/ha via four tries through the vineyard from September 16 all the way through to November 5. It has a ripe nose of dried honey, orange blossom and mango scents, plus touches of beeswax and almond. The palate is thick and viscous on the entry, then dense and powerful, with light spicy notes toward the finish. A grandiose Sauternes, very persistent, revealing a hint of white pepper on the aftertaste. Tasted from test tube sample and 75cl bottle, the latter far superior and, I would wager, much more representative. 2025 - 2050

Made from 100% Semillon, the 2020 Suduiraut is being aged for 16 to 20 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. It has 14% alcohol and 137 grams per liter of residual sugar. Pale to medium lemon-gold in color, aromas of pineapple upside-down cake, green mango and peach preserves tumble effortlessly out of the glass, followed by hints of honeycomb, preserved ginger and allspice. The palate is rich and decadent, delivering a seductively oily texture and just enough freshness to lift the long, spicy finish. 2027 - 2045