TREND ALERT: SAUTERNES
Sauternes will change your life.
Sauternes is a type of wine that every single person should know about. It’s liquid, friggin’ GOLD, mkay?
Sauternes is like jazz. It’s like jazz because everybody loves it. I literally don’t know anybody who is like, “I don’t like jazz,” just like I don’t know anybody who has had Sauternes and said, “I don’t like Sauternes.”
When you talk about Sauternes with people who have had it, they get this big dumb grin on their face like they’ve just met someone, you know? It’s that same sort of grin people get after going to Coachella, doing loads of drugs in the desert, and watching Beyonce. This sort of lovestruck, hapless look like they’ve just melted on the inside and found the love of their life/future spouse/father or mother of their unborn children.
An example of a Sauternes-struck expression
I seriously hope you’re reading this and thinking, “Awww shit, I gotta try Sauternes!” Because you’re missing out on life if you haven’t had it yet.
So what’s the deal with Sauternes?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Why haven’t I heard of this liquid gold alchemy?” That’s probably because Sauternes isn’t much of a thing in the United States. It’s got this low-key image like it’s reserved for rich muckety-mucks who have it around the holidays with foie gras and act like they’re better than everyone else. And honestly? That’s part of the problem. Sauternes is low-key expensive. Now I’m sure you’re thinking the following:
Why are you friggin’ torturing me by writing about how awesome this wine is that I will probably not be able to afford?!?!?
Okay. Chill. First of all, Sauternes is expensive for a REASON. Aight? Lemme break it down for you.
Making Sauternes is a complicated, high-risk process.
For a wine to be called Sauternes, it needs to grow in the Sauternes or Barsac AOC which is located in the home to some of the priciest wines in the world - Bordeaux. Sauternes is typically made from the following white grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle.
Winemakers have very little within their control in terms of making Sauternes. This is because in order for Sauternes to be made, the plantings of these white grapes need to be infected with a fungus. Yes - A FUNGUS!
It’s really not that gross. This fungus is called botrytis cinera
BOTRYTIS CINERA
But you don’t have to call it that, you can just call it the “noble rot.” That’s right, this fungus is so important that its nickname is “the noble rot.” So therefore, ergo, ipso facto, it is not gross. This noble rot infects the grapes and causes them to raisinate and dry out, increasing the aromatic compounds in the wine prior to vinification. It also increases the esters and alcohols in the wine, creating a different consistency from regular table wines. Because of this “noble rot,” Sauternes is able to achieve its signature silky, honeyed, and luscious feel. So yes - the noble rot is VERY VERY important.
The noble rot is so important that people’s friggin’ LIVELIHOODS depend on this fungus infecting their grapes every year. That’s how important this fungus is. Okay? Because if your vineyard doesn’t have the perfect conditions to cultivate this special rot, your grapes won’t get infected. If your grapes don’t get infected, they won’t raisinate and dry out and thus you won’t have any Sauternes for the year.
Your whole business model depends on this fungus. Therefore, it is not gross. It is highly important. Full stop.
So how do they make Sauternes?
A lot of people think winemaking is like some sort of idyllic life, where you traipse around the vines - barefoot - in the sunlight and everything is easy and you just have like endless access to cheese and can gorge yourself on it every day, wear some sort of cottage-core dress with your hair in a braid, take naps in the forest adjacent to your vineyard and drink wine all day. This is not the case.
What people imagine making wine is like ^
From the contacts I know, making wine is a lot like riding a bike. Except you’re on fire. The bike is on fire. And everything is on fire. Sometimes - in the case of the 2018 and 2019 vintages in Northern California, everything in Napa was LITERALLY ON FIRE. So no, making wine is not this relaxing profession. It’s hard ass work. You have to do things like drive a forklift and kill snakes and shit. And it requires you to be nimble and problem solve and think really quickly on your feet.
What making wine is really like - especially in some vintages (2021 you’d better believe it)
For Sauternes producers? Take the whole, “everything is on fire,” aspect and magnify it by like… TWELVE.
Remember, your life depends on whether or not some random-ass fungus is gonna infect the majority of your vines so you can make wine that vintage and hopefully pay your rent that year. What this means is during the harvest you have to start checking your vineyard every friggin day to see whether or not this noble rot has infected your grapes.
Also remember, you can’t control a noble rot, so it can grow ANYWHERE IN YOUR VINEYARD. So if you have a big ass vineyard, it could grow in one portion one day, then another block the other day, and so on. That means you spend a lot of time walking around your vineyard searching for this fungus to start infecting your grapes. And that’s not all.
There are some years where the rot will barely infect your vines, so you’ll have to significantly reduce your “yield,” or whatever, “take” you’ll have during harvest. Lower yield means less wine to sell, which means a decrease in profits.
To make it even more stressful, there are some years - such as 2012, where the legendary Sauternes producer Château d’Yquem (if you wanna get fancy) did NOT end up making ANY Sauternes because the conditions weren’t right, the noble rot didn’t infect enough grapes, and so they ended up declassifying their entire crop. That was a HUGE blow to their bottom line.
This, dear reader, is the reason why Sauternes is so expensive.
But Sauternes producers continue to make this impossible-to-make wine because they love it so much. And once you try it? You’ll probably understand why they do.
What does Sauternes taste like?
Sauternes has this gorgeous honeyed meets tropical fruit meets creme brulée sort of thing going on. It is VERY sweet, and the texture is luscious. It’s a lot thicker than regular wines in terms of consistency and is incredibly rich. Because of this, you don’t really need to drink that much to be honest. A glass of this rich, golden nectar with dinner is plenty decadent - let me tell you.
WHAT DO I PAIR SAUTERNES WITH?
Everybody will always tell you to pair Sauternes with rich cheeses - like Blue cheese. They’ll probably also suggest foie gras, fruity custards, oysters and such, but honestly? Who eats that stuff on the reg? If you’re gonna fork out some serious dough for a half bottle - yes, I’m not talking a 750ml I’m talking a 375ml - of Sauternes, surely there must be some less foo foo food pairing, right?
Absolutely!
My favorite thing in the world to pair Sauternes with is Chinese food. During the holidays of 2020 I wanted to make a special holiday dinner for my partner, and I made a Master Sauce chicken with green onions marinated in Tamari, ginger, cinnamon, star anise. I paired it with Sauternes.
If you’re a fan of spicy Thai food, Sauternes is a very fancy way to dress up that meal. I don’t suggest Sauternes as some sort of every day wine, because of the price point and also because it is decadent AF. Sauternes is more like the perfect wine to impress someone special when you make a nice meal for them. There’s something about pairing a meal with a half bottle of Sauternes that says, “I care,” or “I went the extra mile for you,” at least - that’s what it says to me, anyway. And now, without further ado let’s chat —
PICK OF THE WEEK: Château Rieussec ‘Carmes de Rieussec’ Sauternes $24.00 (Half Bottle)
The Château Rieussec Les Carmes de Rieussec is what decadent Sauternes dreams are all about!
Picture aromas of golden vanilla bean infused angel food cake. There’s a distinctly tropical thing going on here - think grilled pineapple topped with caramelized sugar soaked in rum.
This luscious, golden nectar has so much length and is butterscotch vibes for freaking DAYS. Yes, it’s a small bottle but trust me, once you try this rich, honeyed liquid, you’ll understand that you don’t really need that much. Sauternes has a slightly thicker consistency than most table wines - bordering on syrup without being cloying. It hits that perfect balance of being just a bit heavier than wine, yet you can still enjoy a glass of it. It’s like a really dense, decadent cake from a good bakery - good enough to eat just one slice but anything more than that might be a bit much.
Sauternes also holds up for a while in your fridge because of the higher sugar content.
The good news is you don’t have to enjoy it all in one go, you can drink it for about a week after opening - a glass at a time.
It was interesting, when I picked up this bottle from Stanleys, I was talking about how Sauternes wasn’t really much of a thing with some of the team members who worked there and one of them said something that really stuck with me. He said it’s funny how in the US we eat ice cream, cookies, and cakes fairly regularly, but for some reason we can’t get behind something like this.
I think there’s something there. The next time you’re thinking about indulging in some sort of decadent dessert - maybe consider giving Sauternes a go with some fresh fruits and cheeses for a taste of something different? You’ll thank me later.
If you don’t want to pair sweet with sweet - try having this Sauternes with Butter Chicken from your favorite Indian joint. I also think this would be a great wine to pair with a spicy chicken or tofu Pad Thai. If you hit up some of this Château Rieussec Les Carmes de Rieussec with Peking duck from your favorite Chinese place and you’ll probably be in heaven.