1990 Château Suduiraut, Cru Classé Sauternes
Sweet, White, Still
France
To be consumed 2012 
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Region Details
Bordeaux is France's largest quality wine region, indeed producing almost as much wine as Australia. Its westerly position ensures a mild maritime climate, a long growing season and mild summers; rains in the autumn are the primary threat to the harvest, dampening expectations in around one year in three. Red wine predominates - indeed many white wine vines are being uprooted today - with Merlot the dominant variety. The region is dissected by the Gironde estuary, with on the Left Bank the district appellations of the Médoc and the Graves and on the Right Bank, those of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol amongst others. Sauternes is made in the south of the region. The notable red and sweet wines were classified in 1855 according to their then status. At that time not a single Pomerol or Saint-Emilion was deemed worthy despite their historic traditions, and only a single Graves wine. In the last few decades first Saint-Emilion and then Pomerol have become intensely fashionable, their usually small production guaranteeing a premium for scarcity.
Vintage Notes
1990 - Bordeaux
If anything the conditions were almost too good in 1990 for the dessert wines of Bordeaux. Fine weather inhibited the onset of botrytis whilst boosting sugar levels, leading to wines of unheralded richness. These are as sweet and as 'sticky' as they come, and have elevated alcohol levels to boot. Not for the faint-hearted!
Grape Variety
Best known for its important role in the dry and sweet wines of Bordeaux, where it provides weight and lusciousness commonly in partnership with the more scented Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon has a fleshy palate mid-palate reminiscent of Chardonnay, but offering lime characters in place of lemon, and has a noticeably dry finish. Far from well-travelled, it crops up in Provençal whites and occasionally in Italy. Semillon has a cult following in Australia, notably in the Hunter Valley, where it has proved worthy of long ageing. After ten years the dry wine develops a waxy, honeyed character, and can give the impression of oak nuances despite never seeing the inside of a barrel.
A variety with ancestral links to the Loire valley in France and now planted widely around the world. In France it is best known for Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, though it is widely used in dry white bordeaux and as a component in sauternes. Sauvignon Blanc has a crisp, grapey countenance and a hallmark fragrance of herbs and green garden fruits. It is rarely exposed to new oak ageing. The variety developed a cult following after its success in New Zealand in the 1990s where growers coaxed richness and pungency from the variety. It is an important variety in both South Africa and Chile, and can be found in California, Austria and elsewhere.
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