A half bottle of Sauternes from Château d'Yquem

Sauternes is a type of dessert wine made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in extremely concentrated and distinctively flavored wines, typically with an arresting golden color. Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence, due to its mesoclimate. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from year to year. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (391x664, 38 KB) Summary A 1999 vintage half-bottle of Château dYquem, the greatest of the Sauternes châteaux. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (391x664, 38 KB) Summary A 1999 vintage half-bottle of Château dYquem, the greatest of the Sauternes châteaux. ... Dessert wines are those wines which are typically served with dessert, although they are also drunk on their own, i. ... Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia. ... Sauvignon blanc is a white wine grape probably originating in the Bordeaux region of France that is now planted in much of the worlds winelands producing a crisp dry refreshing white varietal wine. ... Muscadelle is a white wine grape. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea or Botrytis, that affects wine grapes. ... Noble rot (French: La Pourriture Noble) is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. ...

Wines from Sauternes, especially its flagship estate Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, due largely to the very high cost of production. Barsac lies within Sauternes, and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive and typically less-distinguished wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac. A half bottle of Yquem Château dYquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur (French, Great First Growth or Great First Vintage) wine from the Sauternes region in the southern part of Bordeaux. ... Barsac is a town on the left bank of the Garonne river in the Gironde département in south west France. ... Cadillac is a commune of the Gironde département, in France. ...

Note that lower quality dessert wines, primarily American, are occasionally labeled as 'sauterne'. Sauterne is an intentional misspelling of the name of the famed wine region Sauternes. ...

Wine pairings

Sauternes is a very sweet, intense wine, and is typically not served as a table wine. It can be drunk by itself in place of dessert, with a dessert, or with rich savory foods like foie gras (the canonical pairing) or Roquefort cheese. Pâté de foie gras served picnic-style with a Sauternes wine and bread. ... Roquefort is a flavorful ewes-milk blue cheese from the south of France, and one of the most famous of all French cheeses. ...

Sauternes chateau classifications of 1855

Premier Cru Supérieur

• Chateau d'Yquem

Château dYquem is a Grand Premier Cru ( French, Great First Growth or Great First Vintage) wine from the Sauternes region in the southern part of Bordeaux. ...

Premiers Crus

• Chateau Climens
• Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey
• Chateau Coutet
• Chateau Guiraud
• Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey
• Chateau Rabaud-Promis
• Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau
• Chateau Rieussec
• Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud
• Chateau Suduiraut
• Chateau La Tour-Blanche

Deuxièmes Crus

• Chateau d'Arche
• Chateau Broustet
• Chateau Caillou
• Chateau Doisy-Daëne
• Chateau Doisy-Dubroca
• Chateau Doisy-Védrines
• Chateau Filhot
• Chateau Lamothe
• Chateau Lamothe-Guignard
• Chateau de Malle
• Chateau de Myrat
• Chateau Nairac
• Chateau Romer du Hayot
• Chateau Suau

See also

• French wine