The best wines from Sauternes

In the middle of southern Graves, a very special region, the Sauternes growing area, protrudes into the predominance of red wines, because sweet white wines of a very special kind dominate here. The region is spread over 5 municipalities, of which only the eponymous Sauternes and the neighboring and much larger municipality of Barsac are of particular importance. The municipality of Sauternes is also home to Chateau d'Yquem, an icon of the Bordelais with an almost legendary reputation, whose wines are revered and celebrated as divine nectar by the international wine world and are among the rarest and most sought-after of all. In fact, a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem offers a unique and unforgettable wine enjoyment in its fineness, density and complexity, because in hardly any sweet wine in the world is the sweetness so fine and subtle, despite its immense density, that it does not cover up anything in the complex play of aromas. A good bottle of D'Yquem also has an almost inexhaustible maturation and aging potential. But you shouldn't forget that other chateaus here can also produce great wines. The secret of the wines of Sauternes is based not only on the excellent nature of the terroir made of pebbles and limestone, not only on the special combination of the Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and some Muscadelle grape varieties, but also on a very special peculiarity of the microclimate. The cold river Ciron flows through Sauternes and flows here into the warmer Garonne. In autumn, fog forms here, which promotes the development of a special fungus on the grapes, known by experts as Botrytis Cinerea. This fungus perforates the individual berries, removes the water from them and allows it to evaporate, causing them to shrink, but instead developing an intoxicating, sweet juice in their core. The harvest is complicated and can take several weeks, as the individual berries are picked by experienced harvesters in up to 6 harvesting rounds and sometimes more if necessary. The appellation regulations allow a maximum of 25 hectoliters / hectare, at Chateau d'Yquem you only get 9 hectoliters / hectare, which corresponds to roughly one glass of wine per vine. The cuvée is also an art in itself, because the Sémillon, which is susceptible to botrytis, must also be accompanied by acid in perfect balance, which the Sauvignon Blanc provides. The Muscadelle is intended to provide further aromatic complexity. The wines are then aged in the barriques typical of Bordeaux, completely or only partially new, depending on the desired style. The 1855 classification also classified the chateaus of Sauternes and Barsac. Chateau d'Yquem documents its exceptional position with the unique selling point of a Premier Cru Superieur, followed by 11 Premier Cru Classés and 15 Deuxièmes Cru Classés. In addition to Chateau d'Yquem, the chateaus La Tour Blanche, Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Suduiraut, RIeussec and Doisy-Daëne also enjoy an outstanding international reputation.