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Bordeaux 2006: Sauternes & Barsac

The Sauternes table at the annual UGC tasting of two-year-old wines tends to be manned by a very similar-looking group of estates, with only minor changes in the line-up, year-in, year-out. This year the most significant addition to the gathering was most probably Coutet, the absence of which I lamented in my write-up of the 2003 Sauternes tasting.

On the whole this small but representative sample of the appellation showed varying levels of quality, and there was also some considerable variation in the level of botrytis. Many wines had an attractive sweetness, and appealing acidity, but with little sign of the complexity or depth of character that one might expect with botrytis, the wines showing only a candied, dried fruit sweetness, with notes of pineapple, citrus or elderflower. They are appealing, but the sweetness comes from delayed harvest as much as Noble Rot.

Nevertheless, there are some wines here that show the depth and intensity of Noble Rot, and which would I suspect do nicely in the cellar, especially those that show good acidity also. I would pick put Coutet as one such candidate, although there were also appealing wines from de Fargues, Nairac and one or two others. At the right price, some of these wines could make attractive purchases, but be clear; this is clearly not a great vintage for Sauternes. For that, I suspect we may want to look to the 2007 vintage. (6/11/08)

Sauternes & Barsac 2006 - Tasting Notes

Tasted at the UGC de Bordeaux tasting in October 2008. Click to locate stockists.

Sauternes

Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne 2006: Lemons, oranges, blood oranges and more here. The palate is light and fresh, with plenty of lifting acidity. It has a sweet twist, but has a clean, light character with a slightly sour feel to it. It will appeal to fans of Bastor I think, which usually produces a lighter and zippy style, but it lacks the sweetness to balance the fresh, citrussy acidity for my palate. 14+/20

Chateau de Fargues 2006: A fairly rich nose here, showing a melange of honey, toffee and oak. Perhaps a little more botrytis here than in many of the other wines. The palate is showing a lot of fat, plenty of richness and sweetness, and a nice seam of acidity. This is a very rich, opulent, rather heady style, with a full, characterful finish. It certainly has appeal. 16+/20

Chateau Guiraud 2006: Fresh and lively aromas, of elegant and honeyed white fruits. The palate has a similar elegance, yellow-white stone fruit with a nice, composed sweetness. Fat and attractive, not really showing any botrytis of note, but it still has an appealing presence. Good. 15+/20

Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey 2006: Vanilla and flower petals on the nose, and an appealing depth on the palate. Fat and fleshy, with a perfumed, heady, citrus sweetness. there is some oak evident, and overall this is a big and impressive wine, although there is good acidity backing it up. This has a good style, with everything nicely put together. 16+/20

Chateau La Tour Blanche 2006: A huge, dense, sweet nose here, of rich old-fashioned marmalade indicative of some botrytis character in the wine. Correspondingly it is very fat on the palate, very sweet, viscous, full of density and sweet dried fruits. This is an good example of the appellation, opulent and creamy. I would prefer a little more defining acidity, but at least the wine has character. 15.5+/20

Chateau de Rayne-Vigneau 2006: This wine needs a little persuasion to reveal itself on the nose, but it soon gives off the aromas of honey, lemons and thyme. Good flesh on the palate, a fine, grippy, rather chalky structure, giving the wine considerable substance in the mouth. It seems a touch meaty, with a fresh, mentholated finish. 15+/20

Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud 2006: A sweet, dense, darker nose than some of the other wines, although still with a very fresh style. Vanilla and flower petals on the palate, which has an appealing, gently sweet character. Candied, dried fruits dominate, backed up by a fleshy weight and nice acidity. Well composed and with a little elegance. This is good. 15.5+/20

Chateau Suduiraut 2006: In this vintage Suduiraut has a lovely nose, showing dried fruits, and a fresh sweetness. Very appealing, fresh, gentle and composed on the palate, with fine, sweet, vanilla-tinged fruit. A nice savoury citrus finish too. This is a good wine. 15.5+/20

Barsac

Chateau Broustet 2006: This has some attractive, candied fruits on the nose, with notes of smoke and ash. It has a light character on the palate, what might be called 'low impact'. Clean, with a little of that smoke and ash seen on the nose, with nice acidity behind. A little fatness in the midpalate helps to round it out. Interesting wine. 14+/20

Chateau Climens 2006: Quite stylish nose here, showing notes of honey, elderflower and intense, orange fruits. The palate follows in the same vein, with a rich, fat, soft and creamy style, with an appealing acid backbone to it. It seems rather broad, rather diffuse, and lacks the precision that you can usually find in Climens. There is a faint trace of botrytis though, and this is still a good wine. 16+/20

Chateau Coutet 2006: A gentle, fresh, orange marmalade aroma here; it is quite dense, with a slightly high-toned element to it. Fresh, quite tight on the palate, firm, with a pastille-like intensity to the fruits. Nice acidity, and showing a little more botrytis than some of the other wines here today. With time in the cellar I think this might be a very nice wine indeed. 16.5+/20

Chateau Doisy-Daëne 2006: Honey and oak on the nose here, with plenty of lifted, sweet, pineapple fruit. The palate is fresh, with plenty of sweet flesh and substance and a fresh acid backbone. It has great acidity, somewhat less vibrantly presented than the corresponding Védrines but still an attractive wine. 15.5+/20

Chateau Doisy-Védrines 2006: Elegant, fresh, citrussy fruit on the nose here, with floral elements, such as elderflower. A very stylish and fresh palate, with lots of sweet substance and lift, but also some grip beneath this. Fresh and vibrant acidity completes the picture. A stylish and attractive wine. 16+/20

Chateau Nairac 2006: A fresh, attractive, mineral-laden nose. Rather fat on the palate, very fleshy, with a dense, marmaladey richness, although with a savoury rather than sweet edge to it. There is a little trace of botrytis here, something not too common in this vintage. This wine has grip, substance and nice acidity too. Very good. 16+/20