Sauternes..

[waggoner]

Had to go in Sainsburys this afternoon, so had a look at their wines.
They had 37.5cl bottles of Saunternes half price,,£13.00 down to £6.50, so i bought a bottle,,not that i've tried it yet,,its still in front of me here,,i'm afraid to open it,,never paid this much for 1/2 a bottle before....

I've got two questions....first one is..its 2005 "vintage",,from reading about it, it seems to keep for years,, but on the back of the bottle it says drink within 1 year of purchase!! Why's this,, i thought it would have kept ok...

Second question,,,,has anyone tried to make a Saunternes style wine?? Would be interested in trying it, if anyone has a reciept for it..

Thanks.
Mark.

[NorthernWiner]

Better make sure you like it before you try a recipe.

Sauternes is made from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and sometimes Muscadelle grapes infected with botrytis (aka "noble rot").

I made a faux Sauternes (Faux-ternes?) in 2008 from frozen botrytized Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. Semillon is really hard to come by in the US, so it wasn't exactly the same, but the finished wine had a lot of the same qualities as Sauternes. It was sweet, with honey and apricot flavors, and a luxurious mouthfeel.

Sauternes can be extremely expensive. While £6.50 may seem like a lot for a half bottle, some of the very best -- Château d'Yquem, for example -- can sell for hundreds of pounds per bottle.

[billybuntus]

(aka "noble rot").

Don't fancy that much!

[Musty]

Noble Rot whites such as Sauternes can be almost immortal.

One of my favourites (though from Chenin in the Loire) is Coteaux de Layon. Opened an 18 yo one last year and it was superb

[NorthernWiner]

Just as a point of comparison, here's a bottle of Sauternes made in 1959. The Price? A mere £2800.

http://www.wallywine.com/p-32821-1959-chateau-d-yquem-750ml.aspx?affiliateid=10098

At that price, you might as well buy a several.

[waggoner]

Wow..

But when people buy wines of this price do they actually drink it or do they put it in a wine cellar and just look at it? or maybe buy it as an investment?

I think i would cry if i opened that!!!

[Rich]

I think I'd cry if I opened it and it was rubbish.

/Rant on/ Might just be me, But I can't see the point in buying it to look at, you might as well have some coloured water in the bottle with a nice label on that says whatever you want..

Buying it for an investment, you need to be prepared to sell it rather than letting someone inherit it in years to come who will then sell it as they don't give a dam about it. /Rant off/

But there are rich people who like that sort of thing.. helps the money flow from them

[fatbloke]

Well that's the point once a year has been declared a "vintage" year isn't it. Some must have been drunk so "they" know its good.

After that, its speculation and those people dont care if its knackered, its become a tradable commodity.......

regards

jtfb

[Mamgiowl]

[QUOTE=waggoner;79815]Wow..

But when people buy wines of this price do they actually drink it or do they put it in a wine cellar and just look at it? or maybe buy it as an investment?

I think i would cry if i opened that!!![/QUOTE]

I think I would cry (or put myself up for sectioning) if I paid that much.

[koomber]

Can someone clear this up for me:

I thought a vintage was a wine made from grapes from a single year, where as a non-vintage was wine made from a blend. A Vintage can be declared a good year, the term vintage is no guarantee of quality.

Wikipedia says that on average in blind tests people can't tell a good vintage from a bad, but it has no citation so I'll take that with a pinch of salt.

[NorthernWiner]

But when people buy wines of this price do they actually drink it or do they put it in a wine cellar and just look at it? or maybe buy it as an investment?

Most collectors would buy it as an investment. Since good Sauternes can easily last a hundred years if properly stored, the price would be likely to go up over time.

However, if your last name is Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, you probably show it to your friends - and then drink it.

[NorthernWiner]

I thought a vintage was a wine made from grapes from a single year, where as a non-vintage was wine made from a blend. A Vintage can be declared a good year, the term vintage is no guarantee of quality.

Wikipedia says that on average in blind tests people can't tell a good vintage from a bad, but it has no citation so I'll take that with a pinch of salt.

You are correct. A vintage denotes wine from a single year, though in many places you are allowed to blend in a small amount from previous years and still call it a vintage. And no, just like the word "reserve" or "old vines," it's no guarantee of quality.

I believe Wikipedia's statement. A lot of peoples' taste is in their wallets, and not in their mouth.

[Musty]

Forgotten where I picked this one up:-

Definition of a "palate" - an expensive and lonely aquisition

[koomber]

You are correct. A vintage denotes wine from a single year, though in many places you are allowed to blend in a small amount from previous years and still call it a vintage. And no, just like the word "reserve" or "old vines," it's no guarantee of quality.

I believe Wikipedia's statement. A lot of peoples' taste is in their wallets, and not in their mouth.

I don't know about anyone else, but I love trawling shops looking for the cheap bottles of wine in the hope, that desperate hope that I'll find something really nice for the price.

Truth be told, one of my favourite wines is a £3.99 from Aldi.
Then again, some people have first hand witnessed what I will drink with a smile on my face and a song on my lips...