A legendary wine, the great Sweet or syrupy white wines of Bordeaux are known throughout the world. It is in this category that we find the famous Sauternes and the famous Château d'Yquem considered as one of the best white wines in the world. Why such a reputation? It is partly due to the development of a microscopic fungus, Botrytis cinerea, which causes, when conditions are favourable, the famous noble rot. But in this region, it is not enough for the Grapes to be ripe to be harvested.
Over-ripening and the development of botrytis cinerea are sought after. This fungus attacks both the interior and the skin of the grape, which wrinkles and takes on a brownish-purple colour. This leads to a concentration of sugars, an evaporation of water, as well as numerous modifications that will transform the grape Juice into a real "liqueur" whose richness can exceed 400 g of sugar per litre. However, the Sauternes region does not have a monopoly on botrytis cinerea, which is also found in the regions: Dordogne, Loire Valley, the sweet wines of Alsace, etc.
Cheval Blanc 2021 was released en primeur this morning (19 May) at €390 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, up by around 3% on the 202o-vintage opening price last year. Liv-ex said the new release was still cheaper on the market than the well-regarded vintage trio of 2018, 2019 and 2020. UK merchants offered the 2021 wine at £4,740 (12x75cl in bond), it said. It marks another relatively early release for Cheval Blanc, with this year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign just getting started. Cheval Blanc 202 ...
The prestige attached to winning at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) means that being awarded a Bronze medal for some wineries will mean huge celebrations in China, Japan, India, or Thailand. Since the competition began in 2004, I have often reminded judges on my panel about this – whether they are journalists, sommeliers, educators, Masters of Wine or Master Sommeliers. Scroll down for new tasting notes and scores on Jia Bei Lan vintages: from the Chinese wine label that won big at DWWA 20 ...
The largest-ever year for entries, an incredible 18,244 wines were judged at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards – with just 163 wines awarded a Platinum medal. ‘Winning a Platinum medal is something really exceptional’ said Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Platinum is like the stratospheric level’ she commented, ‘so it’s really saying to the winemaker: this is a great wine.’ Making up just 0.87% of the total wines tasted at the 2022 c ...
