Sauternes, 65 km South of Bordeaux, is a Village renowned for its high quality Sweet wines. Although some wineries produce Dry wines, they sell them under other appellations than Sauternes, which is specific to sweet wines. The village is surrounded on all sides by vineyards, the best of which produce some of the most prestigious, long-lasting and expensive dessert wines in the world. A half bottle of premium, aged Sauternes from a good Vintage can sell for over $1,000.
Classic Sauternes has a DeepGoldenColor (darker than most other dessert wines), which turns a deep amber color with bottle age. Its aromas include flower and stone fruit, with a hint of honeysuckle - the hallmark of botrytized wines. The best wines balance sweetness with acidity, concentration with freshness and power with elegance. Sauternes wines are primarily made from the Sémillon grape, which accounts for about eight out of every ten vines in the local vineyard.
Sauvignon Blanc accounts for most of the remaining vineyard and is the dominant grape in a small handful of Sauternes wines. Semillon forms a broad, well-structured base with aromas of beeswax and apricot, while Sauvignon Blanc contributes its characteristic herbal aromas and enough acidity to keep the resulting wine fresh rather than mouthwatering. These two varieties (sometimes supplemented by a small amount of Muscadelle and Sauvignon Gris) have become the preferred varieties here, not only because they are also used to make dry white Bordeaux wines, but also because of their susceptibility to a particular type of fungus, Botrytis cinerea (often just botrytis). Apart from yeast, without which the grape juice cannot ferment into wine, one would not expect a fungus to play a key role in winemaking.
Sémillon blanc is a grape variety that originated in France (Bordeaux). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. Note that this grape variety can also be used for the elaboration of eaux de vie. This variety of vine is characterized by large bunches of grapes, and grapes of large size. Sémillon Blanc can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Armagnac, Provence & Corsica, Loire Valley, Rhone Valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
wines from the region of Sauternes go well with generally quite well with dishes of fruity desserts or blue cheese such as recipes of rice with milk or pasta with gorgonzola sauce very simple.
On the nose in the region of Sauternes often reveals types of flavors of apricot, cantaloupe or white peach and sometimes also flavors of clove, coconut or jam. In the mouth in the region of Sauternes is a powerful with a good balance between acidity and sweetness.
