The best wines of Sauternes

Discover the best wines of Sauternes of Bordeaux as well as the best winemakers of Sauternes and estates of Sauternes to visit. Explore the popular grape varieties of Sauternes and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Top wines of Sauternes by region

Looking for a good wine of Sauternes of Bordeaux among the top wines in the region? Check out our tops of the best red, white or effervescent wines of Sauternes. Also find some food and wine pairings that may be appropriate with these exceptional wines. Learn more about the region and the wines of Sauternes with technical and enological descriptions.

Great red wines of Sauternes

See the top 100 best red wines of Sauternes

Want to buy a red wine of Sauternes cheap or sell a red wine of Sauternes at the best price on the market? Find out which ones are popular and which ones to keep in your cellar for a few more years.

Food and wine pairing with a red wine of Sauternes

Red wines from the region of Sauternes go well with generally quite well with dishes of fruity desserts, blue cheese or beef such as recipes of grandma's cherry clafoutis, gourmet pie with camembert, blue cheese, mozzarella and cancoillotte or feijoada ( portuguese cassoulet ).

Organoleptic analysis of red wine of Sauternes

On the nose the red wine of the region of Sauternes. often reveals types of flavors of cassis, non oak or earth and sometimes also flavors of oak, black fruit or honey. In the mouth the red wine of the region of Sauternes. is a powerful with a good balance between acidity and sweetness.

The best vintages in red wine of Sauternes

  • 2012With an average score of 4.20/5
  • 2013With an average score of 4.00/5
  • 2011With an average score of 3.68/5
  • 2014With an average score of 3.50/5
  • 2008With an average score of 3.30/5
  • 2009With an average score of 2.90/5

The most used grape varieties in red wine of Sauternes

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Merlot
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Malbec
  • Petit Verdot
  • Nebbiolo

The best wineries and winemakers for red wine of Sauternes

A wine route planned in the region of Sauternes? Here are the wineries to visit and the winemakers to meet during your trip in search of the best red wine of Sauternes.

Discovering the wine region of Sauternes

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.

Great white wines of Sauternes

See the top 100 best white wines of Sauternes

Want to buy a white wine of Sauternes cheap or sell a white wine of Sauternes at the best price on the market? Find out which ones are popular and which ones to keep in your cellar for a few more years.

Food and wine pairing with a white wine of Sauternes

White wines from the region of Sauternes go well with generally quite well with dishes of fruity desserts, blue cheese or rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) such as recipes of grandma's cherry clafoutis, tartiflette with 3 cheeses or steamed ginger fish (china).

Organoleptic analysis of white wine of Sauternes

On the nose the white wine of the region of Sauternes. often reveals types of flavors of honey, earth or pineapple and sometimes also flavors of non oak, oak or spices. In the mouth the white wine of the region of Sauternes. is a powerful with a good balance between acidity and sweetness.

The best vintages in white wine of Sauternes

  • 2011With an average score of 3.92/5
  • 2010With an average score of 3.92/5
  • 2016With an average score of 3.70/5
  • 2015With an average score of 3.63/5
  • 2012With an average score of 3.62/5

The most used grape varieties in white wine of Sauternes

  • Sémillon
  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Roussanne
  • Marsanne

The best wineries and winemakers for white wine of Sauternes

A wine route planned in the region of Sauternes? Here are the wineries to visit and the winemakers to meet during your trip in search of the best white wine of Sauternes.

Discover the grape variety: Muscadelle

Muscadelle white is a grape variety that originated in France (Bergerac). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by bunches of medium size, and grapes of medium caliber. Muscadelle white can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Armagnac, Provence & Corsica, Rhone valley, Loire valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais, Languedoc & Roussillon.

Great pink wines of Sauternes

See the top 100 best pink wines of Sauternes

Want to buy a pink wine of Sauternes cheap or sell a pink wine of Sauternes at the best price on the market? Find out which ones are popular and which ones to keep in your cellar for a few more years.

Food and wine pairing with a pink wine of Sauternes

Pink wines from the region of Sauternes go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or pork such as recipes of beef fillet in a crust, irish stew with beer or chicken bonne femme.

The most used grape varieties in pink wine of Sauternes

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Merlot

The best wineries and winemakers for pink wine of Sauternes

A wine route planned in the region of Sauternes? Here are the wineries to visit and the winemakers to meet during your trip in search of the best pink wine of Sauternes.

Discover the grape variety: Sémillon

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.

Great sweet wines of Sauternes

See the top 100 best sweet wines of Sauternes

Want to buy a sweet wine of Sauternes cheap or sell a sweet wine of Sauternes at the best price on the market? Find out which ones are popular and which ones to keep in your cellar for a few more years.

Food and wine pairing with a sweet wine of Sauternes

Sweet 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 onion and blue cheese pie.

Organoleptic analysis of sweet wine of Sauternes

On the nose the sweet wine of the region of Sauternes. often reveals types of flavors of butterscotch, floral or molasses and sometimes also flavors of cigar, orange zest or red fruit. In the mouth the sweet wine of the region of Sauternes. is a powerful with a good balance between acidity and sweetness.

The best vintages in sweet wine of Sauternes

  • 1945With an average score of 5.00/5
  • 1904With an average score of 5.00/5
  • 1948With an average score of 4.90/5
  • 1949With an average score of 4.90/5
  • 1934With an average score of 4.90/5
  • 1942With an average score of 4.90/5

The most used grape varieties in sweet wine of Sauternes

  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Sémillon
  • Muscadelle

The best wineries and winemakers for sweet wine of Sauternes

A wine route planned in the region of Sauternes? Here are the wineries to visit and the winemakers to meet during your trip in search of the best sweet wine of Sauternes.

The word of the wine: Dryer

Term that characterizes a hard and tannic wine.

News from the vineyard of Sauternes

AXA Millésime appoints new technical director of Pichon Baron

Montégut, who is already technical director of the Premier Cru Classé estate Château Suduiraut in Sauternes, will replace Jean-René Matignon who last year announced his intention to step down after more than 30 years in the role. He will formally take on his new responsibilities from the end of April when Matignon retires. Having worked together with Montégut since his arrival at Suduiraut in 2004, Christian Seely, MD of owner AXA Millésimes, said that during this time, Montégut had been respons ...

Courvoisier Mizunara: the launch of a collaborative Cognac

Described by Courvoisier as ‘daring’, ‘visionary’ and ‘a first-of-its-kind collaboration’, Courvoisier Mizunara was created by the house’s recently-retired maître de chai, Patrice Pinet, and Shinji Fukuyo, chief blender of Japanese whisky maker Suntory. The project dates back to 2015, when the president of Suntory visited Courvoisier at Jarnac shortly after Suntory took over Beam Global, the Cognac house’s then owner, in a deal worth US$16bn. Pinet expressed an interest in experimenting with miz ...

Rare Lafite 1887 magnum tops £22,000 in Sotheby’s auction

A magnum of Lafite Rothschild 1887 sold for £22,500 ($28,300) at a Sotheby’s auction of ‘vinous treasures’ spanning nearly 200 years. The wine, held in storage with Octavian group in Wiltshire, had a pre-sale high estimate of £18,000. A single bottle of Château d’Yquem 1831 sold for £27,500 (pre-sale high estimate: £20,000). Another bottle of Yquem, from the 1896 vintage, sold for £15,000, tripling its pre-sale high estimate. ‘An extraordinary wine from a very great Sauternes vintage,’ said Sere ...

Discover other regions and appellation of Sauternes

A wine route in the region of Sauternes ? Visit the most beautiful wine towns and villages