Chronicle 149: Sauternes-Barsac: can you serve a number of sweet whites in one evening?

• Sauternes-Barsac: can you serve a number of sweet whites in one evening? Part 1 • An evening with Château Guiraud 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1990, 1989, 1988 and 1961 • A 1989 magnum of Léoville Las Cases, Trotanoy 2004, Clos l’Eglise 2004 and Vieux Château Certan 2004 Part 2 • Dinner served with old Sauternes and old Barsacs • Doisy Daëne 1953, Clos Haut Peyraguey 1955, Rayne Vigneau 1955, d’Yquem 1955, Climens 1947, Rayne Vigneau 1947, Rayne Vigneau 1948, Rabaud Promis 1949, Rayne Vigneau 1945, La Tour Blanche 1941, Doisy Daëne 1937, Filhot 1935, Nairac 1997, d’Yquem 1925, Rayne Vigneau 1921, d’Yquem 1917, Rieusec 1907 • Plus Malaga wines - an 1857 and a 1780 • Plus Burmeisder Novidade 1890 port Chronicle 149 (1st June 2013) Part 1 The next two chronicles will describe two remarkable tasting experiences with a large number of bottles of Sauternes-Barsac in two evenings. The first evening consisted of twelve bottles served before dinner and the second featured seventeen bottles served during dinner. These, surprisingly, turned out to be delightful, especially since with the organisers, we had gone through a lot of discussion beforehand about how much we apprehended the potentially excessive heaviness and possible saturation that might result from such an event. Can a large number of Sauternes be served in one evening? That is what we were about to find out. Unfortunately for the Bordeaux region, even the most liberal thinkers are conditioned by the presumption that the enjoyment derived could never be equal to that of a similar horizontal or vertical tasting of red wines. The fact is, this is not true. One participant, delighted with the experience, declared publicly that it was easier for him to taste ten to twelve Sauternes than the same number of young, tannic red wines. The following week, the dinner organised with the old Sauternes-Barsacs thrilled the participants. These two very positive experiences have convinced me that I am prepared to try to pull off a similar event, and in fact we are now talking of a follow-up with a superb, long vertical tasting of Château d’Yquem. If you would like to give it a go, here is how we organised the previous tastings and managed to avoid saturation and keep interest well and truly alive. The best way not to get bored of course, has always been to keep serving top quality wines. • 24 April 2013 in Paris Jean-Marc Quarin’s tasting club at the Drouant restaurant. Vertical tastings of ten vintages of Château Guiraud in the company of the passionate winemaker, Mr. Xavier Planty, who managed to make us just as passionate as him, before we sat down for dinner with no sweet wines, except for the dessert, which was an orange salad. A G de Guiraud 2011 was served both decanted and not decanted with the red mullet pastilla starter. Four wines accompanied the shoulder of suckling lamb served with fennel, chick peas and tajine-style crystallised lemon: a magnum of Léoville Las Cases 1989 and three 2004 Pomerols tasted blind (Vieux Château Certan, Trotanoy and Clos l’Eglise). Dessert was a fresh orange salad and mango sorbet to accompany a Guiraud 2002 contrasting with a Guiraud 1961. 1st series served blind for the participants: Guiraud 2000 versus Guiraud 2007 An illustration of the effects on the taste of a very botrytised harvest (2007) and another much less (2000). GUIRAUD 2000 15.5 // 88 Lively, slightly golden colour. Lovely nose with pure, very fresh fruit. Soft, melting and subtle caramel on the palate, but especially pleasant before ending up a little plain. Good length. I didn’t expect it to be at this level. This is the first Guiraud harvest to be fermented in all new wood. Can be drunk now and up to 2025-2030. GUIRAUD 2007 16.75 // 93 Golden yellow colour with grey tints. Fruity nose, subtly crystallised, smelling of oranges and spice. Ample from the very outset, sophisticated feel, melting in the middle, this very elegant wine ends up sappy with notes of orange peel, lots of taste and subtle bitterness. Good length. Can be drunk now and up to 2050. 2nd series, blind for the participants: Guiraud 2005 versus 2006. Two major vintages; 2006 has generally more sinew in the region than 2005. GUIRAUD 2005 17 // 94 Pale yellow colour with green tints. Discrete, fresh nose. Sophisticated feel, becoming subtle, melting and with minute texture, it is smooth and moves on building flavour and becoming very distinguished, but not powerful, towards lovely persistence with hints of fruit and hot butter. It conceals its 135 g of residual sugar perfectly. Wait until 2015 and drink up to 2060. GUIRAUD 2006 16.5 // 92 Yellow colour. Floral nose with dominant pineapple. A touch of new wood. Smooth on the attack, melts in the middle and a little dull thereafter, it develops to become almost tannic with standard body and real taste and length. Drink up to 2030. 3rd series, blind for the participants: Guiraud 2009 versus 1989. Two great Guiraud vintages served with twenty years between them. Few tasters noticed such a big difference in age. Many preferred the 2009. I believe I was one of the first to call attention to the great quality of the 1989, which really only came to the fore after it was bottled. At this time, Guiraud was just beginning to take off in terms of quality. The 2009 appears more crystalline. GUIRAUD 2009 19 // 98 Greenish yellow colour. Complex, subtle nose. Extremely melting on the palate. Silent admiration. Incredibly juicy, silky, deep and noble, this very great elegant wine ends with a big, delicately roasted finish with an aftertaste of complex citrus note. Impossible to spit out. Ready to drink and up to 2060. GUIRAUD 1989 17.5 // 95 Coppery colour. Fruity nose. A little less pure than the 2009. Superb attack, melting as it develops, very airy, as it has aged it has gained a touch of menthol that is characteristic of Guiraud. It develops to become almost tight, and on to a big sappy, distinct-tasting finish, but without being extravagant. Ageing has made it slightly austere. Ready to drink and before 2030. 4th series, blind for the participants: Guiraud 2003 versus 2001. This comparative tasting was a personal choice. I wanted to share with the participants what I know about the difference between these two vintages. They weren’t mistaken. I always criticised the 2001s for their less pure botrytis i.e. the same as what can be found in the smaller vintages, when there are hints of saffron and curry more than clear-cut notes that are both fresh and roasted at the same time. As time goes on, some estate owners are subscribing more to my point of view, saying even that the first “clean-up” sorting operation should have been more thorough. The context, however, was that this came just after a small 2000. The media machine needed to be kick-started. And certain hod carriers did the rest. GUIRAUD 2003 17.5 // 95 Golden greenish yellow colour. Elegant, fruity, subtle nose. Subtle and melting on the palate with a noble taste, airy and yet smooth body, finishing long, very tasty with a hint of peppermint, so characteristic of Guiraud. Very nice aftertaste with a touch of orange. Delicious now and drink before 2035. GUIRAUD 2001 16 // 90 Yellow colour. Fruity, simple nose, smelling of saffron. Dense on the attack, a little sticky, not airy enough, this wine becomes sinewy with standard length and no specific sophistication. Drink now and before 2030. 5th series, blind for the participants: Guiraud 1988 versus 1990. I had known both of them at a better level. We will have to see if other tastings confirm this impression of a drop in quality. GUIRAUD 1988 16 // 90 Coppery colour with greenish yellow tints. Fruity nose. Touch of caramel. Vegetal hint. Very fruity, smooth, melting and stretched on the palate, finishing slightly tannic with good flavoursome length. Drink now and before 2020. GUIRAUD 1990 16.75 // 93 Very coppery colour. Fruity, peppery creamy nose. Immediately airy and melting on the palate, growing very fruity and ample with good length that nevertheless has a scotch glue (ethyl acetate) odour. Drink now and before 2020. Dinner G DE GUIRAUD 2011 15 // 87 This wine is better decanted at the last minute. With air, the nose is softer and loses its varietal sauvignon hint. Nice corpulence on the nose, quite stretched, flavoursome and pleasant, but the finish remains plain. LEOVILLE LAS CASES 1989 decanted magnum 17.75 // 95 Deep, slightly aged red colour. Medoc-like, fruity nose that is a little smoky, which does not smell its age. Both slender and richly supple on the palate, which is amplified in the middle by being decanted. It ends up flavoursome and noble with a long finish. However, there was something a little more thrilling that I was lacking. Drink your magnums now and before 2035. The three Pomerols served blind for everyone. I was delighted to recognise them as soon as I smelled the noses. TROTANOY 2004 16.75 // 93 Lovely intense colour that has slightly aged. Nose of Merlot from the Graves area. Silky from the very outset on the attack, then becomes caressing with a spark in the taste, standard corpulence and fine tannins that are especially well softened. It’s very tasty. Can start drinking now and up to 2034. CLOS L’EGLISE 2004 17.5 // 95 The youngest-looking colour of all three. Fruity, ripe, deep nose with vanilla and creamy aromas. Dense on the attack, rich in the middle, fruity and richly supple, it becomes deep and noble with lots of flavour and fine tannins. It is long and very, very tasty. It started out with positive austerity, which seems to be disappearing moving it into another dimension. Wait until 2015, then before 2035. VIEUX CHATEAU CERTAN 2004 16.75 // 93 Lovely deep colour, slightly aged. Elegant nose with blackberry-like fruit, but animal too. Juicy on the attack. It immediately displays an elegant feel, fragrant hints, medium density and a flavoursome finish that is slightly firm. Good length. Enjoyable. Drink now and before 2030. Guiraud 2002 versus 1961 The 2002 (16 // 90) is more enjoyable than the 1961 (15.5 // 88). The 1961 is only impressive because of its age. The nose displays plain fruit, good density on the palate with no airiness or melting characteristic. It certainly does not show its age, but the emotion is pretty limited. The 2002 has brilliant subtlety, very elegant balance, not very powerful body, but is fragrant and has a melting feel. It is more aromatically lively as it lingers than the 1961. Very nicely matched with the orange and mango. About Château GUIRAUD The estate began its first trials in organic agriculture in 1996. The whole vineyard has been certified in this approach since 2011, which is unique amongst the Sauternes and Barsac crus classés. As his agricultural techniques evolved, Xavier Planty found that his wines were better made, tighter, almost mineral and at the same time practically austere. He also noticed that they had much cleaner aromatic profiles. “They are less untidy”, he says. He explains this clearer definition as coming from better regulation of the nitrogen levels in the vines and therefore in the must, which no longer needs to be compensated for. He thinks his wines are more complex and that they resist oxidation better. He insists on the importance of halting the harmful agricultural cycles, which are detrimental to the heritage of the estates and compromise their future. One of the points he is most proud of is the fact that he uses no more systemic chemicals to protect his vines from disease. Close observation has led him to believe that these chemicals end up unbalancing the vines’ metabolism, in fact making them more prone to disease, such as esca, which kills so many vines and produces an overall decrease in the average age of our vineyards. Further thoughts to follow. Happy reading! Jean-Marc Quarin __________________________________________________________________________ © Copyright 2013. This publication is the original work of Jean-Marc Quarin Sarl, 10 allée de Ginouilhac, Le Taillan-Médoc. France. - E-mail : jmquarin@quarin.com The news media and subscribing wine distributors, importers and retailers may use portions of this material (such as tasting notes, ratings or quotes) provided that it is not distorted, the proper wine and vintage are stated, www.quarin.com is given credit for the material utilized, and Jean-Marc Quarin (JMQ) is shown as the Copyright holder.

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Chronicle 149: Sauternes-Barsac: can you serve a number of sweet whites in one evening?

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