2005 Chateau Doisy-Vedrines Sauternes

DATE CONSUMED

Thursday, September 19, 2013

VINTAGE

2005

WINERY/PRODUCER

Chateau Doisy-Vedrines

WINE NAME

Sauternes

TYPE OF WINE

Sauternes (Bordeaux dessert wine)

COMPOSITION

Unknown (most/all Sauternes are a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle)

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/APPELLATION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)

Sauternes; Bordeaux, France

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14%

PRICE PAID

$25 for a 375ml bottle

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

We exchanged a couple of over-priced Napa Cabs for a nice selection of different wines from all over the world about a year ago, including this wine as well as a 2009 vintage of the same wine.

BOUQUET

The nose on this wine has that classic Sauterne bouquet of tropical fruits (especially pineapple and mango, along with citrus peel), as well as honey elements, creamy earth, and suggestions/hints of spices.   

TASTING NOTES

Make no mistake about it: this Sauterne is as Sauterne as a Sauterne can get!  This is a fantastically rich, creamy, spicy, fruity, complexly-flavored dessert wine that’s tough to beat.  I absolutely LOVE Port and could drink it all day long given the opportunity, but as far as chilled dessert beverages go, you CANNOT beat a well-made Sauterne.

As the bouquet suggested (actually, the bouquet completely foreshadowed almost EXACTLY how this beauty would taste), there is indeed an abundance of tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, along with some sub-flavors like citrus peel, peach, and apricot.  After those fruit characteristics, the more savory/secondary elements become prominent, such as cream, honey, beeswax, mountains of minerals (think of granite from Yosemite), and especially a farm’s worth of savory herbs that I usually find in most red wines (oddly enough), such as rosemary.  And of course, the finish is smooth and lingering and probably coats the throat just as thoroughly as the wine coats the wine bowl.

If you’ve never had a Sauterne before, here’s a very brief history.  Sauternes are made in a region of Bordeaux (Sauternais) and is basically a late-harvest blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle that has been purposely affected by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), which causes the grapes to become partially “raisinized” and gives the wine that rich, creamy, deeply-flavored and distinctive profile. 

Though a lot of Sauternes share a similar flavor profile, this version has more of a savory herb element that I absolutely adore.  Yes, there’s the usual cream, honey, tropical fruits, and slightly earthy elements, but the savory herbs in the background really seal the deal for me.  This wine is so good I would actually consider giving-up Port (not that I could afford to do that).  It’s really THAT good! 

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

We had this wine for dessert after having Korean BBQ for dinner and thought it would contrast nicely to the spicy Korean food.  Sure enough, it was the perfect spoil.  I’m not a big fan of drinking Ports or Sauternes with food/desserts (I prefer to enjoy these marvelous dessert wines all by themselves since they can be fulfilling to incredible depths of pleasure all by themselves), but I would imagine this wine would pair well with fruit tarts (especially those made with summer fruits like peaches and apricots) and cheeses (the more pungent the better, I would think). 

AGING POTENTIAL

This wine is drinking beautifully right now but Sauternes are famous for aging nicely for decades.  I’ve personally never had a 100-year-old Sauterne but with the level of alcohol, acids, sugar, and tannins in this wine I would imagine/guess that this wine would age well for at least fifty years.  Personally, if I had another bottle of this 8-year-old wine in my cellar, it wouldn’t last much beyond the end of 2013.

SCORE (on a 100-point scale)

93

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD – EXCELLENT

WINERY WEBSITE

Unknown