WTN: Ch. Suduiraut (Sauternes) 1983

Another recent addition to my cellar.

The slightly burnished gold colour generates a fascinating brightness and a suggestion of youthfulness. The bouquet floods from the Riedel upon pouring, filling the nostrils with a complex mix of marzipan, honeyed apricots, creme brulee', butterscotch, spicy oak and that elusive volatile ester that permeates virtually every great Sauterne I've ever tried - if only someone would tell me what it is! The palate possesses a rich, honeyed and viscous personality without a hint of heaviness. There's sufficient acidity to cleanse the palate, a wealth of fruit as per that found in the bouquet and the finish is spectacularly long and holds its intensity for the duration with great aplomb. I'd rate it about 92 points with little chance of this getting any better but should hold for another decade, possibly a little more.

FWIW, I believe Robert Parker last tried this in 1990, gave it 87 points (Very Good) and suggests it had no improvement in it. Thanks Bob! I've been drinking this wine only for the last 10 years and it has improved greatly in that period. Although every bottle seems a little different (thanks to the vagaries of our beloved (not!) cork) I've yet to try a bottle that has been less than excellent in quality.

Great note, David, as always, thanks. We had a vertical of Suduiraut in our wine club, AuZone, a while ago, but I can't remember if the '83 was there (too many wines drunk, so I tend to forget, it seems...). I'll check my notes when I come home from my vacation and will report my impressions, if we tasted it.
Hope to see you in chat later today (tomorrow for you, I gather)
Anders

Great note, David, as always, thanks. We had a vertical of Suduiraut in our wine club, AuZone, a while ago, but I can't remember if the '83 was there (too many wines drunk, so I tend to forget, it seems...). I'll check my notes when I come home from my vacation and will report my impressions, if we tasted it.
Hope to see you in chat later today (tomorrow for you, I gather)
Anders

Thanks for the kind words, Anders, and, yes, I will be attending Sunday Chat. Looking forward to another session of insane banter and fantastic @#$%-stirring with you and the other usual suspects - and without a doubt, some of the nicest people going around.

yes, I will attending Sunday Chat.

It will be nice to see you in chat again, David, it's been quite a while.
BTW, that purchase of older wines you did must have been quite successful! We've got quite a streak of positive notes coming from you lately. Very nice, and keep 'em coming,
Anders

1983 Suduiraut was a good but not great vintage there. 1982 was a much better vintage there, bucking the trend of almost all other estates. Glad you like it. Now try to find a well stored Doisy Daene.

1983 Suduiraut was a good but not great vintage there. 1982 was a much better vintage there, bucking the trend of almost all other estates. Glad you like it. Now try to find a well stored Doisy Daene.

Thanks for the tip-off, Harry. I've drunk quite a lot of '83 Sauternes over the years, but never a Doisy Daene. I'll keep an eye out for it on the secondary market. Provenance is always the tricky issue with this age of wine/type of purchase. I've also got a reasonable quantity of the '83 Coutet from the same source as the '83 Suduiraut. Must open one and write a note. A recent tasting of the '81 Coutet was, qualitatively, as similarly impressive as the '83 Suduiraut. I have tried the '82 Suduiraut some years ago and thought the wine more open and lavish than the tight and reticent '83. I firmly believe the '83 Suduiraut to be somewhat of a sleeper wine of the vintage. FWIW, I've been through a terrible batch of the same friend's 1983 Rieussec - a wine so dark in colour I'd describe it as akin to an ancient, extremely dense Rutherglen ToKay - horribly passed it and almost impossible to drink. Other wine collectors from all around the world tell me their stocks of this wine, although very developed in colour and not for long aging are wonderful examples of a great Sauternes. I wonder if the batch I refer to, was badly cooked somewhere before it reached my friend's very cold underground cellar?

Hi again, David, I found out that I actually had brought my notebook with the notes from our Suduiraut tasting to the cottage, so I could check my impressions.
The 1983 was indeed present at our tasting, even in the shape of two half-bottles(!) Interestingly, they were rather different, unfortunately none of them were very too good. The better of the two had a rather deep orange-yellow colour and a mature, slightly tired but OK nose with notes of dill and bread.In fact a bit similar to old champagne. Sweet, round and evolved with fire and bitterness. A long, fiery, burnt aftertaste which was OK but a bit raw. The other bottle had a lighter colour and an almost youthful nose, vegetal, grapey and with a whiff of sulphur. Acidic and spicy taste, very fiery and rather lean and charmless. Both bottles were evidently far from the charming ones you have been able to enjoy. I suppose they were from ordinary bottles? Maybe this illustrates the different developments of wines in different sized bottles.
The other vintages we tasted at the vertical were:
1976 - nicely creamy mature wine with dried figs, nuts and varnish. A bit dryish, woody finish, but still charming.
1988 - fat and concentrated. Fiery and a bit dominated by alcohol. Touch of cyanide. Powerful but lacking zest. Still rather good.
1997 - deep and surprisingly developed with honey, wood, botrytis and mushrooms. Some ethyl acetate. Sweet, spicy and broad. Loads of honey. Slightly thin aftertaste.
1989 Crème de Tête (the cuvée prestige), from magnum. The clear winner of the evening. Deep and mature with loads of honey, smoke and bread. Sweet, oily, broad and chewable taste. Very creamy and a lingering, sweet, slightly fiery aftertaste. Very good. Our host played us a trick by serving this wine both as the first and the last of the wines we tasted (all wines are poured into and served from caraffes). The first one got much better votes that the second one, which either shows how the impression of a wine is affected by what one has tasted before, or that we are not very skilled and consistent tasters. I prefer to believe the first explanation...

Cheers and have a good vacation together with your 28 bottles of wine!
Anders

Sorry, Anders, make that 29 ... just had to throw in a bottle of 1996 Sir Winston in case we need a palate cleanser somewhere along the way.

Sorry, Anders, make that 29 ... just had to throw in a bottle of 1996 Sir Winston in case we need a palate cleanser somewhere along the way.

Mmm, that's not a bad choice, David!
/A

FYI, I had the great fortune to host the current winemakers from Ch. Suduiraut and Ch. Pichon Baron for a day in Sonoma a couple of months ago.

Not only were they both delightful guys, I can tell you the relatively youthful Suduiraut winemaker is very intent on maintaining the particular style of Suduiraut that (to me) is a clear, compelling counterpoint to that of their neighboring d'Yquem. The winemaker is always looking for a clear and precise acidity that supports long and elegant aging and results in less cloying examples of the breed.

I've come, over the years, to the realization that while I can certainly appreciate the Chateau d'Yquems that are forced upon me ( ), I vastly prefer either the Suduiraut, Coutet a Barsac, or Rieussec. And pretty much in that order of preference.

That's not to say that I'd kick a Doisy-Daene out of bed, mind you.

FYI, I had the great fortune to host the current winemakers from Ch. Suduiraut and Ch. Pichon Baron for a day in Sonoma a couple of months ago.

Not only were they both delightful guys, I can tell you the relatively youthful Suduiraut winemaker is very intent on maintaining the particular style of Suduiraut that (to me) is a clear, compelling counterpoint to that of their neighboring d'Yquem. The winemaker is always looking for a clear and precise acidity that supports long and elegant aging and results in less cloying examples of the breed.

I've come, over the years, to the realization that while I can certainly appreciate the Chateau d'Yquems that are forced upon me ( ), I vastly prefer either the Suduiraut, Coutet a Barsac, or Rieussec. And pretty much in that order of preference.

That's not to say that I'd kick a Doisy-Daene out of bed, mind you.

Hi Hoke,

I'm basically in your corner with your preferred stylistic choices above except I've found Rieussec particularly hard work (or at least the last few I've tried from the 90's, particularly several bottles of the 1990). Haven't tried the 2001, it must be said. I've found the Chateau's offerings to be decadent, far too rich, fat and way OTT for my tastes. Now, if you'd inserted Climens in its place, that would be a different story!

As far as d'Yquem is concerned' I was treated to the magnificent 1967 (97 points, drink now) and the even more incredible 1975 (98 points drink now-2050+) side-by-side at dinner a year and a half ago - an experience I'll never forget. I predict the ohso youthful 1975 will be a 100 point wine in a decade or two, once it loses some of its "baby fat"!

David:

Re the Rieussec---if I was consistent, I'd be even more boring than I already am. Just no accounting for personal taste, eh? And I certainly don't have anything against Climens; quite the contrary.

I have at least been fortunate enough to have both the '67 and '75 mentioned, although not like you with both at one sitting...but perhaps that would've sent me into some sort of diabetic coma or such---and I agree they are both quite stupendous wines. It's just that in general I consider d'Yquem to be often cloying and heavy-handed, even monolithic, and not as faceted as my pantheon. It's why I appreciate the Suduiraut as much as I do.

That said, if it was entirely left up to me, I'd likely pick a German or a Loire sweetie as a dessert wine, over a Sauternes, almost every single time.

(Alex R., if you're reading this, I apologize in advance for shocking you so. )

[James Roscoe]

My experience is pretty limited, but I had a 1955 Suduirat in Dec. of '06 that was awfully full of life. It was probably the best wine I have ever tasted. It is certainly the oldest. The older German sweeties I've had (from the '70s) do not compare and mostly have fallen apart quickly upon being open. That said, I will be happy to taste them side-by-side with some Huets or other Loire stickies if anyone is offering.