Flight 5 - A Sweet Ending The last flight of the evening was a flight of 3 Sauternes, including the great Chateau d'Yquem. Rabaud-Promis and Raymond-Lafon were the only ones showing unfortunately as the d'Yquem was corked enough that we knew it and thus wasn't judged. Both the RL and RP were a blend of 80-20 Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the traditional Sauternes blend. The difference besides the vintage was the oak maturation. RL gets 3 years in new oak while the RP sees only 12-14 months in new oak. The Raymond-Lafon 1996 showed the 3 full years of new oak and a full on sweet and dry attack of honey, candied peach, and marmalade all accented by the telltale pungency of the fungus botrytis cinerea. Custard and creamy notes delivered here as well amping up the flavor and body perception, with a clean and dry finish.
The RP showed an elegant and lighter attack because of the lighter vintage and less oak used in the maturation process. More notes of juicy stony fruits and sweet citrus showed here. This was a nice contrast to the RL.
Botrytis cinerea, aka "Noble Rot", gives the Sauternes wines a musky, but pure and sweet texture. The fungus evaporates the water in a healthy grape, thus naturally concentrating the juice and flavor in the grape.
Flight 5 - A Sweet Ending The last flight of the evening was a flight of 3 Sauternes, including the great Chateau d'Yquem. Rabaud-Promis and Raymond-Lafon were the only ones showing unfortunately as the d'Yquem was corked enough that we knew it and thus wasn't judged. Both the RL and RP were a blend of 80-20 Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the traditional Sauternes blend. The difference besides the vintage was the oak maturation. RL gets 3 years in new oak while the RP sees only 12-14 months in new oak. The Raymond-Lafon 1996 showed the 3 full years of new oak and a full on sweet and dry attack of honey, candied peach, and marmalade all accented by the telltale pungency of the fungus botrytis cinerea. Custard and creamy notes delivered here as well amping up the flavor and body perception, with a clean and dry finish.
The RP showed an elegant and lighter attack because of the lighter vintage and less oak used in the maturation process. More notes of juicy stony fruits and sweet citrus showed here. This was a nice contrast to the RL.
Botrytis cinerea, aka "Noble Rot", gives the Sauternes wines a musky, but pure and sweet texture. The fungus evaporates the water in a healthy grape, thus naturally concentrating the juice and flavor in the grape.
Sauternes, Graves, Bordeaux, France
