Chateau Suduiraut - Lions de Suduiraut Sauternes 2018 (375ml)
Price: $19.99
| Producer | Chateau Suduiraut |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Varietal | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Size | 375ml |
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Lions de Suduiraut has been specifically designed to reveal the pleasures of tasting Sauternes wines. With a specific blending style made of Semillon and Sauvignon blanc, it gives a unique personality to the wine. Smooth, subtel, fresh and mineral, with a creative profile, Lions de Suduiraut is modern and pleasant to taste young.
Vintage conditions
The 2018 vintage was characterized by wet weather and mild temperatures. We recorded an average of 90 mm of rain until bud break, which started the first week of April, a week later than in recent years. With high rainfall throughout the winter and spring, cryptogamic pressure was present. Mildew became a concern, particularly following the rainy periods of 14th to 18th May and 4th to 8th June. Foliage was marked by the parasite but fortunately the outbreak was contained. A hot and dry summer helped to reverse the situation. We were spared by the hailstorm of 15th July that hit the western part of the appellation. At the end of the season, the grapes were able to reach a perfect maturity and we were able to harvest plot by plot.
The harvest took place from 10th October to 9th November, with a total of four selective pickings. The very dry weather in September was not conducive to the development of botrytis and we had very little shrivelling in the vineyard. We therefore waited for the Botrytis Cinerea fungus to appear. A rainy period from 6th to 10th October accelerated the spread of botrytis but without much concentration. We were nonetheless able to start the first selective picking on 10th October, two weeks later than usual. This picking gave the lowest yield in 15 years, with 30 hectolitres in four lots.
More rainfall from 15th to 16th October gave rise to renewed hopes and we started a second, more generous, more concentrated picking from 22nd to 26th October. We had to be conscientious in order to obtain the usual quality. It felt like a repetition of 2008, when we had a lengthy wait between each picking for the grapes to become desiccated. After a sunny weekend, we started the third picking on 29th October. But yet again, there was a loss of grapes and we only just managed to achieve the concentration required. We finished on 8th and 9th November with a final picking to round off the harvest. The yield was between 5 and 6 hectolitres per hectare.
Tasting note
With a deep and brilliant golden yellow colour, Lions de Suduiraut 2018 offers a subtle bouquet of spices, peppermint, and fresh pineapple. It is full-bodied and crisp, accentuated by tart, very fruity notes. The finish is clean, spicy with white pepper and gives a very digestible side to the wine.
This more delicate vintage of Lions de Suduiraut has a generous and crisp profile.
Blend
97% Semillon 3% Sauvignon Blanc
Ageing
13% in new barrels, 87% from barrels of one vintage, for 12 months
