Chateau Fontebride Sauternes 2018

Sauternes is the world's most famous production area for liquor white wine. These wines owe their high sweetness to the so-called “noble rot”. Now the trick to explain this clearly. The cold water of the Ciron that flows into the warmer water of the Garonne creates morning mists in the autumn that linger on the slopes. This causes the grapes to become moist and, in the most ideal conditions, a small fungus, botritis cinerea, adheres to the grapes. The grapes affected by this fungus will dry out and quickly lose up to 50% of their water volume. However, the amount of acids and sugars will remain high, so that the grapes have a relatively higher concentration. A good liquor wine is therefore very sweet, but also lively and elegant and therefore not bulky and syrupy. Here they are harvested by hand and several times because the grapes will not all be affected at the same time.

Chateau Rieussec, where this wine is produced, has been owned by the famous Rothschild family since 1989. The Chateau is located on the border of the municipalities of Fargues and Sauternes and is the neighbor of the world famous Chateau d'Yquem. The blend consists of approximately 85% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle. About 70% of the harvest is fermented in oak and the rest in stainless steel. The wine then matures for another 18 months in oak barrels.

It is a very rich and aromatic wine with notes of honey, vanilla, peach, almond, apricot and candied fruit.