Definition: Sauternes

Sauternes is the product of a specific mesoclimate. The vineyards are located in a triangle bordered on one side by the Garonne, a river warmed by the tides, and on the other side by the Ciron, a cold river. This geographical configuration promotes autumn mists over the vineyards in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon. The morning humidity encourages the development of fungus (see botrytis) and the alternating sunshine activates the drying of the grapes. The quantities produced per unit area of this extraordinarily concentrated wine with a very long ageing potential are in the order of one to two decilitres per square metre, four to five times less than the red wine production of the great Médoc châteaux. The greatest Sauternes, but also the most expensive, is Château d'Yquem, the only premier cru supérieur in the official 1855 classification of white wines from Sauternes and Barsac. Since 1999, Château d'Yquem, still managed by Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces, has been majority-owned by the LVMH group (Louis Vuitton-Moët Hennessy).