FR: Bordeaux Sweet Wine AOPs Flashcards
Sauternes communes of production
- Barsac (largest for production, also its own AC)
- Sauternes
- Fargues
- Preignac
- Bommes
[2200ha]
Sauternes grapes
Muscadelle
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Gris
Sémillon
Sauternes min. ABV & RS?
min 45 g/l RS
12% acquired, 15% potential
Earliest release date for Sauternes AC?
June 30 of year following harvest
Yields, planting density for Sauternes?
6500 vines/ha
25 hl/ha
- overcropping delays maturation, Grapes need to be fully ripe when botrytis sets in to make the best wine, so ripening at time of botrytis is critical. Careful control of yields impacts timing of ripening
Sauternes’ sweet wine production dates to what century?
18th
French word for noble rot
pourriture noble
Sauternes Premier cru supérieur
Only 1 - Chateau d’Yquem
Sauternes is at the convergence of what rivers?
Ciron + Garonne
How does botrytis actually happen
Starts at flowering. Flowers drop, openings where the stems were attached allow spores to enter. ~30% of grapes are colonized.
*dormant until grapes start to mature, inhibited by grape’s anti-botrytis mechanisms
*spores awaken at maturity, eats sugar from the inside - not just from the outside. Eats sugar first, can consume 50% of grape contents. Then attacks acidity.
**needs humidity to activate spores
**botrytis is an irregular event with uneven infections, hence necessity for tries. 3-4x is normal
Passerillage
Shriveled grapes with high sugar and no botrytis
Pourri Plein
Botrytis stage: purple-green; spores will have consumed sugar without increasing concentration of acid and flavors. Less sweet than a non-botrytis grape. An early stage.
Cryoextraction
*is allowed in Sauternes
PURPOSE: fixes dilution in rainy vintages
Chilling allows water content to turn into ice - frozen fruit is pressed and frozen moisture contnent is compacted and removed
**the more manipulative strategy would be to turn pourri plein bunches @14-15º to concentration at 20º
**invented 1980’s in BDX
Moelleux vs Liquoreux
Moelleux is just a late harvest sweet wine
Liquoreux is a botrytised sweet wine
Typical ABV / RS levels for Sauternes
13.5 - 14% ABV + 80 to 100 gl RS
*climate change = 120 - 160 gl RS range becoming more normal
(min. 45gl RS / 12% ABV)
Botrytis development in Sauternes
- Ciron is colder than the Garonne = early morning mists where they converge
- differences in subsoil temps encourage heavy morning dew in communes further from river (ex Sauternes)
Sauternes soils?
Gravel, clay, sand
*Barsac has reddish sand and clay over limestone subsoil - unique from the rest of the AC
Typical encepagement in Sauternes
80% Semillon, 20% Sauv Blanc
* Semillon’s thin skins and larger, looser clusters favor botrytis development
* SB isn’t as susceptible and has tighter bunches. Un-botrytised SB will add acid/aromatics
* Muscadelle ripens early - typically when botrytis is just beginning to set. Also susceptible to black rot
Climens uses no SB; Guiraud has a higher than normal proportion
Trie de Nettoyage
pre-harvest removal of damaged/compromised bunches (mold, black rot, insect damage, uneven ripening)
Haut-Barsac
- Ironically named - only 20M
- Best sector of Barsac, located on a plateau
- reddish sand and clay over limestone subsoil
Sauternes villages - most planted to least planted
1 Barsac
#2 Preignac
#3 Sauternes
#4 Bommes
#5 Fargues
Sauternes 1er Cru
- Guiraud
- La Tour Blanche, Bommes
- de Rayne-Vigneau, Bommes
- Suduiraut, Preignac
- Rieussec, Fargues
- Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Bommes
- Clos Haut-Peyraguey, Bommes
- Rabaud-Promis, Bommes
- Sigalas-Rabaud, Bommes
Loupiac AOP
sweet whites - passerillage and botrytis, hand-harvested in tries. Usual BDX whites.
*min. 45gl RS
