2001 vintage guide for Sauternes and Barsac

See Decanter's vintage guide for Sauternes and Barsac 2001

Sauternes and Barsac 2001

Keep

A very great vintage, with wonderful succulence and aromatic complextity.

5/5

Weather Conditions

Enjoying the same ideal vintage conditions throughout August and September as Bordeaux‘s dry whites, the three sweet white grapes were also favoured by October’s perfect Botrytis weather. Regular showers with warm days, cool nights and soft, dry breezes during the sunny afternoons provided ideal conditions for the fungus to grow. This helped concentrate the musts, which are showing great aromatic complexity and the typical ‘rôti’ style for noble rot.

Best Appellations

All the sweet white appellations achieved excellent quality, though perhaps Sauternes, with its inimitable, succulent sweetness, benefited more than Barsac from the ideal vintage conditions this year.

Best Producers

Sauternes

Yquem and Rieussec are the stars, with Guiraud, Suduiraut and de Malle also achieving remarkable quality.

Barsac

Coutet is the top performer for this vintage, with Doisy-Védrines and Doisy-Daëne close behind. De Myrat and Nairac are runners-up.