Best Sauternes 2018 wines: Where to look in a mixed year
The top wines are rich and luxurious but hail, mildew and a late-onset harvest provided plenty of challenges for Bordeaux's premier sweet wines.
Sauternes had the same issues to deal with in the first half of 2018 as all the other parts of Bordeaux in terms of mildew and hail.
Many estates in Sauternes and Barsac had lost significant amounts of their potential harvests in mid-July, when the second bout of hail hit the appellation pretty badly. Guiraud said in October that it did not intend to make a first wine from the 2018 vintage.Châteaux that weren’t too badly affected were able to relax for a short while once the weather improved, but drought concerns soon started to ring alarm bells.Extended dry and sunny weather during harvest makes everyone happy in Bordeaux, except for sweet wine producers.
Noble rot really only showed up in mid-October, thanks to light rain showers.
Picking then ran until the end of the first week of November. Yields are generally extremely low as a result and were under 5 hectolitres per hectare at some estates, including Coutet, Suduiraut and Fargues.
Average yield across Sauternes and Barsac was 16hl/ha.
All of this means that 2018 doesn’t have the freshness and brilliance of the best vintages, such as 2001 or 2007.
But there are many delicious and extremely concentrated wines. The sugars are reasonable, with residual sugar generally between 115-135g per litre, and acidity is often low. This has made many wines rich and luxurious.
Some naturally handled conditions better than others.
Coutet 2018 in Barsac, for example, has luscious fruit flavours with lovely minerality.
And my top scoring estate tasted en primeur, Doisy-Daëne, has a beautiful pull between sweetness and acidity that not everyone has achieved in this late-harvest year.
Sauternes 2018 wines to watch: Doisy-Daëne, Lafaurie-Peyraguey
Best Sauternes and Barsac 2018 wines
See all the Sauternes and Barsac 2018 wines tasted so far
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Château Doisy-Daëne, Sauternes, 2ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
Silky texture, noteable gunsmoke and cigar box that deepens the complexity and sense of interest, set alongside the citrus fruits, lime blossom and soft spices....
2018
Château Doisy-DaëneSauternes
Château Doisy-Daëne, L'Extravagant, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
As with the main wine at Doisy, this is a huge success in the vintage. It offers stunning texture with flavours that hug your palate,...
2018
Château Doisy-DaëneSauternes
Château Sigalas Rabaud, Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
This is lovely, a success in the vintage and one of the best on display, offering a silky texture and clear emphasis on precision and...
2018
Château Sigalas RabaudSauternes
Château Doisy-Védrines, Sauternes, 2ème Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
Extremely rich in texture on the attack. This is hugely concentrated with power and poise to the white peach and pear flavours, shot through with...
2018
Château Doisy-VédrinesSauternes
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
Extremely concentrated, with a gorgeous kick of bitter orange, lime zest, and concentrated saffron and white pepper spice. Satin in texture, this has less of...
2018
Château Lafaurie-PeyragueySauternes
Château Coutet, Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
Deep in colour, with strong peach and apricot pit flavours, and welcome touches of almond bitterness on the finish that help things to lift off...
2018
Château CoutetSauternes
Château Rieussec, Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France, 2018
This takes a minute to lift out of the glass, with a focus on texture more than aromatics, but it’s highly attractive with a luscious,...
2018
Château RieussecSauternes
Château Suduiraut, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
This is an enjoyable, luxurious and indulgent Sauternes. It’s extremely rich, dark and concentrated – in keeping with its tiny yields (5hl/ha in 2018, of...
2018
Château SuduirautSauternes
Château Liot, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
One of my favourites: it's juicy and well balanced, richly textured and beautifully indulgent as the best Sauternes are this year. It should be exceptional...
2018
Château LiotSauternes
Château Raymond-Lafon, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
There are some excellent aromatics on the nose here, although the focus still takes you to texture and palate rather than aromatics. It has rich...
2018
Château Raymond-LafonSauternes
Clos Dady, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
This is a highly pleasurable and enjoyable wine with flavours that hold the tension from beginning to end. There’s a good balance between intensity and...
2018
Clos DadySauternes
Château de Fargues, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
It's been a tough few years for de Fargues, and again here they are facing a vintage with painfully low yields of ujst 1.5hl/ha, barely...
2018
Château de FarguesSauternes
Château Bastor-Lamontagne, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France, 2018
This is good stuff and extremely enjoyable. It's a rich sunflower yellow in colour with aromatics that are succulent from the off. It has a...
2018
Château Bastor-LamontagneSauternes
