2011 Lions de Suduiraut
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Tasting notes
Fine vintage and supposedly a lighter style but still from botrytised grapes. The ashiness noted earlier by Tam seems to have blown off and this is a full throated precocious Sauternes that there is no point in ageing but could serve as a great introduction to the style. I'm proposing to serve it with strawberries but it could also be served with chicken liver parfait and the like. QGV (JR)
Critic scores
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Gunpowder and ash to start, which does blow off slowly, leaving sweet notes of apple pie. Dense, baked apple and pear, opulent and honeyed without heaviness. A slight metallic note, which adds intereste rather than detracting from the whole. Orange peel. Tight long finish. GV (TC)
About the producer
Among the very best Sauternes estates, Ch. Suduiraut is owned by AXA Millésimes, which also manages Pichon Baron. The team works meticulously to select the finest fruit from its 91 hectares of vines, bordering Yquem. The resulting wines are intensely concentrated, balanced, complex and age-worthy.