SAUTERNES / BARSAC
Clos Haut-Peyraguey 1er Cru
(70% Sm, 30% SB; 148g/l RS)
SF | There were fairly long intervals between the three main tries, with the grapes harvested between September 19 and October 7. The wine is golden of color and aromatically tilts modestly toward the exotic end of the Sauternes spectrum. One third of the barrels are new. Crisp balancing acidity and richly comforting notes of honeysuckle, barley sugar, and pineapple adorn the palate. The finish is clean and satisfying. | 93–94
Château Coutet 1er Cru
(97% Sm, 2% SB, 1% Mus; 155g/l RS)
SF | Aged for 12 months in barrel, with another six in stainless steel, this joyful Coutet shares the charm of 2016 with the quiet power of 2015, according to cellar master Laurier Girardot. The juxtaposition of high acidity (tartaric acid is only degraded when the temperature exceeds 35°C [95°F]) and perfect botrytic conditions. Perfect balance; a classic Barsac nose of limes, quince, meringue, and flint. The sweetness lends barley sugar and a hint of truffle; builds with a subtle, silky crescendo. Very accomplished. | 95–96
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Opalie
(53% SB, 43% Sm, 4% SG)
SF | The Opalie, named with a deliberate, mineral-allusive charm, was harvested the last week of August. Aromas of spring flowers, blossom, and lemon pith, almond essence and wet stone. The Sauvignon exuberance lifts the ensemble, but is grounded, up to a point, by the dry extract of the 83-year-old Semillon, with flint and almond evidenced, courtesy the limestone soil. Lees aging has been discreet but decisive. The wine has a broad, gentle palate, its acidity poised and nourishing. Good mid-term aging potential, with plenty of gastronomic inclination. | 91–92
Doisy du Broca 2ème Cru
(66% Sm, 34% SB; 164g/l RS)
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SF | Less known than either Daëne or Vedrinnes, but making up one of the 27 originally classified growths, Du Broca was brought back into the Dubourdieu fold in 2014. Extensive replanting ensued, the 2019 vintage hosting the relaunch. Given the youth of the vines, this is an impressive effort, with notes of sour quince, exotic fruit, and honey harmonious and suitably tense. | 93–94
Château Doisy-Daëne 2ème Cru
(88% Sm, 12% SB; 155g/l RS)
SF | Sophisticated, elegant, and pure, but also generous and mouth-coating. A velvety, tarte tatin texture supported by gingerbread and malt, with amplitude and tension entwined. Less overt and more subtle than Du Broca, this is nonetheless a powerful statement of Barsac aptitude. | 94–95
Château Doisy-Daëne L’Extravagant
(100% SB; 220g/l RS)
SF | This well-named cuvée has as its raison d’être, according to M Dubourdieu, the recapturing of the spirit of 1855, when Sauvignon Blanc dominated the sweet wines. Today, 80% of plantings are Semillon, which is perceived as more reliable when it comes to the vagaries of botrytic infection. The 2025 offers a rare and intense expression of Sauvignon Blanc, raised in 100% new oak. Honied, rich, and viscous, this is deliberately posited antithetically to the more nuanced, Semillon-dominated Doisy. Marmalade, dried apricot, barley sugar, and a hint of caramel—intensity that, somehow, fails to cloy. 2025 was a ”joyful year…easy to manage,” per Jean-Jacques; the wine impresses with its crystalline purity and its teasing lick of salinity on the finish. | 95–96
Doisy-Daëne Sémillon Sur Calcaire
(100% Sm)
SF | A magisterial 50–70-year-old parcel, now vinified separately for the third time (first in 2023), its waxy, grapefruit thrust imparting great authority and energy. A pithy Sauternes tale, earmarked by excellence. | 93–94
Château Doisy-Védrines 2ème Cru
(80% Sm, 15% SB, 5% Mus; 140g/l RS)
SF | Cloves and honeysuckle, elegant spice, with the tropical fruit (pineapple and guava) discreet, ditto the intimations of a creamy texture. Balanced and harmonious and teasingly understated, so true to the signature Barsac style. | 93–94
Château de Fargues
(85% Sm, 15% SB; 140g/l RS)
SF | Nostalgic Spanish gold and a seductive aromatic of pâtisserie, honeycomb, and Mirabelle plum. Behind this, we detect lanolin and dried apricot, fascinating precursors to cerebral intrigue. The wine does not presume or tilt toward exoticism; it is far better than that. The mid-palate is concentrated, but with modest alcohol and a conspicuously linear structure, along with hints of white pepper and marmalade to chase down the finish, which is richly satisfying. François Amirault has now retired (a great loss) but his replacement, Martin Hugerot (there may be a botrytis joke lurking somewhere there if one anglicizes his surname), a Champenois who has also made sweet wine in Tokaj and the Loire Valley, is showing immense promise. The wine is matured in 40% new wood and, to me, captures all that is great in Sauternes when nature is generous. Yield 8hl/ha. | 97–98
Château Guiraud 1er Cru
(66% Sm, 27% SB, 7% SG)
SF | Deep gold, with a nose that is dominated by beeswax, pineapple, and honey; extravagant avant la lettre. Opulent, bittersweet indulgence follows, a pithy tension swathed in ripe, semi-tropical fruit; rounded and complex Sauternes. | 94–95
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1er Cru
(100% Sm; 175g/l RS)
SF | Lafaurie-Peyraguey has reduced its vine holdings by half (to 18ha [44 acres]), maintaining the classic 1855 parcels (le coeur de la cuvée, “the heart of the wine”), gravel dominating, but also with plots marked out by limestone and red clay. Simon Deleporte has fashioned an incredibly rich and concentrated grand vin from a modest 10hl/ha. Deep amber color; a nose of beeswax, dried apricot, and just a touch of caramel, then a palate that is big in every sense, counterbalanced, however, by moderate alcohol and with not a whisper of bitterness on the finish. Hints of blood orange and lavender add further interest. A glorious, unabashed indulgence. | 94–95
Château Rayne Vigneau 1er Cru
(70% Sm, 27% SB, 3% Mus; 150g/l RS)
SF | Patience was rewarded in Sauternes in 2025; four tries over a month from September 18, with a good deal of intermittent rain. Generous color; suede, almost amber. Characteristic Rayne gingerbread and sour honey on the nose, then a palate that is both exotic and nutty, with hints of pineapple and white chocolate, and firm, malty grip. The result refreshes and lifts on the finish but does not lack for a creamy mid-palate, with fig, quince, butterscotch, and apricot all falling into place. An appealing whiff of the orange grove at the back, a spicy denouement, and plenty of energy. | 93–94
Château Sigalas Rabaud 1er Cru
(100% Sm)
SF | From the more elegant, floral end of the Sauternes spectrum, a typically charming example from Sigalas Rabaud; chamomile and beeswax bookend the profile, with hints of exoticism (pineapple and mango) interspersed liberally. Neatly structured and refreshingly lifted on the finish; a highly successful example, its sugar (admittedly at a more modest level than some other sweet wines of the vintage) neatly accommodated | 93–94
Château Suduiraut 1er Cru
(100% Sm; 158g/l RS)
SF | A “relatively straightforward” harvest in 2025, with three tries, of which the second was the most significant (a first, passerillé selection comprises 10% of the blend). Dense, rich, and generous, with a distinct botrytis character and a beautiful aromatic of quince, linseed, and honeysuckle, a focused seam of acidity, and impressive concentration. Not too heavy, however, its 158g/l of residual sugar worn with ease and failing to compromise a gloriously uplifting éclat. | 96–97
Château Suduiraut Pur Sémillon
(100% Sm)
SF | An impressive, chalky grip, beeswax and pith in support, but plenty of refreshing, citric charm. A smoky, oily texture shrouds the pineapple and bitter-lemon notes, the oak assertive (20% new), but failing to compromise the purity of expression. A deft, enticing touch of salinity to finish. | 94–95
Château Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes
(66% Sm, 34% SB)
SF | Picked in late August, the wine rejoices in a juxtaposition of the beautifully unpredictable Semillon and the equally reassuring Sauvignon. Lemon zest, orange peel, hints of peach and aniseed. Energy and precision are key, complexity guaranteed, a subplot of grapefruit and beeswax, the freshness in no way compromised, the 14% new oak underwriting structural intent. | 93–94
Château La Tour Blanche 1er Cru
(77% Sm, 15% Mus, 8% SB)
SF | Ripe and tropical, yet with an impressive, pithy botrytis character and real tension on the finish. A very accomplished interplay between sugar and acid. Yield 6.5hl/ha. | 92–93
