What an amazing nose of tropical fruits like lychees, mangoes and pineapples, with botrytis spice, too. Full and very layered with candied apple, tangerines and kumquats. Sweet and so balanced. Super brightness, too. Acidity balances it out. Pure semillon. Production was only 4 hectoliters per hectare.
On another level, the 2020 Château Suduiraut is flat-out stunning and boasts a phenomenal array of orange blossom, honeyed minerality, lychee nut, caramelized peach, and assorted spices. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it nevertheless has the vintage’s riveting purity and precision. Sauternes doesn't get much better.
Orange zest and juice on the nose, rich flowing caramel, honeysuckle, white flowers, white chocolate, grapefruit, lemon drops and wild honey. Unctuous and sweet, a lovely deepening of the sugary lemon, white chocolate, pineapple flavour, but so appealing, so round and balanced, still with bitter edges that don't give this a cloying aspect. Clean and precise, this has been well worked, it’s so appealing in the mouth with juicy acidity but also structure and length and a sense of seriousness in the bitter tang that lingers on the tongue. Structured, sophisticated, nuanced and detailed with a beautiful overall weight. I love the complexity, sheer enjoyment and satisfaction. 50% new oak, 50% one year for 18 months. 137g/l.
TWI
97pts
The Wine Independent
The 2020 Suduiraut, 100% Semillon, is pale to medium lemon-gold in color. It needs a little swirling to unlock vibrant scents of apple pie, pineapple upside-down cake, and pear tart, followed by hints of saffron, crushed stones, salted almonds, and acacia honey with a hint of jasmine tea. The palate is a firework display of pears, apples, baking spices, and floral notes, framed by a racy backbone and creamy texture, finishing long and layered.
With 137 grams per liter of residual sugar, the 2020 Suduiraut possesses an exotic, deep bouquet of litchi, mango, pineapple, peach and ripe orchard fruits. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated with a stunning rôti—the French term for the consequence of noble rot—it’s layered and textured with a fleshy core of fruit and a perfumed finish with notes of curry leaf and ginger, underlined by a gastronomic bitterness. The harvest took place between September 16 and November 5, encompassing one of the longest in the contemporary estate’s history yet yielding a mere 8.5 hectoliters per hectare. This 100% Sémillon was matured for 20 months in 50% new oak barrels and 50% one-year-old barrels and will offer a broad drinking window.
The 2020 Suduiraut, 100% Sémillon in this vintage, is a dense, tightly wound wine that is going to need a number of years to come around. Passionfruit, ginger, spice, mint, apricot and tangerine peel build nicely in the glass. The 2020 is a blend of four picks from mid-September to early November. All the elements are so nicely balanced. The 2020 is simply exquisite.
This wine is pure Sémillon, giving richness. The weight gets a massive lift from acidity and aromatic, spicy honey. The wine's balance is impeccable, with poise and elegance, and it will age well. Drink from 2026.
A bold, unctuous style, with generous apricot, papaya and creamed yellow apple notes coated liberally with marzipan, pecan and warm pie crust accents. For fans of the old power style of Sauternes. Drink now through 2035.