1990 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes -- much darker in colour than expected, about a medium amber; wonderful nose of burnt caramel, like the smell of a just-flamed top of creme brulee; lots of butterscotch/caramel flavours, with honey and hints of peach in the background, hints of something that is reminiscent of bay leaf, not overly sweet but rich; medium-length finish with caramel and honey dominating. Around 91-92 pts.

This was the first Sauternes I had; I made the mistake of thinking all Sauternes were like this, so I bought lots of others, and have been disappointed ... until tasting the 1990 d'Yquem :-)


Thanks,
Peter

1990 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes

Tasted March 1, 2005 at an offline so brief comments only. Leftover 750ml bottle from two days previous that was still half full. Served in Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glasses. Color was amber at this point. I find this disconcerning leading me to question if this wine is maturing already. Could this happen as a result of being open two days? Nose of apricots, almonds and honey. Flavors of almond, honey and candied fruit. Quite a bit of residual sugar (I’m guessing) visible on the sides of the glass after drinking. If you have any of these in the cellar I’d recommend pulling them and checking the color. Not gone yet but I’d be thinking about pulling a cork on one soon.

From 750mL. Gold/amber colour. Aromas of cream, honey, botrytis, white flowers. Full-bodied, still showing great acidity. Like liquid foie gras on the palate, also showing honey and tropical fruit. Long finish, 45-50s. Drink now. 94 points (08/27/2005).

What do see as the life span of this wine? The bottles I have seen(when I was in NJ) seemed to be really dark for a 1990.

I thought this was quite dark as well, and would say to drink now.

Then again your tn notates great acidity so maybe this still will have a little future in front of it.

A 15 year old Suduiraut from a great year should be light to medium golden in color if stored ideally. The colors listed above indicate a prematurely aged Suduiraut, especially from a great year like 1990. I had the 1970 3 or 4 years ago and it was medium golden in color. It should take this wine more than 30 years to turn amber.

Board O,

There is no question that the color seems far to advanced for a Sauternes of this age. Then again it is tough to find a Sauternes that drinks like this for $35ish a 375, and $65ish a 750ml. I have had Suduirauts from the 70's and even the mid 50's that have been lighter in color than these.

to add (had) after have.

I still have one 1967 d'Yquem left and it's medium golden. My 1986 Rieussec is light golden.

This bottle was prematurely aged IMO. I didn't happen to note as much acidity as futronic. Perhaps I just missed it myself. This wine was really flavorful and quite tasty that evening but if I had bottles of this in my cellar with the same color I'd be popping them over the short term rather than chancing it.

a bunch of 1990 suduiraut have recently flooded the retail market. based on the bottles i saw in new jersey and these notes, i would question the pre-retail storage conditions.

The nice thing about buying Sauternes is the ability to dtermine the color without opening the bottle.

Wow! I completely forgot that I had had this wine before. Another sign of advancing age, I guess. In any event...

1990 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes -- (from 375 ml) medium gold colour; apricot, burnt caramel, and honey on the nose, with some light petrol; nice flavours in the mouth, pear, ripe peach, burnt caramel, full-bodied (15% alc), no heat; long finish. About 90-91 pts. Very tasty.

This bottle wasn't as dark as the 750 ml that I had a couple of years ago.