Wine Advisor
Suduiraut 2006
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from the chateau reserves at the estate. The ’06 Suduiraut is developing quite a striking bouquet with dried honey, marmalade, crushed white flowers and crushed pebbles mixed with a touch of sand. The palate is medium-bodied, lighter than the 07, with a taut viscous entry, good acidity, quite spicy and lively with tangy marmalade and orange rind towards the finish. Nice weight and focus but perhaps closing down a little.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. The Suduiraut is in a different league to its barrel showing when it seemed to lack a little vitality. This does not quite have the vigour of Yquem on the nose, but I think that it is rather closed at the moment but it unfurls gracefully with lanolin, beeswax, honeysuckle...but tightly coiled. The palate is viscous and waxy on the entry, good acidity, a shave of ginger, marmalade, lemon curd and apricot. It has a sensual residue of clear honey on the finish. Wonderful. Tasted January 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A lot of new oak on the nose with lemon curd, apple and a touch of honey. Good definition, with scents of white flowers developing all the time. The palate is quite extrovert with moderate acidity. Honey, peach and a touch of rosewater. Lacking a little weight on the finish but there is an attractive citrus kick that lends this Suduiraut freshness and poise. Tasted March 2007.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Sauternes 2006 ten-year on horizontal in Bordeaux. The 2006 Suduiraut has a dried pineapple, Aszu-scented bouquet that gains intensity with aeration, although it feels a little...unorthodox! It just comes across as more exotic and tropical than I was anticipating.The palate is medium-bodied with decent botrytised fruit, fresh and crisp with notes of bitter orange, honey and mandarin, quite saline on the edgy finish. Classy, very classy. Tasted April 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine is medium gold in color, with a flamboyant, buttery, intensely intoxicating nose of smoked tropical fruits, especially pineapple, melted caramel, and honeyed orange. Unctuously textured, with superb, full-bodied richness, good underlying acidity, and a stunning finish, it should have 30+ years of longevity.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Lively and elegant, the 2006 Suduiraut reveals aromas of baked pineapple, ripe orchard fruits, spices and a vanilla pod mingled with delicate notes of caramel. Medium to full-bodied, rich and seamless, it’s perfectly balanced with a fleshy core of fruit, an enrobing and deep texture with racy acids and a long, tense and mineral finish. This blend of 96% Sémillon and 4% Sauvignon Blanc, containing 138 grams per liter of residual sugar, was picked in three tries between September 11 and November 7 and was matured for 18m months in 50% new oak barrels and 50% one-year-old used barrels. It could age gracefully over the next 20 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2006 Suduiraut was raised in 50% new oak for 18 months, still has that distinctive Tokaji Aszú aroma that I have picked up upon on several previous bottles, attractive in its own Hungarian way. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous opening, quite sharp and pointed, fresh as a daisy and one of the most mineral-driven Suduiraut of the decade. There are touches of white pepper, almond flakes and bitter orange towards the saline finish that lingers in the mouth. This is what you might call a "very useful" Suduiraut. 143gm/L residual sugar. Tasted at the Suduiraut vertical at the château.
About the Producer
Chateau Suduiraut is located in the Sauternes appellation of Bordeaux, France, which is known for its rich and sweet noble rot wines. In the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac classification, Chateau d'Yquem is the only Grand Cru classed. In addition, Château d'Yquem occupies one of the 11 châteaux in the classification that are now classified as First Growths. Château d'Yquem has a long history: in 1580, Nicole d'Allard married Leonard de Suduiraut, and the estate took its name. At the end of the 18th century, Jean Joseph Duroy, nephew of a member of the Suduiraut family at the time, took over the estate and renamed it Cru du Roy. The emblems of the two families, Xukin and Duroy, were then fused together to form the present logo of the estate. The château is a palace-like building with a beautiful garden designed by Le Notre, Louis XIV's royal gardener. In 1992, AXA Millesimes, the French insurance giant, acquired Château Xugene. AXA Millesimes is a powerful group that also owns the famous Pauillac estate, Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron. The 91 hectares of vineyards at Château d'Azur are planted with 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon is a traditional Sauternes variety that provides powerful structure to the wines, bringing full-bodied flavors of roasted dried fruit, acacia flowers and candied fruit. Sauvignon Blanc, on the other hand, is an aromatic, high-acid variety with very distinctive aromas of citrus and white peach that add complexity and acidity to the wine. The soil is predominantly gravelly and sandy clay, which is permeable and poor, requiring the vines to be deeply rooted to extract nutrients, resulting in low yields and intense mineral flavors. The gravel on the surface of the soil also absorbs heat from the sun, which helps the grapes to ripen more quickly. The planting density of the Chateau Xugene vineyard is 7,000 vines per hectare, and the average age of the vines is 35 years. The vineyard's proximity to the Ciron and Garonne rivers, with cool nights, early autumn mists and sunny afternoons, creates the right conditions for the formation and growth of noble rot. The winery prunes the grapes short to allow the bunches to enjoy more sunlight. The harvesting process at Château Xugene is very delicate, with workers picking the grapes in batches according to the infestation of noble rot, and even picking a vine several times. In terms of winemaking, Château Xukin adheres to a philosophy of quality first. The hand-picked grapes undergo a long and careful pressing process to obtain the most aromatic juice, and the fermented wine is then matured in oak barrels for 18-24 months to allow the wine to develop its full flavor and structure. The winery has strict quality standards, and if the quality of the wine does not meet expectations in a given year, the winery will even abandon the production of the year's main wine, Chateau Suduiraut, Sauternes, France. Currently, Chateau Suduiraut produces three sweet white wines, including Chateau Suduiraut, Sauternes, France, which are the best expression of the Sauternes terroir.
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