2022 Château Suduiraut “Lion de Suduiraut” Bordeaux Blanc Sec, AOC Bordeaux, France.
Wonderfully electric in the glass this Lion de Suduiraut Blanc Sec shines a vivid yellow/gold in hue and has lovely orange blossom aromatics that leads to a concentrated, but steely dry medium bodied palate of tangy lemon curd, gooseberry/grapefruit, mango, key lime, white peach and tart melon fruits, along with wet stones, delicate herbs, almond paste and a touch of exotic clove spice. This crisply focused and lively Bordeaux Blanc is led by Semillon, along with Sauvignon Blanc and the rare Sauvignon Gris, which gives a more structured mouth feel and a certain level of grip, adding to he wine’s depth and unique nature, leaning on a dense lemony tanginess, which I loved here. I kept thinking that this would go great with grilled shrimp, steaming hot mussels and or briny raw oysters! I must say, Dry Bordeaux wines are not a category I usually gravitate to, so I was thrilled to try this Suduiraut and find it so rewarding, thanks to my friends at Lady Somm Carmel, who got me into this one. Mostly known for their sweet golden nectars, Sauternes, which I have luckily had many times, the Château Suduiraut also does dry whites, with this Lion de Suduiraut seeing 70% stainless and 30% oak fermentation and aging. Made from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris grapes, picked and processed separately, with the Sauvignon Blanc and Gris getting a short few hours of skin maceration, while the Semillon is just slowly pressed and settled, to avoid harsh phenolics. The maturing lasts close to a year, to allow things to integrate, but also deliver clarity and transparency, as seen here.
The legendary Château Suduiraut, an original Premier Cru Classé in1855, is one of the great historic vineyards of Sauternes, making some of the top sweet wines of the Bordeaux region, along side names like Château D’Yquem, Château Coutet and Château Climens to name a few. The winery says a rigorous selection in the vineyard and in the cellars ensures the high quality in the production of the Château Suduiraut’s wines, including the sweet and dry offerings. While I’ve had many wonderful experiences with Suduiraut over the years and have enjoyed incredible cellar aged and youthful examples of the sweet wines, I had not really explored their dry bottlings, which include an old vine Grand Vin and a pure Semillon, along with a basic white, as well as this Lion series Blanc Sec. Suduiraut says the fresh style Lions de Suduiraut Blanc Sec offers an immediate pleasures and is crafted to be a serious food friendly offering to pair with appetizers and or fish and poultry dishes, and it was great with soft cheeses. To produce this wine, the winery selected a specific plot of (the) Château Suduiraut vineyard, planted with Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, with vines that average 20 years old. Set on fine gravel, along with clay areas, especially suited for Semillon, and sandy terroir here brings out fruit aromas and a beautiful freshness or vibrancy in the wine and I was impressed by the depth, mineral tone and complexity of this 2022. While the team at Suduiraut says Its bright aromatic expression makes it an ideal wine to be savored in its youth, this vintage has plenty of substance and balance to age nicely for a decade or more. Now, I’m a lot more curious about the Grand Vin Dry Suduiraut offerings, especially the Pur Semillon!
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive