Sauternes wine tour with a private chauffeur

Sauternes lies some fifty kilometres south of Bordeaux, where the Ciron, a small cool river, meets the warmer Garonne. In autumn, this encounter produces morning mists that clear under the afternoon sun — the precise conditions for noble rot to develop.

This fungus, Botrytis cinerea, settles on ripe grapes — mostly Sémillon, with Sauvignon Blanc and a little Muscadelle — and shrivels them, concentrating their sugars and aromas. Harvest is done by hand, in several successive passes known as tries, berry by berry, picking only the fruit at the right stage. Yields are among the lowest in the region.

The 1855 classification already included the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac. Château d'Yquem holds a place apart as the only estate ranked premier cru supérieur, a distinction unique in all of Bordeaux.