The Sauternais lies 40 km south-east of Bordeaux, between the Garonne and the Landes forest. Its sweet wines come from white grapes touched by noble rot in damp autumn fog.
The wine
The Sauternais is a sweet-wine area of 1,900 hectares, 40 km south-east of Bordeaux, between the left bank of the Garonne and the Landes forest. It covers five communes: Sauternes, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac and Barsac.
What sets it apart is noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). It attacks ripe white grapes only when autumn is mild, humid and foggy, neither too dry nor too rainy, and the little river Ciron is part of that setting. Plantings are 80% sémillon, 19% sauvignon and 1% muscadelle.
Two appellations share the area. Sauternes soils are clay, limestone and sand, while Barsac soils are clay, limestone, gravel and sand. Barsac growers can declare their harvest as either Sauternes or Barsac, and any Barsac wine must contain at least 45 grams per litre of fermentable sugars. Each year a tasting of a sample from each winery decides whether the Sauternes appellation is granted to that production.
The area is small. About 140 winegrowers make 4 million bottles a year, and the vineyard is only 2% of the Bordeaux total. In the 1855 classification, Château d'Yquem is the only estate in Sauternes ranked premier cru supérieur (Grand Premier Cru).
Visiting
Base yourself in Sauternes village or in Barsac. Sauternes has Château d'Yquem, Château Guiraud and the Maison du Sauternes, while Barsac has Château Climens and Château Coutet.
By train, the TER from Bordeaux Saint-Jean stops at Barsac and then Preignac, and the ride takes about 45 to 47 minutes. From Paris that means one change, at Bordeaux Saint-Jean. If you drive, the tourist office's "Grands châteaux en Sauternais" route has five stops and runs 29 km from Podensac to Langon in 35 minutes. Spit at tastings, or share the driving with someone who isn't tasting.
Fees and booking
Entry visits cost €25–45 ($27–49). Château Guiraud's entry tour is €25 ($27), and Château Climens' "Discover Climens" is €45 ($49) for 1 hour with a dry white and Premier Cru tasting. Longer formats climb: Guiraud's tours go up to €85 ($92), and Climens' vertical tasting is €110 ($119). Climens also offers a commented tasting of two wines for €20 ($22).
Château d'Yquem is in a different price bracket. Its visits are private and guided, last 90 minutes and cost €100–350 ($108–378) with tasting, so book ahead.
Château Coutet has several visit options lasting 1 to 1.5 hours, each starting with a tour of the vineyard, winery and barrel room. Ask Coutet and Climens about fees and booking rules before you set out.
The free option is the Maison du Sauternes, a winegrowers' association founded in 1979 at 14 Place de la Mairie in Sauternes. It offers free tastings of Sauternes and Barsac wines. The tourist office, Office de Tourisme Sauternes Graves Landes Girondines, has information offices in Sauternes and Langon.
Opening days
Château Guiraud is open daily from April 1 to November 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. From November 16 to March 31 it opens Monday to Saturday. It is closed on December 24, 25 and 31 and on January 1. Part of the cellar is closed for building work from March, so confirm what you will see when you book.
Opening days change with the season, so plan winter trips around those closures rather than assuming a château is open every day.
