All the other disricts of Bordeaux mapped here make wines which can be compared with one another.
Sauternes is different. The white wine of Sauternes is unique, which find its only real rival not in France but in Germany. (Trockenbeerenauslease). It depends on local conditions and very unusual winemaking technique. In great years the result can be sublime a very sweet liqued, like gold. But if it rains they can lose it all.The special technique which only the considerable chàteaux can afford to employ is to pick over the vinyard as many as 8-9 times, starting in september and sometimes going on until November. This is to take full advantage of the mould, known as Botrytis Cinerea to the scientist or noble rot to the poet.
The big chàteaux, they pick the grapes as the shrivel, berry by berry. But the small chàteaux pick all at once and hope for as much mould as possible.
Production is very small, from each one of its 100hectares of vineyard. Chàteaux D`Yquem, the most famous of Sauternes, makes only abuot 1200 bottles of wine. A first class Mèdoc vineyard would make 3 or 4 times as much.
I Want all of you to remember the name D`Yquem. They have a helicopter by the coast and when they see rain, they call all the workers 50-60 people, and they have exactly 4 hours to pick all the grapes before the rain gets there. Since bad weather in October can rob the grower of all chance of making sweet wine, and sometimes any wine at all, that`s why it costs so much: 3000-4000 kr in a restaurant.
Sauternes of this quality is extremly longlived. At first it is sweet and golden yellow, thean it takes a warmer colour, (since the bottles is clear it is easy for us to see) and the flavour (bouquet) grows deeper and more interesting. Eventually it will maderize - go brown and lose some ot it`s sugar, but this can be after as long as 30 years.