2006 Suduiraut
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Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Glowing amber. Some tartrates. Sumptuously brulée with notes of almond and, although it's incontrovertibly a sweet wine, its finish is so clean and refreshing! This may not be one of the most famous vintages for Sauternes but Suduiraut has, as usual, delivered enormous pleasure. It's not the most complex, sweetest, nor potentially longest-lived vintage but it's just a lovely drink now. Chapeau! (JR)
96% Sémillon, 4% Sauvignon Blanc. Harvested 11 September to 7 November (3 tris). Aged 18 months in oak barrels (50% new, 50% one year). RS 138 g/l, TA 3.98. Golden hue. Bags of freshness, certainly after the 2005. More of a citrus (mandarin) expression but the botrytis clearly there. Less power and unctuousness but lively, long and clean. Minty note on the finish. Drinking well now. (JL)
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
Among the very best Sauternes estates, Ch. Suduiraut is owned by AXA Millésimes, which also manages Pichon Baron. The team works meticulously to select the finest fruit from its 91 hectares of vines, bordering Yquem. The resulting wines are intensely concentrated, balanced, complex and age-worthy.