1970 Château Suduiraut
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Tasting notes
The 1970 Suduiraut is clearly one of the superior Sauternes of the vintage. This is the third time I have tasted the wine and maybe the best. It has a perfumed bouquet with orange liqueurs, clove and a Beerenauslese-like scent. It is not a powerful bouquet but surprisingly precise. The palate has more freshness than many Suduiraut from this era, the acidity neatly offsets the orange rind and marmalade scents. I suspect that it is fairly low in residual sugar so do not come looking for an exceptionally viscous finish. Yet it continues to give pleasure after 48 years and shows little sign of reaching the end of its drinking plateau. 72gm/L residual sugar, 14.3% alcohol, and 3.95gm/L total acidity. Tasted at the Suduiraut vertical at the château.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
A good Suduiraut, but despite the concentration and depth, it tastes flabby, overly alcoholic, and just too one-dimensional. Anticipated maturity: Now-may be in decline. Last tasted, 8/81.
A good Suduiraut, but despite the concentration and depth, it tastes flabby, overly alcoholic, and just too one-dimensional. Anticipated maturity: Now-may be in decline. Last tasted, 8/81. Jan 1998, www.robertparker.com
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.