See Decanter's vintage guide for Sauternes and Barsac 2001
Sauternes and Barsac 2001
Keep
A very great vintage, with wonderful succulence and aromatic complextity.
Weather Conditions
Enjoying the same ideal vintage conditions throughout August and September as Bordeaux‘s dry whites, the three sweet white grapes were also favoured by October’s perfect Botrytis weather. Regular showers with warm days, cool nights and soft, dry breezes during the sunny afternoons provided ideal conditions for the fungus to grow. This helped concentrate the musts, which are showing great aromatic complexity and the typical ‘rôti’ style for noble rot.
Best Appellations
All the sweet white appellations achieved excellent quality, though perhaps Sauternes, with its inimitable, succulent sweetness, benefited more than Barsac from the ideal vintage conditions this year.
Best Producers
Sauternes
Yquem and Rieussec are the stars, with Guiraud, Suduiraut and de Malle also achieving remarkable quality.
Barsac
Coutet is the top performer for this vintage, with Doisy-Védrines and Doisy-Daëne close behind. De Myrat and Nairac are runners-up.
