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2019 Sauternes Vintage: The 2019 vintage is strong for the sweet botrytis-affected wines… NEAL MARTIN 

In general, the 2019 vintage should make all the Sauternes and Barsac wine lovers like me happy. The main caveat with 2019 wines is that careful selection of the grapes at harvest time was tantamount to making good wines… Careful sorting was necessary, but this means that yields throughout Sauternes and Barsac were even smaller than usual (at a paltry 10 hl/ha, the average yield of the crus classes of Sauternes, you have to wonder how these estates manage to stay in business). IAN D'AGATHA terroirsense.com 

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A new vintage of the luscious Sauternes, Le Tertre du Lys d’Or has landed. This is Sauternes for the people - it’s gloriously ripe, indulgent and affordable! These are full 750ml bottles from the highly anticipated 19 vintage. Every time we offer this, it sells out in a heartbeat.

Loud and proud sauternes drinkers have swooped in on this wine for years. Although we hear the market for sweet wines is shrinking, rusted-on drinkers like Ian D’Agata have a habit, ‘I can safely say to be one of the world’s biggest fans of the wines of Sauternes and Barsac. My cellars are full of bottles from these Appellations… there is hardly a time in which Sauternes or Barsac wines cannot be enjoyed. And so it is that I love these wines young and I love them old; the lighter vintages as well as the opulent ones; and those that are intensely marked by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) and those less characterized by it. In short, there has never been, more or less, a Sauternes and Barsac wine that I didn’t think was just swell.' Could Ian D'agata be Roscoe's brother from another mother?!).

Le Tertre du Lys d’Or is a negotiant bottling. It’s an insider’s wine. Apparently, the wine is selected from a famed estate in Sauternes - these are the barrels that don’t make the cut for their own wine (which sells for four figures!). They can’t tell you their source, but they are not subtle in their hints. The wine is believed to be declassified from one of the most prestigious sweet wine estates on the planet. The last bit you can work out for yourself.

The 2019 vintage has been hyped as one of the greatest vintages in Bordeaux in the last decade (eclipsing 10, 15 and 16 perhaps?). It was a little out of the box as it combined a warm growing season with a respite downfall of rain (helping bring freshness but also wiping out yields).
Botrytis came late in the season so its presence is more subtle, offering nuances of complexity to the baked pineapple and toffee flavours. The wines are brimming with intensity!

At five years of age, it’s still incredibly youthful and bound. Time in the cellar will allow it to gain a little girth in all the right places. It will age beautifully as a 750ml full-size bottle, it's got many years ahead of it, though its youthful charm makes it hard to resist already. With time, tertiary tones will tame its ebullient nature adding even more complexity.

We’re offering a 20% discount on a 6-pack for $354 ($59 each). Stocks are good, but at these prices, for such a pedigreed Sauternes they always fly out. They have a legion of fans who have been buying this since 2001. This generously sized bottle of Sauternes should be shared lavishly with friends and a plate of cheese. Don’t hesitate here.

Cheers

Gabrielle Poy