Nose
A distinctly "roasted" character on the nose mingles with crystallised fruit (melon, apricot) and spices (vanilla, cloves). As it begins to age, scents of heather honey, orange peel and beeswax make their appearance.
Palate
The attack is fleshy, leading into an ample sensation on the palate and intense fruit (roasted apricot, mandarin orange), the sign of a great Botrytis vintage. The flavours linger nicely, set off to perfection by the vivacity of the vintage, with dried fig and spices (saffron, white pepper). The finish is fresh and features the menthol notes that are so typical of our terroir . Château Suduiraut 2006 is a delicious wine of great purity.
Harvest
Harvesting in the Sauternes region started ten days earlier than last year, on September 11. The grapes picked then were already shrivelled by the high temperatures of early September with a potential richness in sugar of between 19% and 20% in the first batches. Whilst the start of the second trie proved very difficult because of the uncertain weather, some really lovely, rich and abundant batches were subsequently picked. The return of somewhat drier weather enabled harvesting to be continued rapidly with a third trie in the first two weeks of October. The richness of the grapes had in no way diminished. Finally, after a wait of a few days to leave the last bunches to reach optimal concentration, harvesting was completed on October 17.
Despite the occasionally difficult conditions of the harvest and the severe losses imposed by the stringent selection, we succeeded in bringing in a rich, fruity vintage with a fine acidity.
Bottling
Bottling date: June 26th 2008
Aging
50% in new barrels,
50% from one-year-old barrels for 18 months.
Appearance
Château Suduiraut 2006 very much bears the Botrytis signature with its deep golden yellow colour and amber tints.
