Nose
Expresses on the nose all the richness of the vintage with intensity and freshness, combining honey, cinnamon, white pepper, and vanilla with mango, yellow peach, passion fruit and candied pineapple.
Palate
The initial taste is generous, blossoming into an impressive sweetness backed by a firmness and acidity to ensure the balance. Reveals intense fruit flavours with hints of marzipan, raisins and spices from the oak barrels. The smooth, pure finish leaves lingering notes of spices, candied fruit and a beautiful minerality. We rank it among the outstanding successes of the property with the 2001, 1967, 1947 and even 1928 !
Growing Conditions
2005 is an exceptional vintage in many respects. The year was marked by drought throughout the seasons, offset by cool night-time temperatures (contrary to 2003). Ripening was slow but complete. Between September 9 and 12, 60 mm of rain enabled the initial contamination.
The set-in of typical "Sauternes" weather, with early morning mists and warm sunny days, boosted the spread of the botrytis and the resultant concentration of the grapes. Welcome light rain triggered the set-in of the botrytis in early October. It subsequently developed marvellously thanks to a long period of uninterrupted sunshine.
Vine management was normal. Controlled leaf removal was performed due to the sunshine. A particular effort of cluster thinning was made on certain plots (about 15 hectares) to maintain an optimal concentration of the quality.
Harvest
From September 26 to November 7, with a total of 4 passes. The harvest was generous, shared between raisining during the first pass and botrytis for the others. Thanks to the fine weather in October, the successive passes followed on without interruption except for the last one, set back by a brief spell of bad weather in early November.
Bottling
Bottling date: July 5th 2007
Aging
65% in new barrels,
35% from barrels of one vintage, for 18 months.
Appearance
Château Suduiraut 2005, draped in its intense golden robes.
