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  • Decanter

    A fresh debate

    Jun 05, 2019 5 minutes

    MY FIRST SAUTERNES love was Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1983. I was so enamoured with its vibrancy and citrus and tropical fruit fragrance that I bought two cases for what today seems a very derisory price. Thirty-six years on and the colour may have changed to amber and the aromas become more confit, but there’s still a wonderful tangy tension. Good Sauternes may be rich in residual sugar, but an important part of its beguiling quality is the balance brought by perceived freshness.

    To this day I am unaware of the residual sugar content and total acidity in the Semillon-based wine, which is probably just as well. What goes down on paper as statistical analysis does not always correspond to the gustatory and aromatic sensation. You can have what appears to be good acidity and lower residual sugar in a wine that seems less fresh. The opposite can also be

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