(Sauternes & the villages under its jurisdiction)

Of the Immoderate Pleasures of Sauternes

A guide to the village and paintings

Young Sauternes are full of vitality, full bodied with fruity flavours of almond, peach, vanilla & apricot with hints of acacia & lilac. Young Sauternes can be sampled free at the "Maison des Sauternes" and purchased. The Maison de Sauternes (maisondesauternes at worldonline dot fr) is a very good starting place for an understanding & sampling of these extraordinary wines. Gordon Frickers own modest selection started there! With such inspiration and the encouragement of the mayor and mayoress maybe one day he will return and make some more very remarkable paintings.

This complex wine made from 3 grape varieties has a deep but subtle fragrance & flavour, a flavour lingering and haunting long after tasting. Here grapes are never harvested, rather naturally gathered, which means by hand picking because that is the best way. With time the wine acquires breed and further body. While mostly served in classic fashion as a starter for example with foie gras or dessert such as a strong Rochfort cheese, it can be a real delight with fish, white meats, foul and fruit. The Maison des Sauternes, (33210 Sauternes, Bordeaux France Tel +33 0556766983). When you have tasted a 20 or 30 year old Sauternes, you have tried a truly great white wine.

With a giant reputation, Sauternes remains a genuine & peaceful village. Which ever direction one arrives from it is immediately captivating. From the fold of Sauternes from the North and Ysabel's little little house down the "château d'Arche" road Sauternes has one petite tourist information office, welcoming, interesting & efficient, (Office de Tourisme de Sauternes, Rue Principale, 33210 Sauternes), only 2 restaurants, and a boulangerie, nestling on the vale of the Ciron (Sauternes, typical back street). Parts of Sauternes date to Roman times including a lavatoire, parts are tastefully modernised under the leadership of the present major Place de Sauternes, La Mairie. A recent innovation inspired by the mayor & mayoress is the Sauternes Trail, discreet signposts that lead the visitor effortlessly through the principal scenic delights of the district Vinyards of Fort Dubos & Vineyards East of Sauternes of course, the best chateaux.

Unique Sauternes depend on the gentle hills, diverse soils & sub soils and especially the combination of autumn morning "essential mists" generated by the river Ciron, a stream that empties into the Gironde, the "essential mists" are rapidly dispersed by the heat of the sun (Sauternes sunrise without mist). The result is a mould that uniquely concentrates the sugars in the grapes, some call it "the noble rot"!

This Appellation covers a planted area of 2 000 hectares, it has 240 wine producers, and an average annual production of 5 to 6 million bottles of wine.

By decree of September 30^th 1936 Appellation d'Origine Controlee only 5 communes can use the prestigious Sauternes name: Sauternes, Barsac, Fargues de Langon, Bommes & Preignac.

The only white wines to be classified in 1855, recognised by Imperial Classification, these most distinguished of the greatest white wines of the world, Sauternes.