2012 S De Suduiraut

Château Suduiraut is a First Growth Sauternes estate located in Preignac, in Bordeaux. It is adjacent to Château d’Yquem and is owned by AXA Millesimes, the wine subsidiary of the AXA insurance group. Like most of its neighboring estates, Suduiraut traces its history back many centuries. Always known for its dessert wines, the estate’s Sauternes were winning important prizes by the 19th century. Today the estate has about 250 acres of vineyards planted to 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “Suduiraut is undeniably one of the great estate of Sauternes, and has been even more consistent as well as brilliant since its acquisition by AXA.”

Bordeaux is the world’s most famous fine-wine producing region. Even non-wine drinkers recognize the names of Bordeaux’s celebrated wines, such as Margaux and Lafite-Rothschild. Located near the Atlantic coast in southwest France, the region takes its name from the seaport city of Bordeaux, a wine trading center with an outstanding site on the Garonne River and easy access to the Atlantic. Like most French wine regions, Bordeaux’s first vineyards were planted by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago, then tended by medieval monks. Aristocrats and nobility later owned the region’s best estates and today estates are owned by everyone from non-French business conglomerates to families who have been proprietors for generations. Bordeaux has nearly 280,000 acres of vineyards, 57 appellations and 10,000 wine-producing châteaux. Bordeaux is bifurcated by the Gironde Estuary into so-called “right bank” and “left bank” appellations. Bordeaux’s red wines are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It also makes white wines of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. There are several classification systems in Bordeaux. All are attempts to rank the estates based on the historic quality of the wines.