CHÂTEAU SUDUIRAUT

2016 1er Cru Classé Sauternes

EN PRIMEUR

Yet another distinctive wine, the 2016 Suduiraut reveals a spicy, intriguing bouquet of licorice, acacia, curry leaf and exotic fruits mingled with ripe orchard fruits. Moderately weighted and perfectly balanced, it’s charming and round, with a rich core of fruit framed by a gastronomic bitterness and a long, penetrating finish. Harvested in four tries between September 22 and November 9, with a yield of 22 hectoliters per hectare, it was matured for 18 months in 50% new oak barrels and 50% one-year-old barrels and contains 140 grams per liter of residual sugar. Drinking range: 2020 - 2054 Rating: 94 Yohan Castaing, www.robertparker.com (Jun 2024)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2016 Suduiraut has a clean, pure bouquet of light marmalade, lanolin, curry leaf and wax resin aromas, quite complex and developing more and more personality with aeration. The palate is well balanced, with a viscous, almost unctuous opening. This is richer and heavier in style than many 2016 Sauternes, but maybe just loses some detail and precision on the finish. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2045 Rating: 92+ Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2020)

As to the Sauternes, the 2016 Château Suduiraut boasts a medium gold color and a fresh, clean, beautifully perfumed bouquet of orange blossom, honeyed pineapple, and flowers, with notable botrytis, which can be lacking in a number of Sauternes in 2016. With moderate acidity, a fleshy, full-bodied texture, and loads of fruits, it’s geared more toward drinking over the coming 10-15 years than any over-the-top cellaring. Drinking range: 2019 - 2034 Rating: 95 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Feb 2019)

The 2016 Suduiraut is fabulous. Crème brȗlée, passion fruit, tangerine peel and exotic floral notes all race out of the glass. I marvel at how Suduiraut can deliver so much flavor intensity and yet remain so gracious and classy. The 140 grams of residual sugar are very well integrated. This is such a gorgeous wine. Drinking range: 2024 - 2046 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

The 2016 De Suduiraut has a complex bouquet with rich and honeyed fruit, superb mineral tension and wonderful detail. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity, great tension and a lovely touch of spice towards the very persistent finish. What a great Suduiraut in the making here, so full of character and complexity, and yet you still feel as if it has something up its sleeve. Drinking range: 2022 - 2060 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

94% Sémillon, 6% Sauvignon Blanc. RS 140 g/l, TA 3.7 g/l. Not that much nose but big and ambitious with broad richness and a savoury finish. Waxy and round. Yet again, this shows real superiority. So long! Lots of botrytis and round and spicy. Really luscious and gorgeous and doesn’t include any of the dried-fruit wine. Spicy. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 18+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)

This has so much botrytis/spice character. Dried-mushroom powder as well. Full yet round and gorgeous. Exuberant softness. Very sweet and complex. Complete Sauternes. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2017)

Botrytis arrived late in 2016, so the Suduiraut was made from just the last two picks at the estate. Pineapple, passion fruit, mint, chamomile and exotic floral notes are beautifully delineated. Plush, deep and inviting to the core, the 2016 is also quite open and expressive today, all of which suggests it will drink well with minimal cellaring. Rating: 91-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2017)

In a good, rather than great year for Sauternes, Suduiraut is one of the stand out wines. Restrained citrus, nectarine and apricot flavours are complemented by stylish oak, notes of baking spices and tangy balancing acidity. Drinking range: 2019 - 2026 Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2017)

The 2016 Suduiraut has a clean, pure bouquet of light marmalade, lanolin, curry leaf and wax resin aromas, quite complex and developing more and more personality with aeration. The palate is well balanced, with a viscous, almost unctuous opening. This is richer and heavier in style than many 2016 Sauternes, but maybe just loses some detail and precision on the finish. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2024 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 1899)

Sauternes Premier Cru 1855 The de Suduiraut family lived on their estate in Preignac at least as far back as 1580. In the later years of the 17th Century, a dispute with the local Governor led to the château being flattened. In response, Comte Blaise de Suduiraut rebuilt in lavish manner, with gardens laid out by King Louis XIV's designer. Since the de Suduiraut's time there have been many owners, but today it is in the very capable hands of AXA Millésimes. The 92ha of vineyard are planted with 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. There is a second wine, which takes its name from a neighbouring estate that was absorbed into Suduiraut in 1831, and is called Castelnau de Suduiraut.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.

Ordering

Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.

Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.

Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.

When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.

Additional charges are as follows:-

  • +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.