CHÂTEAU SUDUIRAUT
2018 1er Cru Classé Sauternes
There’s not much of the 2018 Château Suduiraut to go around but it’s a beautiful wine. Lovely orange blossom, honeyed apricots, white flowers, and subtle spice aromas and flavors all emerge from this full-bodied, decadent Sauternes that has a layered, pure, beautifully balanced profile. With good complexity, terrific balance, and a clean finish, it’s going to shine for 15-20 years. Rating: 93-95 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
* 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.
Complex, almost savoury aroma of oak spice, botrytis almond paste and mealy barrel effect. On the palate, intense in flavour, powerful, spicy, more power than seduction. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
This has lots of concentration and mushroom and spice character. Plenty of botrytis. Dense and flavorful finish. Big wine for the vintage. Five hectoliters a hectare and half went into the second wine. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
This is an enjoyable, luxurious and indulgent Sauternes. It’s extremely rich, dark and concentrated – in keeping with its tiny yields (5hl/ha in 2018, of which 40% went into the grand vin) - with attractive bitter orange flavours that cleverly work to give tension where otherwise the low acidity might lose tension. 125g/l residual sugar. The harvest ended on 9 November. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Apr 2019)
Unusually this is 100% Semillon in this vintage, with 125 g/l residual sugar and an acidity of 3.8 g/l. Half the crop went into the second wine, including all the Sauvignon Blanc, so this is a small-volume production this year. It has a rather rich, polished, sweet and lightly roasted character on the nose, tinged with some lightly smoky and minerally elements. The palate is fresh, supple, broad, polished and plump, with a slowly building acid freshness at its core, all wrapped in toasted yellow plum, praline, and grilled peach fruits. This is substantial, with a solid weight and it is a rather supple acidity which serves to provide balance, energy and freshness. Delicate, fresh, with a charming poise and gentle acidity, nevertheless it is in a richer style than many in 2018, here calling to mind a more successful vintage. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
Château Suduiraut
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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.