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Tasting the luscious 2025 sweet wines from Barsac and Sauternes from barrel is a wonderful reprieve from the tannin, structure and acidity of the young reds. In a vintage known for heat, you might assume that Bordeaux’s famous dessert wines could potentially be a bit overdone and cloying, but the reality is blissfully far from this.
As several critics observed, 2025 has turned out fantastic dry and sweet whites as well as the reds. In the case of the sweet wines, this is because the conditions in the autumn were conducive to excellent and even botrytis infection. Whilst a few feel like the tropical fruit flavours and opulence are dialled up to eleven, the majority wear the heat of the vintage seamlessly, with lovely levity, sapidity, purity and freshness underpinning their powerful exuberance. Whilst it is a vintage where the wines will be upfront and delicious right out of the gate, they will very much be capable of long-term ageing.
Below are our top picks form both Barsac and Sauternes in ascending price order. If we were to single out just three from this rollcall of stars, it would probably be Coutet, Doisy Daëne and Suduiraut, but truthfully, all are delicious this year so do run with your usual favourite if you have one.
Château Doisy Védrines, 2ème Cru Classé, Barsac, 2025 Barsac seems to have fared very well in this warm vintage, if Doisy Védrines is anything to go by. Ripe and unctuous pineapple, honey, dried apricot and stem ginger. A little bitter marmalade appears on the long exotic finish, with some orange zest providing lift.
Château Coutet, 1er Cru Classé, Barsac, 2025 A J&B favourite, Coutet typically embodies a lighter more citric style than many of its neighbours in Barsac and Sauternes. This vintage is no different. True to its name (which is derived from the word for ‘knife’ or ‘sharp edge’), there is agility and a lightness here, not just in colour but in profile; it is more pared-back than some of its peers. Candied lemon peel, bitter orange marmalade, honeysuckle, vanilla crème brulée and subtle apricot, which is lightened by orange zest. This shows a deft hand with no signs of the heat of the vintage. Another stellar Coutet. Harvest began on September 2nd and only took five passes.
Château Doisy Daëne, 2ème Cru Classé, Barsac, 2025 Doisy Daëne has a lovely orchard-fruited aromatic profile, with sweet, stewed apples, honey, stem ginger and vanilla playing starring roles on the nose. Baking spices, nectarine and apricot crest the mid-palate with lemon drizzle cake and maple syrup providing lots of lovely, sweet, enveloping viscosity on the finish.
Château Sigalas Rabaud, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2025 Sigalas Rabaud is brazenly opulent and hedonistic, with a luxuriously smooth, silky texture. Waves of quince, candied apricot and dried dates are layered with notes of maple syrup and honey. Stone-fruit richness is joined by hints of guava, giving an exotic lift and a lasting impression.
Château Rayne Vigneau, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2025 This has an unapologetically rich and exotic profile. Ripe honeydew melon, ginger and mango offer the opening gambit. On the palate you get tinned peaches in stem ginger syrup and dried apricots. Black treacle notes leave an indelible mark on the finish.
Château La Tour Blanche, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2025 Impressively bright, refreshing and lifted for the vintage. There is a florality at the fore with fragrant orange blossom and white flowers. Candied lemon, marmalade, honey and blanched almonds add drive to the long, sumptuous finish.
Château Suduiraut, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2025 Suduiraut shows all the depth and power of the 2025 vintage with a beautifully textured, suave elegance. Made exclusively from Sémillon and picked a full six weeks after the dry whites, it was harvested in just three tries, mostly from the last two. Clocking in at 158g/l residual sugar, it exhibits mandarin, apricot, freshly-picked mint and sweet cantaloupe melon on the nose. Pineapple upside-down cake, acacia honey, blow-torched brown sugar and a hint of lemon posset rounds out the finish.
Château Lafaurie Peyraguey, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2025 A tale of two Sauternes - On the nose this is steely and tense with salted lemons, preserved fruit, blood orange and honey. The palate is much more hedonistic, with maple syrup and orange blossom, acacia honey, blow-torched mandarins, caramel and apricot. The texture is glossy and viscous, unctuous and impressively weighted for a wine with a light touch.
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.jpg?fm=avif&q=30 "Château Lafaurie Peyraguey, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes")
