Attributes:

Chateau de Commarque

Sauternes, France

Sauternes Blend

750 ML

Food Matches:

This famous French appellation produces some of the most outstanding sweet wines in the world. Situated within the Graves district of Bordeaux, the area includes the five communes of Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac, and Sauternes. The dominant grape in Sauternes is Sémillon, although the final blend generally includes some Sauvignon Blanc and, occasionally, small amounts of Muscadelle. In good vintages, this appellation is the lucky recipient of the right climatic conditions to infect the grapes with botrytis cinerea (noble rot). This beneficial mold causes the grapes to shrivel, leaving sugar-laden fruit full of rich, concentrated flavors. The best Sauternes wines come from low-yielding vines that have been hand-picked to ensure that the grapes are not culled before reaching the perfect degree of required ripeness. The resulting classic Sauternes wine is rich and sweet—the botrytis cinerea contributes a desirable honeyed and complex nature to both the aroma and flavor.

Attributes:

Christophe

Bordeaux, France

Sauvignon Blanc

750 ML

Food Matches:

A region in western France that grows famous red wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes and white wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle grapes. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux has a maritime climate with warm summers and fairly mild winters as well as an abundance of rain during harvest time. When young, the finest red Bordeaux wines have a deep cranberry hue and aromas of blackcurrants, plums, spice, cedar, and cassis. For the first ten years or so these wines can be very dry, with tannin masking the fruity flavors. Eventually the wines turn garnet, and develops an extraordinarily complex bouquet and flavor as well as softer tannins. The finest red Bordeaux wines still take 20 years or so before reaching their maturity. Two distinct red wine production zones exist within the Bordeaux region; the Left Bank and the Right Bank. The Left Bank vineyards are located west of the Garonne River and the Gironde Estuary, into which the Garonne empties. The Right Bank vineyards are east and north of the Dordogne River and east of the Grionde Estuary. Of the various wine districts on the Left and Right Banks, four are the most important for red wines: Haut-Médoc; Pessac-Leognan, St-Emilion, and Pomerol. For white wines, the most important are Graves and Pessac-Leognan.

Comes mostly from California, France, New Zealand, and South Africa. Its highly acidic wines are often suggestive of herbs or grass. Light to medium bodied and usually dry, European versions are generally not oaky while California Sauvignon Blanc can take on many of the qualities of Chardonnay. France has two classic wine regions for the Sauvignon Blanc gape: Bordeaux and the Loire Valley The Bordeaux wine is called Bordeaux Blanc and the two best known of the Loire wines are called Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes blended with Sémillon.

Attributes:

Chateau Tuyttens

Sauternes, France

Sauternes Blend

375 ML

Food Matches:

This famous French appellation produces some of the most outstanding sweet wines in the world. Situated within the Graves district of Bordeaux, the area includes the five communes of Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac, and Sauternes. The dominant grape in Sauternes is Sémillon, although the final blend generally includes some Sauvignon Blanc and, occasionally, small amounts of Muscadelle. In good vintages, this appellation is the lucky recipient of the right climatic conditions to infect the grapes with botrytis cinerea (noble rot). This beneficial mold causes the grapes to shrivel, leaving sugar-laden fruit full of rich, concentrated flavors. The best Sauternes wines come from low-yielding vines that have been hand-picked to ensure that the grapes are not culled before reaching the perfect degree of required ripeness. The resulting classic Sauternes wine is rich and sweet—the botrytis cinerea contributes a desirable honeyed and complex nature to both the aroma and flavor.