After a short overnight stop in Saint Riquier in Northern France we drove south to our base for a few nights: the village (and region) of Sauternes. Our accommodation was as pretty as you like! It was an old Office de Degustation, La Sauternaise, completely renovated by the present owners, Pascale and Didier, and converted into a rather lovely B & B. From here we visited the most important wine growing regions in Bordeaux.
As we arrived in the Sauternes region temptation got the better of us and we couldn’t wait until the next day to begin our scheduled visits and tastings. We stumbled upon Chateau de Rayne Vigneau, a premier grand cru classe (or first growth) chateau under the 1855 classification, and the sign said it was “ouvert” … hurrah! And so, there began our two weeks of exploring, tasting, indulging and learning! I had forgotten just how much I enjoy the sweet wines of Sauternes (and indeed other countries and regions). We were treated to a tour of the vineyards and cellars, followed by a tasting of the Chateau’s dry wine (Le Sec de Rayne Vigneau), their second wine (Madame de Rayne) and, of course, their first wine (Chateau de Rayne Vigneau). Chateau de Rayne Vigneau sits on a gravel mound next to the village of Bommes and overlooking Sauternes. Madame de Rayne, nee Catherine de Pontac, bought the Chateau in 1834 and it was under her ownership that it was recognised as one of the top wine producing Chateaux in Sauternes hence its achieving premier grand cru classe status in the 1855 classification.
The first wine we tasted was the Chateau’s dry wine, Le Sec de Rayne Vigneau from the 2014 vintage. It is becoming more common for Chateaux producing sweet wines to also now produce a dry wine too. Le Sec is, predictably, made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc. It is a powerful, precise wine that displays notes of grass, green herbs, flowers, citrus fruit and some spice. On the palate this wine has really well balanced body and acidity. It was a revelation and a pleasure (and we bought a few bottles)! The next wine we tasted was the Chateau’s second wine, a 2013 Madame de Rayne. Again, it is common for sweet wine producing Chateaux to produce a second wine that often has more of an accent on freshness and finesse and less unctuousness than its first wine; more ‘feminine’ perhaps. This wine is a blend of 74% Semillon, 24% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. It is both floral and tropical, displaying notes of apricot and pineapple, but whilst still intense it had more ‘freshness’ than a typical first wine. It is great as an aperitif as well as paired with obvious dishes such as foie gras, cheese and so on. Finally, we tasted the 2009 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau. This wine is a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The nose is truly intense with aromas of apricot and ginger and on the palate it can only be described as luscious. Body is enhanced by 18 months maturation in oak of which up to 50% is new oak. This is a stunning wine!
