Chateau Violet Sauternes (2016) (Half Bottle)

Sauternes is considered to be the source of the world's best sweet wines and Château Violet is exactly the sort of winery that I like - small and family-owned, so this is a win-win. In fact the Chateau has been in the same family for 150 years and is now run by one of the region's few female winemakers. Traditional methods are used in the vineyard and winery. To cut a very long story short the Sémillon grape is susceptible to 'botrytis cinerea', a fungal infection also known as noble rot, which in the right conditions makes the grapes shrivel on the vine. This leads to very concentrated and sweet juices. One vine might produce just one bottle of this wine. 

Sauternes is typically produced from Sémillon which brings body and tropical fruit and Sauvignon Blanc which adds acidity and citrus flavours but the best Sauternes wines include a small portion of Muscadelle which add lovely floral aromas to the wine. In this Château Violet Sauternes the mix is 85% Sémillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle. Whilst this is a sweet wine and alcohol is relatively high due to the warm vintage, it has great acidity which makes the wine balanced and prevents it from being cloyingly sweet. The vines at Château Violet are planted on gravelly soil which helps with complexity of flavours and with freshness or acidity. Flavours include lime, grapefruit, honey, apricots and mango with hints of ginger and barley sugar; in fact you can find something different each time you take a sip. Of course being a dessert wine it is as smooth as very runny honey, really silky and it is perfect with desserts and blue cheese in particular.

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