Is Sauternes a digestif?

Sauternes is a French sweet wine from Bordeaux. These wines have high acidity and distinctive notes of honey, apricot, citrus zest and dried fruit, from the botrytis.

Usually sweet comes at the end of a meal : does this make Sauternes a digestif?

Let’s find out!

What does Sauternes taste like?

The great sweet wines of Bordeaux, Sauternes (or Barsac) are made from grapes affected by noble rot. The best are fermented and aged for up to three years in new barrels.

Sauternes wines are usually a blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Semillon is the most common grape variety for sweet wines because of the finesse of its skin and its affinity for noble rot. These grapes have medium to high acidity and bring aromas of dried fruit, nuts and honey.

Sauvignon Blanc brings the acidity to the blend.

Muscadelle is sometimes added to the blend, in small proportion. It is characterized by marked aromas of fresh grapes and flowers.

These wines have distinctive notes of honey, apricot, citrus zest and dried fruit.

Yes Sauternes can be drunk as a digestif …

Sauternes can accompany desserts, although you mustn’t forget the high acidity in Sauternes wines. So I would recommend pairing it with fruit tarts, which still have the acidity of the fruit.

30-year-old Sauternes are best drunk alone and at the end of the meal. Their length is usually impressive and you wouldn’t want to spoil it with anything. Or at least, I didn’t find anything that lived up to it!

… But not only!

In Bordeaux, Sauternes used to be the Sunday wine, that the peasants would drink after the mass with roasted chicken. By the way, this pairing still stands! If you haven’t tried it yet, I would strongly recommend it, especially when you find the chicken dry, the Sauternes brings it all the flavours you need.

Today, Sauternes is mostly paired with foie gras or blue cheese. The sweetness and full body of Sauternes goes well with the fat of the foie gras. The blue cheese, which usually has a very strong flavor, is softened by the Sauternes.

Sauternes can also accompany a whole meal. Its high acidity enables your palate to not be saturated by its sweetness. A good Sauternes has a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity.

Sauternes is more and more used in cocktails nowadays, which makes it the perfect “apéritif” drink!

The château Lafaurie-Peyraguey serves its Sauternes with three ice cubes with a zest of orange. The director says « Dans la région, on le buvait agrémenté de quelques glaçons. Quand on déguste fréquemment un vin, on se doit de le réinventer. » (In the region, it was drunk with a few ice cubes. When you frequently taste a wine, you have to reinvent it)

The ice cube will help the wine’s aromas open and the citrus help exacerbates what is already there!

ANECDOTE : Actually in the 1960s, a French couple had already invented a cocktail made from Sauternes : the Sauternes’ cup!

What you need :

• 1 bottle of Sauternes (75cl) (which you can get from any wineclub)
• 5 cl of Fine Champagne (Cognac variety)
• 5 cl orange liqueur (Curacao does the trick)
• 1 orange
• 6 strawberries

  some cherries

• 2 apricots
• 2 peaches or brugnons
• 1 lemon
• 2 cucumber peelings
• 1 heart of fresh celery

The recipe :

• In a large glass jar place the peaches (no need to peel them) and the apricots cut in four. You can also not cut them and simply prick them with a fork all around the fruit (this is Raymond’s method and we like it)
• Add the strawberries, cherries (with or without pits) then the lemon and orange cut into rings.
• Peel a cucumber and add 2 long peelings to the pot
• Add the fresh celery heart
• Finally, wet with fine champagne and orange liqueur
• Close the jar (lid or parchment paper) and let stand for an hour in the fridge.
• Just before serving, add plenty of ice cubes and Sauternes.

Conclusion : Is Sauternes a digestif?

Sauternes CAN be enjoyed as a digestif, especially if it’s over 30 years old but it’s safe to say that it can be enjoyed in a lot of ways! It can be drunk alone, with foie gras for example, as an aperitif. But be careful to serve it the right way. It can be mixed in cocktails, for aperitif as well. It can also accompany a whole meal, such as roasted chicken for example.

How do you enjoy your Sauternes?