France Guide
Poitou-Charentes and the Atlantic coast
Sauternes region
The Sauternes region, which extends southeast from Bordeaux for 40km along the left bank of the Garonne, is an ancient wine-making area, originally planted during the Roman occupation. The distinctive golden wine of the area is certainly sweet, but also round, full-bodied and spicy, with a long aftertaste. It's not necessarily a dessert wine, either: try it with some Roquefort cheese. Gravelly terraces with a limestone subsoil help create the delicious taste, but mostly it's due to a peculiar microclimate of morning autumn mists and afternoons of sun and heat which causes Botrytis cinerea fungus, or "noble rot", to flourish on the grapes, letting the sugar concentrate and introducing some intense flavours. When they're picked, they're not a pretty sight: carefully selected by hand, only the most shrivelled, rotting bunches are taken. The wines of Sauternes are some of the most highly sought-after in the world, with bottles of Château d'Yquem, in particular, fetching thousands of euros. Sadly that particular château does not offer tastings, but you can at least have a wander around its attractive buildings and grounds, two minutes' drive north of Sauternes.