Winemaker Notes
The nose is complex with notes of fresh fruit, pear, pineapple, grapefruit and white flowers coated with candied notes of a beautiful noble rot. After fermentation, the wines have retained bright and crunchiness of grapes must. The mouth is powerful and fresh. It confers the first impression of aromas in the nose. The palate is lively with a great balance. In the finish, slightly saline and mineral notes give Sigalas a signature vivacity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Sigalas Rabaud gives up tropical notions of pineapple paste, passion fruit and green mango with hints of honeycomb, florals and exotic spices. The palate is rich, concentrated and super spicy on the finish with a compelling lift of freshness. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2049.
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James Suckling
Wow. Beautiful aromas of cooked apricots, pie crust and dried apple with some lemon rind. Full-bodied and very sweet, yet the bright acidity and energetic finish give it edge and focus. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
This delivers a warm, up-front blast of ginger cream, mango and papaya flavors, laced with heather hints and backed by a piecrust-accented finish. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Drink now through 2032.
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Vinous
The 2017 Sigalas Rabaud has a light bouquet with lemon verbena, quince and hints of saffron, though I would have preferred more energy to come through by now. The palate is better with a superb line of acidity, fresh and crisp, one of the more tensile vintages, although it doesn't fully deliver the same complexity as the 2014 or 2016. But the finish has a lovely tangy marmalade and an almost peppery note. Drink now and over the next ten years. Tasted from a bottle sent directly from Sigalas Rabaud to the UK.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Sweet and unctuous but delightfully charming, the finest Sauternes typically express flavors of exotic dried tropical fruit, candied apricot, dried citrus peel, honey or ginger and a zesty beam of acidity.
Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle are the grapes of Sauternes. But Sémillon's susceptibility to the requisite noble rot makes it the main variety and contributor to what makes Sauternes so unique. As a result, most Sauternes estates are planted to about 80% Sémillon. Sauvignon is prized for its balancing acidity and Muscadelle adds aromatic complexity to the blend with Sémillon.
Botrytis cinerea or “noble rot” is a fungus that grows on grapes only in specific conditions and its onset is crucial to the development of the most stunning of sweet wines.
In the fall, evening mists develop along the Garonne River, and settle into the small Sauternes district, creeping into the vineyards and sitting low until late morning. The next day, the sun has a chance to burn the moisture away, drying the grapes and concentrating their sugars and phenolic qualities. What distinguishes a fine Sauternes from a normal one is the producer’s willingness to wait and tend to the delicate botrytis-infected grapes through the end of the season.