Château Laville, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France 2019

This is the first appearance by a Sauternes in our Best In Show selection. Our judges were impressed by the generosity of this wine and by its fine value for money, and comparisons with other dessert-wine categories underscored the perennial appeal of this misty spot near the Garonne. It's a mid to full gold in colour, with ample luscious sweetness lent unction by botrytis complexities and lanolin oak. The wine is generous, creamy and long on the palate, with a creme anglaise and chantilly richness and just a faint perfume of lemon; the oak on the palate proves restrained, and it has relatively low acidity. It's not a Sauternes to keep for a decade or more, but this generous and accessible sweet wine will offer huge pleasure in the short term. Best with desserts – or as a dessert itself – rather than in aperitif mode.

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