Lovers of great sweet wines need no excuse to appreciate these rare and so-difficult-to-produce nectars. However, with the season of joyous family gatherings just around the corner, the glittering golden wines of Sauternes and the whole family of sweet wines have a special appeal. And not just as dessert wines! Fine, sweet wines offer infinite food and wine pairing possibilities, thanks to their exquisite range of flavours, from exotic fruits to sweet spices, fresh almonds, candied fruits, marzipan and delicious butterscotch caramel. These wines took pride of place in the November auctions on iDealwine. No fewer than 425 lots containing a sweet wine were auctioned last month.

Château d’Yquem featured prominently among the most sought-after wines in iDealwine’s November auction catalogues. A rare double magnum of the 1997 Sauternes Premier Cru Classé Supérieur sold for €1,177, which was 19% more than the usual price per bottle for this wine. Yquem was also auctioned in magnum format, and a bottle of the 1999 vintage went under the hammer for €526 (+12%). The 750ml lots included some of the Château’s most successful vintages, such as 1971 (€526) and 1976 (€501), as well as three highly esteemed consecutive years, 1988, 1989 and 1990, which sold for €426 (+13%), €501 (+33%), and €401 (+7%) respectively. As for more recent vintages, the 2015 also fared well, going for €463 (+13%). An extremely rare 1956 Yquem also went under the hammer. This was a particularly cold year for French vineyards, making this an almost impossible-to-find vintage. And the hammer price reflected this at €513 (+13%) for a half-bottle!

The great wines of Sauternes and Barsac take centre stage

Alongside Château d’Yquem, there were some good results for leading Sauternes and Barsac names, especially since the lots included some mature or even collectors’ vintages. A bottle of Château Gilette’s famous 1961 Crème de Tête sold for €288 (+11%), while the 1949 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey fetched €278. A more recent vintage, the 1988 Cuvée Madame from Château Coutet, went for €275, while older vintages of the same estate’s classic cuvée, in magnums, fetched €225 for the 1975 (+28%) and €213 (+35%) for the 1970. Some great collectors’ items were also auctioned, like the 1954, 1956 and 1958 Château Gilette, which sold for €197, €188 and €163 respectively.

However, it wasn’t only collector’s years that stirred the enthusiasm of wine lovers. L’Extravagant from Doisy-Daëne continues to enjoy great success in iDealwine auctions. The 2005 sold for €163 and the 2022 for €150. Bidders also showed an appetite for the very exceptional Château de Fargues, offered in the 2001 (€150, +7%), 1989 (€125, +8%) and 1996 (€94) vintages. A few rare bottles from Château Climens also achieved fine results, in the superb vintages of 1988 (€113, +13%), 1989 (€113), 1986 (€100, +6%) and 1983 (€100). Bottles from Château Rieussec, Château Guiraud and Château Suduiraut also performed very well on the iDealwine auction website.

Success for the great Loire Valley sweet wines

After Bordeaux, the next biggest selection of great sweet wines in iDealwine’s auction catalogues comes from the Loire Valley. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Philippe Foreau’s Goutte d’Or from Clos Naudin, produced in the rarest of vintages when exceptional conditions allow. The 1990 was the highest-selling vintage, achieving a record auction price of €476 (+43%). The much more recent 2015, although just a baby, still sold for €288. Domaine Richard Leroy has a loyal following, both for its dry Chenin wines and for the sweet Coteaux du Layon Faye d’Anjou, Clos des Rouliers. In the 2001 vintage, a 500ml bottle fetched €250, while the 2000 went for €200. Among the great rarities that wine lovers like to hunt for in iDealwine auctions, the Moût de raisins partiellement fermentés, issu de raisins passerillés, a partially fermented grape must made from raisined grapes by Mark Angeli at Domaine de la Sansonnière, sold for €109 in the 2006 vintage. The hammer prices achieved by the great sweet wines of Domaine Huet, in Vouvray, seem a bargain in comparison – the 2005 Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1ère trie sold for €56 and the 2003 for €54.

Among the other great French wine regions producing sweet wines, Alsace stood out in iDealwine auctions with some extremely rare bottles. A half-bottle of 2017 Weinbach SGN (Sélection de Grains Nobles) Pinot Gris fetched €150, a 1989 Hugel Cuvée S Gewurztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles €125 (+17%), and a Trimbach Vendanges Tardives Riesling €119 for the 1983 and €107 for the 1990. The grands crus of Jean-Michel Deiss did very well, too, with both the 1994 Schoenenbourg SGN and the classic Schoenenbourg in the same vintage going for €100. Many other French wine regions were also represented in the November auctions, offering a delicious spectrum of fine French sweet wine, with bottles like Cauhapé’s 2010 Jurançon Quintessence du Petit Manseng (€94), a 2010 Jura Vin de Paille, La Paille Perdue, from Domaine Labet (€88), and Antoine Arena’s 2006 Muscat du Cap Corse (€83).

Sweet treasures from beyond France

Of course, France does not have a monopoly on great sweet wine. In Germany, one of the masters of the genre is without doubt Egon Müller. His 2005 Scharzhofberger Spatlese Riesling sold for €265. From Hungary, a bottle of 1988 Tokaji Aszu 6 Puttonyos (Kereskedohaz) fetched €200. And what about the South African sweet wine famously enjoyed by Napoleon? In the 2005 vintage, Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance sold for €106. So as you can see, there are plenty of opportunities on iDealwine to pick up something truly special for festive season.

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