In a great growth cellar breathing in the heady aromas, gazing at row upon row of impeccably aligned barrels, how many enthralled visitors have asked the cellar master the same question: «how long have such wines been made ?»

The cellar master will smile, seemingly embarrassed, and will say that nobody really knows for sure, but will always give in and tell two of the popular stories, both a little apocryphal. The first is said to have taken place in 1836. The Bordeaux wine dealer
Focke, of German descent, apparently waited until the end of the long autumn rains before starting to pick at his château, La Tour Blanche in Bommes. When the sun finally returned, the bunches of grapes dried, and the noble rot developed. The beautiful
sweet wine was a great success. Luck, and possibly vague memories of the late harvest methods used on the banks of the Rhine, had been the determining factors. The second story is also based on supposed serendipity. In 1847, the Marquis de Lur-Saluces, who owned Chateau Yquem, was delayed during a trip back from Russia. Having left specific instructions that harvesting should not begin before his return, not surprisingly the noble rot was well-developed when picking finally started. The wine produced in this outstanding vintage was highly acclaimed.

Historians provide more complex explanations, though they do not go out of their way to refute these two anecdotes. In particular, they agree that from the end of the 16th century Dutch merchants, who dominated maritime trade at that time, were very fond of white wines. Low grade dry wines used as a base wine for making brandy and other sweeter wines, were unashamedly «adulterated». The Dutch added sugar alcohol, syrup and marinated plants in order to satisfy their Scandinavian customers, who preferred sweeter drinks. In the 17th century, the Dutch presence was very strong in Bordeaux and its surrounding vineyards. It clearly has been shown that they influenced winegrowers in the Barsac area to make white wines with residual sugar but that they did not yet know of the noble rot phenomenon. This district, which corresponds fairly closely to the current Sauternes and Barsac appellations, became widely known. As early as 1613, the Barsac nobility compiled documents relating to «practices and privilèges » for this growth. In 1647, the Bordeaux Jurade (city aldermen) and Dutch traders drew up a wine tariff schedule which placed wines from what is now the Sauternes appellation in the second grade, at 84 to 105 francs, immediately after the red palus (from the alluvial plain) wines (at 95 to 105 francs). Interestingly, texts written in 1666 give concise details of the late harvesting techniques used in the Bergerac and Sauternes appellations. But had they been affected by botrytis ?

At the end of the 17th century, about two thirds of what are now the great growths of Sauternes either already had developed or were in the process of creating their vineyards. Large-scale investments were made at these estates by local nobility. The mo- vement continued into the 18th century, even if around 1740, wine from the region was still worth less than a quarter of that produced in the northern Graves. However, the sweet wines of Barsac and Sauternes were decidedly in a different class from the wines produced in the Entre-Deux-Mers, which were bought by the Dutch at half the price. Although the main winegrowing area ran parallel to the Garonne at the beginning of the 18th century, by 1770-1810 it had extended away from the river bank to include the gravely hillsides of Bommes and Sauternes. The role of the Sauvage d’Yquem family (later called Lur-Saluces) owners of Chateaux Yquem, Saint Cricq, Filhot and Coutet was very important in terms of chosing vineyard sites, in- troducing the finest white grape varieties and perfecting the techniques for selecting only the most overripe, botrytised grapes. In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, future president of the United States of America, was captivated by the wines of the region when he visited Bordeaux. On returning to America, he placed an order with the United States consul in Bordeaux for 85 cases of 12 bottles, including Sauternes wine «to be procured from the Count of Lur- Saluces.» Jefferson included the sweet wines of Barsac, Preignac and Sauternes in his own personal classification of the great wi-nes of Europe. As early as 1741, the Intendant of Guyenne described the manner in which these wines were harvested, stating that the owners waited «until the grapes were almost rotten» and added that picking «was carried out several times to give a sweeter wine.» This provides very early confirmation of the presence of the noble rot and the use of selective harvesting.