An appellation with a dual name
An enclave of the Sauternais on the single commune of Barsac, the appellation enjoys a rare privilege: its producers may choose to label their wines as Barsac or as Sauternes, the two appellations overlapping here. Barsac is crossed by the Ciron, the small river that governs the whole miracle of the region's sweet wines.
The terroir: flatter, more limestone
What distinguishes Barsac from the rest of the Sauternais is its relief and its soil. The plateau is flatter, and asteria limestone — the 'Saint-Macaire limestone' — outcrops widely, beneath a cover of alluvium, silt and sand, with clay-limestone soils. This limestone bedrock gives Barsac wines a vivacity and finesse that often make them a little lighter and livelier than neighbouring Sauternes.
Noble rot and style
As in Sauternes, the wine is born of Botrytis cinerea: autumn mists arising from the Ciron and the Garonne trigger noble rot, which shrivels the grape into a concentrated 'golden jam' rich in sugars and aromas. The wines, based on sémillon, are served chilled (around 8°C) and keep for decades. Barsac is home to about a dozen châteaux, several of them classified growths in 1855 among the most celebrated of the Sauternais.