Gone are the flabby, disappointing dry whites of years gone by and in their place are fresh, zingy wines packed with fruit and flavour from Sauvignon and Sémillon grapes. The sweet wines are similarly forgotten but in a region where value is not always to the forefront you can find some of the best in the world in Sauternes and Barsac, with better value to be found particularly from lesser known areas such as Loupiac and the smaller châteaux.
2003 has produced rich, opulent wines with good botrytis. An excellent year. 2002 is a good quality vintage although lacking a bit of botrytis. 2001 is a wonderful classic vintage here. Very little sweet wine was made in 2000 but the quality was good. In 1999 some good wines were produced from tris in October with a bit of botrytis. The 1998 harvest has produced some very good wines, generally just below the level of the previous two vintages. In 1997 the quality is extremely high. In 1996 an Indian Summer has produced great quality for those châteaux that waited out the poor, rainy weather. In 1995 a very hot summer but rain at harvest time meant that quality is patchy; some very good wines were made. In 1994 decent quality but a lack of botrytis means that some wines lack complexity. 1990 is a great vintage, the third in a row. Plenty of botrytis and wonderful concentration makes this a classic long lived year. 1989 is another superb vintage. Rich, powerful wine with plenty of depth and style. 1988 was the first of a run of three great years. Superb botrytis with lovely complexity and richness. 1986 was a great year; rich and extremely well balanced sweet wines. 1983 is a wonderful, complex year.
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