Words of Sommeliers

Sweetness and mouth-watering freshness…

In the glass the wine shows clear brilliant deep lemon colour. It does not show any shades of green or brown which might indicate underripeness or oxidation. Instead it is healthy and very appetizing.
Lifting the glass to the nose reveals clean and well-defined youthful aromas of ripe lemon, pineapple, golden apple, fresh peach and a touch of candied quince as well as lemon zest. There is also unmistakable influence of noble rot which provides notes of freshly spun honey, wax and a nuance of freshly grated ginger. With some time a hint of toast appears which indicates a short barrel ageing with the lees.
On the palate this is well-balanced medium bodied sweet wine. The flavours are even fresher than the aromas showing mainly ripe and candied citrus fruit. This impression is even more enhanced by racy acidity which with slight lemon zest-like bitterness in the finish creates appetizing sensation and opens countless food and wine matching options.
Overall, I find this to be very good young Sauternes which strikes nice balance between sweetness and mouth-watering freshness. Being on the lighter, juicier style makes it great partner to various dishes from classic foie gras pates to fresh fruit desserts like fruit salad or mango pavlova.
If I needed to offer something truly Lithuanian to pair with this wine I would go for something of every Lithuanian’s childhood: Cottage cheese with freshly spun honey or quite strange for others but extremely nice in hot weather – freshly sliced cucumber topped with fresh honey. The freshness of cucumber with sweetness of honey extremely nicely complements the overall character of this wine. After biting into the piece of cucumber with honey take a sip of Thomas Barton Réserve Sauternes. The first impression is really unique – a salty mineral note comes out in the wine which then gives way to all the citrusy flavours which in the end of palate lets the cucumber and honey resurface again. Very nice, refreshing and dynamic sensation. Cheers! ”