Life Sauternal

Sweet Bordeaux is having a moment that's as close to immortality as wine gets

Liquid gold, the gold standard, luxury in a glass, wine's Chanel No 5, the silence that follows a piece by Mozart in which the listener remains suffused with the music - that's Sauternes, the sweet white wine from France's Bordeaux region. Made from semillon, sauvignon blanc and sometimes muscadelle grapes, it's having a magnificent moment in Asia.

China is now the world's second-biggest market for this sweet Bordeaux elixir, according to Emma Baudry, who represents the Sweet Bordeaux association and travels annually to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo to promote the golden wonder in October and November.