How long do I refrigerate a Sauternes

Yes, Johnson suggests a rather low temperature for Sauternes. However he suggests 54 - 57 F for the best sweet German wines in his encyclopedia, while he suggests 46 - 50 for good German and Austrian wines and 50 - 54 for best dry German wines. I also remember reading that the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild had some very old Sauternes in his cellar. He sometimes served some of his extremely old Sauternes that was beginning to show a bit of oxidation, slightly frozen, and he claimed this made it much more refreshing and drinkable.

I think Johnson's suggestion might not be much too low for generic Sauternes blends at the lower end. The low temperature makes they less cloying, and most do not have much interesting bouquet to lose be cooling too much anyway. However I avoid poor sweet wines, when possible. However, for mature Yquem, I start out at cellar temperature in the 50s F range. Sometimes if the wine is very hot with alcohol and has plenty of fruit, it is more refreshing at a slightly lower temperature. I have some silver bulbs with stems filled with a liquid and keep these in the freezer. If you want the wine just a bit colder, you only have to stir the wine in the glbutt a bit with these devices. Unfortunately I do not remember where I bought these devices many years ago.