A great way to end day 1 of Vinexpo: A tasting of Sauternes. The notes are not in the order tasted but in the order the wines appear in the booklet we were given.
Chateau Filhot 2003 - Pineapple, apricot, smoke, caramel. Very sweet and long. Complex. Excellent.
Chateau Doisy-Daene 2004 - Deep, slightly green cast to the color. Good nose. Citrus and pineapple. Fresh and easy. Grapeskins texture. Medium finish. Forward. Very good.
Chateau de Myrat 1997 - Musty nose. A lightweight. Quite dark. Good.
Chateau Guiraud 1998 - Very sweet, deep flavor. Dryish, smoky finish. Very good.
Chateau Climens 2000 - Deep color. Tobacco. Very long. Lightish. Rather weak, dry finish. I was expecting more.
Chateau Climens 1978 - Not a lot of botrytis on the nose. We were told this was a hot year so the grapes were raisined rather than botrytised. Still, very good nose. Slightly milky. Still very fresh. High acidity. Great balance. Germanic in style. Excellent.
Chateau Coutet 1996 - Deep color. Good nose. Mint leaf. Very sweet. Lovely balance. Spicy finish. Excellent.
Chateau Suduiraut 2001 - Beautiful nose. Some tea leaf aromas. Lightish wine but excellent balance. Spices. Very easy to drink now. Long finish. 150 g/l sugar. Excellent.
Chateau Suduiraut 1988 - First bottle corked. Second bottle still seemed to have some problems. Slightly musty, cheesy. Dryish finish.
Chateau de Rayne Vigneau 2005 - Classic nose. Not very deep color. Fresh tasting. Good acidity for balance. Not heavy, nedium length. Grapey. Very good.
Chateau Clos Haut Peyraguey 2002 - Strange, rather green, herbal nose. Tea leaf. Coffee notes. High acidity. Strange but good.
Chateau La Tour Blanche 1999 - Burnt sugar. Very long. Easy to drink. Very good.