WTN: Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 2003

Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 2003
Served blind I knew this light yellow-gold coloured sweetie couldn't be Kiwi or Oz (the usual fare) as it smelt so different - sweet, yes, but overlaid with dried hay, rancid nuts and acetate from the oak. But it didn't take long to get over the detracting part of the aroma for this is an absolutely superb wine in the mouth. It's honey sweet with a hint of pencil shaving oak and plumped-up dried apricots with a slightly salty nuance and a toffee-ish finish. After a couple of sips more there was a definite reminder of the flavour of orange liqueur (but not the alcohol of orange liqueur). It's very fine in its viscous texture with a lasting finish. Gorgeous stuff.

It was a stunning sweetie! I tasted all 17 bottles (750ml) that were opened on the day, and each one was the same sublime quality. Some of the sets of wines that I tasted were slightly variable in quality bottle to bottle, but not the Rieussec. Great stuff!

[David M. Bueker]

Sauternes other than d'Yquem - the most underrated sweet wine in the world IMO.

One thing that has long been perplexing me is why I like the 2003 Sauternes I've so far tried. They may be huge in fruit and low in acidity but there is some sort of freshness to them which makes them totally palatable to me. Suduiraut is currently the best of what I've had, but Rieussec, though qualitatively at the same level, is stylistically less to my taste. It is very oaky, less bright and rather like the style that d'Yquem makes in most years. Thanks for your note!

-o-

It was a stunning sweetie! I tasted all 17 bottles (750ml) that were opened on the day, and each one was the same sublime quality. Some of the sets of wines that I tasted were slightly variable in quality bottle to bottle, but not the Rieussec. Great stuff!

I now have this picture of Neil sitting in a corner with his arms around the 17 bottles shouting "they're all mine - hands off!"

[David M. Bueker]

It was a stunning sweetie! I tasted all 17 bottles (750ml) that were opened on the day, and each one was the same sublime quality. Some of the sets of wines that I tasted were slightly variable in quality bottle to bottle, but not the Rieussec. Great stuff!

I now have this picture of Neil sitting in a corner with his arms around the 17 bottles shouting "they're all mine - hands off!"

He's from New Zealand, so the correct phrase is "my preciousssssssss..."

[Jenise]

That viscosity is something isn't it? I've never run into the likes of it from that area.