Sauternes 2010 (and reference vintages) at Le Week-end des Grand Crus
Bordeaux
Tasted Saturday, May 18, 2013 by Vintomas with 819 views
Introduction
This was the third year in a row when I tasted all available Sauternes wines at Le Week-end des Grand Crus. 2010 is definitely a top vintage for Sauternes, as the wines are even in quality and mostly similar in style. I definitely fell in love with this Sauternes vintage! A factor contributing to the quality of the 2010 vintage is that the level of acidity is high. For sweet wines such as Sauternes, a bit of extra acidity is particularly important for the overall balance of the wine. As to the aromas, I found almost all wines to be dominated by citrus and honey, rather than the dried apricots that is often found dominating in many noble rot wines. I did however find the spiciness of the 2010s to be a bit different between wines.
In this wondeful vintage, I liked the Barsac wines even a bit more. Possibly, the Barsac style (sightly lighter, more citrus) further highlighted the things I liked in the 2010 vintage. I scored Château Climens the highest of the wines tasted, and Château Coutet was up at the same level as Château Suduiraut, and was in my opinion even a little better than Château de Fargues. (As usual, Château Rieussec wasn't in the tasting.)
The reference vintages were distributed as follows: 2009 - 2, 2008 - 1, 2007 - 2, 2006 - 3, 2005 - 3, 2004 - 1, 2003 - 1. I made two observations among these wines: the two 2009s that were included this year as well, I scored higher than last year, and the three 2006s showed more developed notes than expected, more than that shown by the 2005s.
2010 Château Bastor-Lamontagne 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, botrytis, citrus, flowery, some spice, elegant.
Palate: sweet, good concentration, spice, good acidity.
Summary: a bit more elegany and slightly higher acidity than the 2009 Bastor-Lamontagne. Approachable now, 92 p.
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2009 Château Bastor-Lamontagne 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: spicy honey, botrytis, some baked yellow fruit, fried apples, slightly aromatic.
Palate: sweet+, noticeable spice, quite concentrated, honey, rather good acidity.
Summary: a bit more concentrated and spicy than the 2010 Bastor-Lamontagne. Approachable now, 92 p.
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2010 Château Climens 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: citrus, honey, some mineral, discrete spice notes, flowery, quite elegant, but rather discrete.
Palate: honey, loads of citrus, quite concentrated, botrytis, powerful acidity, mineral notes, some spice. Long and pleasant aftertaste.
Summary: elegant, very fine balance, less spicy than the vintage standard. Enjoyable now, can definitely develop, 96+ p.
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2005 Château Climens 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: honey, citrus and other yellow fruit, botrytis, some spice, slightly developed notes, definitely elegant.
Palate: honey, strong spice notes, quite concentrated, botrytis, good acidity, fine balance, long aftertaste.
Summary: spicier than the 2010 Climens, and while not as elegant as that vintage (very few wines are!) it is definitely elegant for a wine this spicy. Comes across as rather ready, but doesn't show the really developed notes yet, 94 p.
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2010 Château Coutet Barsac 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: honey, botrytis, ripe yellow fruit, intermingling spicy and flowery notes, definitely elegant.
Palate: honey, very good concentration of fruit with loads of citrus, spice notes, quite good acidity with freshness and elegance, mineral notes, long aftertaste.
Summary: wonderful now, can surely develop, 95(+) p.
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2007 Château Coutet Barsac 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: slightly spicy, honey, ripe yellow fruit, aromatic and with hints of herbs, slightly developed notes, elegant.
Palate: honey, spice notes, quite concentrated, citrus and other yellow fruits, quite good acidity. Balance and elegance, long aftertaste.
Summary: 94 p
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2010 Château de Fargues 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, honey, some liquorice, botrytis, flowery notes, rather discrete nose.
Palate: citrus, quite concentrated, liquorice, botrytis, some spice notes, good acidity, elegant.
Summary: one of the more citrus-dominated and closed. Young, can definitely develop, 94+ p.
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2005 Château de Fargues 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, dried fruit including dried apricots, botrytis, discrete flowery notes, slightly developed.
Palate: honey, quite concentrated, noticeable spice, good acidity.
Summary: some development, can take more, 93 p.
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2010 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, citrus, some dried apricots, some liquorice, botrytis, slightly flowery.
Palate: honey, some spice, citrus, dried fruit, good acidity, some elegance.
Summary: 93(+) p.
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2009 Château de Rayne-Vigneau 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, liquorice, honey, dried apricots, discrete flowery notes.
Palate: honey, powerful citrus notes, liquorice, some spice, botrytis, good acidity.
Summary: 93(+) p
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2010 Château Doisy-Daëne 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: citrus, botrytis, cool mineral notes, discrete flowery notes, slightly spicy, definitely elegant.
Palate: citrus, some tropical fruit, quite concentrated, honey, definitely good acidity, elegant and balanced.
Summary: young, enjoyable now, can definitely develop, 92+ p.
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2003 Château Doisy-Daëne 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Utseende: golden yellow
Nose: spicy honey, hint of a herbal note (combes as heather honey), dried apricots, baked apples, some glue and solvent note.
Palate: sweet+, spice, quite concentrated fruit, dried apricots, overripe yellow fruit, balancing acidity.
Summary: shows the character of a hot vintage and is clearly developed, 91 p.
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2010 Château Doisy-Védrines 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, botrytis, honey, some mineral, rather elegant.
Palate: quite concentrated, citrus, honey, mineral, some spice, botrytis.
Summary: elegant style, young but approachable, 92 p.
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2008 Château Doisy-Védrines 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, botrytis, ripe yellow fruit, some glue and solvent note of the developed Sauternes type.
Palate: quite concentrated, tropical fruit, honey, spice, botrytis, rather good acidity.
Summary: some development, 90 p.
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2010 Château Guiraud 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, honey, botrytis, some flowery notes, a hint of mineral, elegant.
Palate: citrus, quite concentrated, botrytis, some spice notes, liquorice.
Summary: young but rather enjoyable, can definitely develop, 93 p.
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2006 Château Guiraud 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, dried apricots and dried tropical fruit, botrytis, spice and some solvent notes.
Palate: citrus, tropical fruit, dried fruit, some honey, good acidity.
Summary: not really a lighter style, but less concentrated than 2009 or 2010. Developed notes emerging, 90 p.
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2010 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: citrus, honey, dried fruit, botrytis, some flowery notes.
Palate: honey, dried apricots, citrus, spice, rather good acidity.
Summary: good concentration, and while a fine wine it didn't quite reach the best 2010s in elegance or balance, but can develop, 92 (+) p.
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2006 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, spice, botrytis, dried aprictos, some development with solvent notes.
Palate: honey, dried fruit, quite concentrated, spicy, good acidity.
Summary: rather developed, heavier than the 2010 La Tour Blanche, spicy style, 92 p.
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2010 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, spice notes, citrus, botrytis.
Palate: citrus, honey, botrytis, spice, rather good acidity.
Summary: 92 p
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2005 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey (heather honey?), citrus, some dried tropical fruit, botrytis.
Palate: honey, citrus and tropical fruit, powerful concentration of fruit, spice notes with some mineral, good acidity.
Summary: somewhat developed, could develop more, 93 p.
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2010 Château Nairac 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: citrus, some tropical fruit (pineapple), botrytis, some honey, some spice.
Palate: good concentration, honey, some spice notes, quite a bit of citrus and some tropical fruit.
Summary: elegant, surfing on the vintage style, not that powerful. Rather approachable, 92 p.
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2007 Château Nairac 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Nose: honet, tropical fruit, botrytis, some spice.
Palate: honey, good concentration of fruit with tropical fruit, good acidity, some spice, some botrytis.
Summary: rather fruity and tropical, fine balance. Could develop more, 91 p.
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2010 Château Sigalas Rabaud 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, liquorice, botrytis, dried yellow fruit.
Palate: honey, yellow fruit, dried apricots, good acidity, noticeable spice.
Summary: 93 p.
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2004 Château Sigalas Rabaud 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: spice, honey (heather honey), dried apricots, discrete development with some notes of solvent.
Palate: honey, spice, botrytis, dried fruit, apricots, some citrus, good acidity.
Summary: 91 p.
Served from a decanter.
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2010 Château Suduiraut 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, citrus, botrytis, some dried apricot, discrete flowery notes, elegant.
Palate: honey, citrus, quite concentrated, definitely good acidity, some mineral, long aftertaste.
Summary: elegant, yummy now, could develop, 95+ p.
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2006 Château Suduiraut 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Nose: honey, dried apricots, citrus, botrytis, flowery notes, some spice notes, hints of development.
Palate: honey, good concentration, dried apricots, spice, good acidity.
Summary: development has just begun, will develop more, 92+ p.
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