Relatively light gold. Aromas of citrus, honey, toffee apple and mixed spice. On palate, viscous, unctuous and clearly a fully ripe Sauternes, reflecting the vintage. Good fruit weight and structure. Clean and pure. The flavours were lemon, honey, apricots and tinned pineapple chunks. Not yet very complex and only moderately long. Acceptable acidity. I wouldn't think that this vintage would be ultra-long lived. 3/3 of the Sauternes here.
Served blind. For me, the best of the three Sauternes/Barsacs, but, then, I'm always a sucker for Climens. Deeper gold than the Lafon. A gorgeous nose of butterscotch, apricot, orange zest and clotted cream. In the mouth, glycerol and silky, with lemons, tinned peaches, custard and marmalade on buttery croissant. There also seemed to be a slightly herby edge to the palate. Lower acid, I was picking this wine as a 1998 or 2003 Barsac. It's not an overripe Climens but with this lower acid I doubt it'll make really old bones. Still, it's a beautiful, decadent Barsac that would optimally benefit from a few more years. A tribute to the winemaking team, given the vintage.
Served blind. Paler gold again. A fine nose suggesting pure fruit and some acids with notes of peaches, lemons, ginger and a little baking spice. On palate, very clean, pure and precise, with good acidity. I was therefore thinking it was a '10 but Brodie correctly picked '09. My second favourite of the three dessert wines. Good acidity for a 2009. Lemons, oranges, pears and lychees with some slightly bitter almond on the finish. I'd give this wine another 5+ years cellar time. Probably the best long-term proposition of the three wines.
2009 Château Raymond-Lafon
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Relatively light gold. Aromas of citrus, honey, toffee apple and mixed spice. On palate, viscous, unctuous and clearly a fully ripe Sauternes, reflecting the vintage. Good fruit weight and structure. Clean and pure. The flavours were lemon, honey, apricots and tinned pineapple chunks. Not yet very complex and only moderately long. Acceptable acidity. I wouldn't think that this vintage would be ultra-long lived. 3/3 of the Sauternes here.
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2003 Château Climens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Served blind. For me, the best of the three Sauternes/Barsacs, but, then, I'm always a sucker for Climens. Deeper gold than the Lafon. A gorgeous nose of butterscotch, apricot, orange zest and clotted cream. In the mouth, glycerol and silky, with lemons, tinned peaches, custard and marmalade on buttery croissant. There also seemed to be a slightly herby edge to the palate. Lower acid, I was picking this wine as a 1998 or 2003 Barsac. It's not an overripe Climens but with this lower acid I doubt it'll make really old bones. Still, it's a beautiful, decadent Barsac that would optimally benefit from a few more years. A tribute to the winemaking team, given the vintage.
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2009 Château Guiraud
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Served blind. Paler gold again. A fine nose suggesting pure fruit and some acids with notes of peaches, lemons, ginger and a little baking spice. On palate, very clean, pure and precise, with good acidity. I was therefore thinking it was a '10 but Brodie correctly picked '09. My second favourite of the three dessert wines. Good acidity for a 2009. Lemons, oranges, pears and lychees with some slightly bitter almond on the finish. I'd give this wine another 5+ years cellar time. Probably the best long-term proposition of the three wines.
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