Sauternes Chinese Banquet Dinner
Tasted Sunday, December 3, 2023 by drwine2001 with 84 views
Introduction
This was an interesting, expertly arranged dinner with a traditional Cantonese banquet that featured a great array of Sauternes of varying styles and ages. Preferences for the wines varied greatly, and the notes reflect my own opinions, not any sort of consensus. Wines were served unblinded (except for the one ringer) either singly or in pairs.
2007 Château Doisy-Daëne
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Half bottle. Light color. Honied, pineapple nose. Lovely medium weight and only moderate sweetness. Average acidity and slightly harsh finish but overall nice balance.
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2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Sémillon Lachryma Montis, Botrytized Old Vine Monte Rosso Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Half bottle. Tasted blind. Full yellow. Lots of botrytis and sweet stone fruit. Some secondary perfume. Quite sweet and liquoreux with vanilla and spice. Rich but reasonably well balanced. Very good Sauternes look alike.
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2010 Château de Fargues
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Deep yellow. High toned fragrance. Moderately sweet apricot, some wood. Excellent acidity, very nice elegance and length, slight bitterness at the very end.
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2009 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Opened 24 hours in advance. Yellow color. Rich, spicy, lush, and moderately sweet with exquisite balance. Still very young but a powerhouse and delicious now. The biggest wine of the tasting. Should live forever.
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2004 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
This too had been opened 24 hours in advance. Good yellow color. Lightest wine served so far. Not terribly sweet. Lower key and quite elegant but not nearly as impressive or as round and seamless as the titanic 2009. Fine food wine and it reminded me of other less sweet vintages of d'Yquem such as 1980.
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2001 Château de Fargues
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Beautiful burnished light gold. Soaring, complex aromas. Elegant, less sweet, and very complex in the mouth with great acidity, some pineapple, and uplifting orange. I loved this as I have every time I've tasted it.
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2001 Château Suduiraut
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Light golden. Calm nose. More unctuous and sweeter than the 2001 Fargues, but this also has excellent acidity and structure. Fabulous texture and weight with some vanilla bean and citrus to complement the tropical fruit. Outstanding dessert wine that is very poised and maturing well.
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1988 Château Climens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Healthy light golden color. Little botrytis evident. More off dry than sweet. Lighter weight, apple and orchard fruit profile, outstanding acidity, and great length. Probably my favorite wine of the evening for its freshness, purity, and relative delicacy. I've had similar impressions each time I've had this. Wonderful!
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1988 Château Coutet Barsac
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Golden color. Richer and riper than the 1988 Climens but still not one of the larger scale wines tonight. Fruit veers toward more typical apricot. Deep and long but with a touch of finishing cyanic bitterness. Excellent nonetheless.
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1986 Château Climens
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Light golden. No botrytis. Perfumed secondary aromas. Lighter weight but richer than the 1988. Still very elegant and like that wine, not that sweet. A little dirtiness at the end that mars the harmony of the wine, but this too is lovely.
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1989 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Half bottle. Amber. Toffee and caramel. Very sweet and viscous with a definite touch of oxidation. Complex, long, and some apricot fruit but it lacked the great acidity of other bottles and seemed on the downside.
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1990 Château de Fargues
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Deep golden color. Medium weight in the line up but rich. Fantastic acidity supports spicy tropical fruit, apple, and a strong squirt of citrus. Delicious wine that I preferred to the 1989 d'Yquem next to it. In no danger of imminent decline.
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1989 Château Suduiraut Crème de Tête Cuvée Madame
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Orange/golden in color. Caramel, coconut, and apricot. Great synthesis of richness and restraint. Excellent acidity, some wood, outstanding length.
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1959 Château Coutet Barsac
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
Amber color. Prominent VA on the nose which largely blew off. Not that sweet. Prickly feel with barleycorn flavors and pleasant grilled nuts, some earth, and bitter citrus. Very much alive but well past its best. A second half bottle was more advanced and clearly maderized.
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