A wonderful Climens, paired beautifully at the end of our meal with both dessert (Tart Tatin) and cheese platter (Truffle Camembert, Stilton).
Color - bright gold core, hay on the rim.
Nose - Pronounced floral notes, honeysuckle and herbs, with an initial backdrop of peach and toasted nuts. Developed beautifully in the glass with every whiff, adding notes of pine, lemon and even nutmeg. Stunning complexity and nonstop intrigue and development.
Mouth - Drinking beautifully with harmonious, balanced layers of peach, apricot and sweet pear, and a full, structured body. Finishes long with rich spices and zest, leaving you wanting more.
93 points on the night. A stunner, with decades left of pleasure to give (but no need to wait).
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PnP served non-blind; color and fill vg. This was showing fully mature, with a coppery gold color - still bright, clear. Typical aromas of peach, ripe melon, candied spices, etc. Medium-bodied on the palate that showed avg vigor/tension, finish and complexity. At this stage, it's on the backside of its preferred curve, though clearly it'll last several more years. That said, I can't see any reason to hold it any longer. Elegant, and understated. 14,3% abv. recommended
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Candid fruit of apricot, green raisins, fresh blood orange, almonds, white chocolate. Crips acidity with a nicely creamy texture, in perfect balance. A consistently great wine at the peak of its drinking window.
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The third time tasting this beauty. Beautiful saffron notes at the core, lots of fruits, good freshness and cut. Unfortunately, I had enough wine when this was served and couldn‘t really open up anymore to get into it. I‘m sure I would have rated it higher.
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Saffron spice, candid apricot, fresh apricot and quince. On the palate distinctly melon fruit with crisp acidity and perfect balance. This continues to perform at a consistently high level and is in the perfect drinking spot right now, balancing sweetness with freshness and aromatic intensity.
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OMG. Beautiful youthful color. Incredible nose lingering over you for the entire time you enjoyed the glass. Great palate weight. Long finish apricot, butter, cinnamon. BUY. Long life ahead if you can find it.
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Lovely wine, but I'm more and more realising that I prefer a sweet Riesling over Sauternes. This was a bit high in alcohol, with dried peach, nectarine, orange caramel, honey, pineapple, saffron. Sweetness was balanced by a good amount of acidity, it did make for a great pairing with dessert. This will keep, but I reckon its drinking very well right now.
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A beautifully aged Sauternes at the peak of its drinking window. Plenty going on on the herbal and spicy front with chamomile, saffron and fresh herbs. Candid fruits of dried apricot. Honey flavor makes up the brunt of the sweet notes. Hints of white flowers. Excellent viscosity, just slightly creamy texture with sufficient acidity. Second bottle from a 12-case this year with consistent result.
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A slight tough of saffron, candid fruit, dried apricot quince and sweeter variations of apricot confiture. Infusion of Alpine herbs, white flowers. On the palate the perfect amounts of sweetness and acidity with nicely creamy texture to keep it signature Sauternes and fresh at the same time.
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No notes taken. This showed great. Lots of expression from start to finish, good aromatic depth with a beautiful profile of spices, saffron to complement the quince/apricot fruit core, more in the dry spectrum, some tertiary notes of toffee and some herbs. This has hit a first nice level of maturity with a beautiful harmony between all components. Climens is not my favorite Sauternes as the missing Sauvignon Blanc usually leads to a slightly more cloying/oily texture. Still, this is a fantastic wine and vintage for Climens and should reach even higher highs in 10, 20, 30 years.
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No notes taken. Tasted double blind. Superb texture and structural frame, very light and fresh with a very good sweetness and freshness balance. All the textbook aromas are there, first and foremost the typical Sauternes saffron botrytis notes. Additional layers of quince, dried apricot, toasty and toffee notes and a herbal component which lends additional freshness. At first not perfectly clean, this just needed time and air. 95+ pts.
Decanting: Not decanted. 1-2 hours in the decanter needed.
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Candid, more dark berry type of fruit of plum but also dried apricot. There were some cardboard-like notes initially which was annoying, but that did dissipate over time. Otherwise nice intensity with saffron, honey, caramel and espresso notes, fresh herbs, hay and dried leaves. A surprisingly fresh, ideally soft palate with a light texture. Fresh green herbal notes are diagonally built into aroma profile which is expanding, adding details and accents. If it wasn’t for the cardboard-like notes initially, this would have been outstanding. I didn’t decant, but will go for a 1h+ decant with the next bottle.
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"Old Bordeaux" = '86! (Old Home of Woodward): Another wedding year wine for us! Just great from 375 with orange rind, stone fruit, honey / botrytis, hints of nuts and tart pineapple. WOW! Now-2039.
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Next to a 1989 Yquem that tasted flat and a little dull in comparison (perhaps due to poor storage?), this was stunning. It had such amazing freshness and acidity that blind I never would’ve called an 89. So youthful. Flavors of orange marmalade and crème brûlée. A perfect Sauternes for my palate that easily has 20+ years to go in 375ml format. Need more of this.
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Close to perfection. Perfect balance of intensity, mouthfeel, concentration, complexity and evolution. Sweet caramel, masala, spice, mazing freshness, sensual, subtle, long. Joint second in the 1924-2010 Climes tasting.
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1989 / 1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria, Singapore): Absolutely lovely. The nose was classic Climens, with little wafts of honey, almonds, and then dried apricots and candied apples, all these edged with a touch of ferrous mineral. The palate was lovely. Warm, honeyed and delicious, with reams of dried apricot and sweet red apples seasoned with a gentle infusion of spice. This was beautifully balanced and integrated, with a lovely roundness and deliciousness to it, yet it was still always lithe and focused. Great stuff. The warm botrytis influenced 1989 vintage really spoke through this, as did the freshness of the Barsac terroir - a delicious wine, drinking so well now.
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Sauternes study (Chicago, IL): Intense, thick, and unctuous, this is the sort of oily Sauternes that you really want when you pop the cork. The botrytis here is significant, and there are a lot of brown sugar flavours as well. The sweetness is very high, especially for a Barsac, and there is a nice mix of assorted dried stone fruits as well. I liked this much more than the 1986.
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legendary aged Sauternes. And had from a 750ml not a 500ml. It's really lovely at this point. Sweet but not dominating. Goes great with desert and a tiny bit of sediment.
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From half bottle. Gorgeous amber colour. Alluring creamy nose and delicious flavours of barley sugar, but has a hot finish that prevents this from being first-class.
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94-95. No detailed note. First Climens. Had a nice grapefruit note I quite appreciated. If this bottle is indicative of Climens house style, I think I am a fan.
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Jordan's 1989 Bordeaux Dinner (Feast & Imbibe - Evanston IL): Served alongside the Rieussec, both very different, and I slightly preferred Rieussec. Lots of rich peach and apricot throughout with lush, fleshy textures. Very enjoyable, just less complex giving this a slightly one-dimensional finish.
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Wow, super powerful with great intensity and delicious flavors of chalky yellow fruits and dusty minerals. Medium sweetness and still young but showing great bread and class with a long, crunchy finish. I actually liked this just a bit better than the '88 Yquem drunk alongside. 95+ At Craft, NYC with Man's Gotta Eat boys.
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14th half of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, slightly darker but otherwise as or even more nuanced than last December's splendid half, and with decades left! VF+ (19)…...my kind of Sauternes.
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Golden copper colour. On the nose, honey and marmalade. Smooth velvety texture. Rich, and concentrated. Quite complex. Notes of honey, orange, balanced with fresh acidity characteristic of Barsac. Fresher and not as heavy compared with the Rieussec 1989 tasted recently.
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Very good and very satisfying indeed, but not quite enough complexity to bump it up to that next level. Reasonably fresh for an 89, this still shows more ripeness than the 88 and a creamy, smoky, clementine-compote nose. Nice acidity on the palate which keeps the wine from being too top-heavy. Opened two bottles, both similar. 93-94.
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Ripe fruit, dried fruit, caramel, orange marmalade, spices. Rich and dense on the palate, not overly fresh and vibrant, good weight. Very smooth, very generous and mouth-coating, but not incredibly complex or persistent. Still a very lovely wine. Drink or keep. 92-94
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13th of 24 halves, pnp, perfect cork and level, sensational, pale, youthful, best form, impressive layering and balance, almost fresh, more my style than my last bottle of Yquem 89 (but time will tell!). VF+ (19).
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Fresh, bright, ripe, sweet, tropical fruits, focusing on pineapples and white peach, flowers and Macadamia nut honey. Everything you want in a sweet wine is here, combining freshness, honeyed fruits and acidity. A little more depth of flavor would be nice, but that does not take away from the sweet sensations in every sip found here. A perfect way to end a hot, summer night.
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12th of 24 halves, pnp, perfect cork and level, slightly fuller than before, more marmalade and less lemon zip, regrettable step backwards. Still VF (18.5).
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Burnished gold colour; stewed fruit and candied orange on nose, with a mere suggestion of pear drop; taste = mouth filling of the above, rather rich for a Climens (indeed it was reminiscent of a Rieussec), and clearly in a very advanced state. The wine has lost its acidity, and the flavours have flattened out with age, but nonetheless it was quite delicious.
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Remarkably pale, quite unlike other Sauternes & Barsacs of similar age. Very lovely nuanced flavours and exceptionally well balanced. But when it comes to the second glass ....... not quite so compelling. I don't know whether this shows a decline in my erstwhile love affair with sweet white Bordeaux, or whether I have merely graduated to the pinnacles of the genre -- e.g. Climens 1988 or Yquem 2001.
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UWS 2016 End of year dinner (@ CdW and KvdK): The color is surprisingly light yellow and youthful. On the palate a delicious and elegant wine with caramel, apricots, beautiful botrytis and an excellent balance between acidity and sweetness. Great and complex, still very youthful wine.
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750 Best on the first night. Grapefruit, cherry pits. Drink now. First night 99 ... 48 then 72 hours in fridge ... this is losing it's verve more quickly than I expected. Surprise surprise 11-day update: still beautiful, suggesting end of one plateau but will have a long, balanced, complex life.
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Light to mid gold. Initially seems like the lovely 88 but then clearly has a richer profile. Lemon curd, seville orange, pineapple, honey, spice all against a background of intense freshness. The delineation and kaleidoscopic profile of the palate is delightful. Clearly *****
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11th of 12. Superb bottle. Honeyed and floral with layer upon layer of complexity. Beautiful balance. An elegant wine, overpowered by Roquefort cheese and better drunk on its own. 5/5
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Cork fell in small bits and was evidently corrupt, compromising the quality of the wine. Smell was generic and there was no lift in the palate. Too bad
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Fin doft med saffran, tropisk frukt, honung, karamell och citrus. I smaken samma tropiska frukt, honung, mineral och lite citrus. Har inte den kraften som man ofta hittar hos Climens utan är ett lite elegantare och lite lättare vin med mindre botrytis. Väldigt fin balans.
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No formal notes. Very good wine indeed. Had together with a Cohiba cigar and that is a combo hard, if not impossible, to beat. Saffron on the nose, with lovely tropical fruits and excellent overall balance. Very similar to my last tasting note.
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11th of 24 halves, previous notes at least very fine - light gold, bright, pale for age; floral, honeyed, refreshing cut of lemon, complex; fullish, amazing length with extra expansion after 90 seconds, balanced, almost refreshing acidity, a still youthful masterpiece and rival to the 88 and indeed the fine Yquem 89. Very fine plus (19/20).
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From a bottle purchased on release, this wine had a light amber color and clear rims. The medium intensity nose was more subtle than some Sauternes/Barsacs but offered a lot of complexity. It showed coconut, pear, hazelnut, lemons, and toffee.
In the mouth, this wine was beautifully balanced with great richness and nice acidity. It did not "bowl" you over with power. However, it did entrance the taster with its balance , length, and complexity.
While drinking now with a couple of hours of air, this will last decades.
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Deep golden colored. Penetrating aromas spun sugar and honeysuckle. faintest marmalade flavors. Quite big and full. Lovely. (On second day, starting to get a tad heavy). Drink or hold (for as long as desired)
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Underbar doft med massor av saffran, honung, karamell och ett uns av citrus. I smaken mogen frukt och relativt återhållen sötma med fin syra och minderal. Har inte den kraften som man ofta hittar hos Climens utan är ett lite elegantare och lite lättare vin med mindre botrytis och väldigt silkig och fin balans.
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Had this served blind at Stockholm’s best wine bar, The Burgundy, located in old town. I managed to nail both the wine and vintage. A lovely nose with enormous amounts of expensive saffron, hint of sugar and honey, caramel and some citrus, with just a faint hint . On the palate this shows a very good structure, clearly from a somewhat warmer year. Not much botrytis, nor any overpowering either sweetness or acidity. Very balanced, if perhaps not a huge and protruding Sauternes, but more a slim and sophisticated wine. Really good & likable stuff.
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Nez fin de miel, de truffes, de pain d'épice, avec des touches de marmelade. Un vin équilibré et fin, encore d'une bonne richesse, avec une minéralité et une subtilité avérées. Rien de spectaculaire, mais un vin qui s'impose discrètement par sa classe. 92 pts
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Color: deep old gold bordering on orange with slight amber tints. Fabulous nose of creme brulee, toffee and caramel with butterscotch and light citrus notes. While fantastic, this bottle didn't quite hit the heights of the last bottle from 8 months ago. Still full-bodied with tremendous focus and acidity, this bottle was just a notch below that last one in terms of intensity. Feminine, medium-sweet, still showing great depth of flavour with butterscotch, toffee, creme brulee and a huge finish.
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Climens Vertical (Pasion, San Francisco, CA): From a half. Lighter color than the '88, fresher fruit; palate has a fuller body, more concentrated, sweet (maybe a tad too sweet), good acidity, white fruits. Very good, but comes across as far too young, which is surprising as the 89 Yquem tastes much more mature than the 88 Yquem. 93+ 1/22: The nose is still surprisingly subtle, but the palate has developed superbly. Now rich and flavorful at first, but rapidly transitions to bright acidity, intense lime, citrus, tart; the finish is short-moderate. The intense flavors fade kind of quickly, but they are immensely enjoyable for the time that they are around.
A shade lighter than the '88. Rich and honeyed but with marvelous acidity. More like my prototypical memories of Climens than the post-2000 wines. Remarkably vigorous for its age.
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another great showing for this wine. Brilliant mid gold. Sensational ethereal lifted nose of cirus botrytis and hint of barley sugar. Extraordinary refinement. Sweet but structured with Climens elegance and lightness but great intensity and long long finish. Brilliant.
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Wine Dinner (Thai Cottage, SF): Light golden color; complex light nose, good spice, slight chlorine, hard to determine fruit, slight floral; palate is light bodied, sweet in the midpalate, minerally, medium finish, good acidity, slightly high alcohol towards the finish. An excellently balanced barsac-styled wine that went very well with all types of food, slightly less complex than the best Climens I've had (86, 90) but very enjoyable. At early maturity and ready now or in the next 10 years. 92-93 Update Day 3: Held up well with lots of minerality on the nose, some slate; palate is still fresh and enjoyable. Still 92-93.
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Light gold in color. Superb aromas of candied citrus peel, apricots, creme-brulee and a high note of saffron. A refined and silky palate follows through with sweet ripe summer orchard fruits, superb acidity and an enormously long and perfumed finish. What a great showing for the 89 Climens, all the elements are in perfect harmony!!
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Color: deep old gold bordering on orange with slight amber tints. Fabulous nose of creme brulee, toffee and caramel with butterscotch and light citrus notes. The perfect way to end an evening of really nice wines, this was just stellar. About as full-bodied as Climens gets but showing the usual racy edge, focus, and femininity I've come to expect. Medium-sweet with perfect acidity and a ridiculously long finish. A perfect showing for this bottle. Between '76 and 2001, probably my second favorite vintage of Climens (second only to the nearly perfect 1990).
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quite brown and advanced or this wine, but marvelous, complex, lots of botrytis...fully developed. not sure why this one bottle is so much darker, but remarkable in any case.
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Bordeaux 1989 Horizontal Tasting (Zurich): Nose of saffron, apricot, grapefruit. The wine has quite some acidity. Thick with lots of botrytis. Great wine with long life ahead. Drink - 2030
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Pale gold. Classic barsac and Climens on the nose. Waves of restrained citrus peel and botrytis. Great persistence and elegance. Nothing forced. Medium sweet restrained power all in harmony and a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity leaving the palate fresh. Lovely wine.
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Stunning as usual. Minerally apple skin quality with classic apricot notes, slick, rich but still clean with a tangy finish. High acidity kept it vibrant.
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Reserved nose. Subtle palate with notes of mushrooms and a tart finish. I got a quick taste of TCA and one point and given the showing of the wine I think it had some cork taint.
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Dreamtasting #4 (Restaurant de Watermolen, Kasterlee): This is a regal wine. Simply awesome in its rich, voluptuous, viscous mouthfeel. Slightly volatile out of the bottle. Beautiful nuances of tangerine, honeyed pears, marzipan, baked nectarines and a tiny hint of grilled pine kernels.. Great acidity, very persistent and carressing finish. Right in the sweet spot for me. Don't wait, enjoy! In retrospect this seemed much more lush, sweeter and concentrated than one tasted 2 years ago, I found it to be equally impressive (tasted blind both times). 18.5/20
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Very luxurious and concentrated bouquet with some not disturbing VA, orange peel, apricots and honet. Same on the palate with some beautiful oak as well. A beautiful and elegant wine with still a lot of future.
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Rich, smooth with a velvet like finish, this has a full array of tropical fruits, apricot, honey, fresh cut flowers and a wonderful nose and taste of burnt, crispy sugar. Feel like this is drinking in it's prime.
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Drinking extrmemely young. Lots of acidity. Opened up after about 1+ hours. Apricot and hazelnut. Elegant sweetness. Not overwhelmingly sweet. Lots of life ahead.
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Alcohol :: 14.3% Bright golden. This wine is absolutely singing and a better wine to the Essencia today. Expressive, seductive nose of chalk, wax with layer and layer of mango, peaches and dried apricot which is deep and complex. Refine, well definition, seductive honey coated tropical fruits profile with Bortrytis spices that is amazingly dense and complex but what make this wine seductive is all about the acidity that give the wine razor sharp transparency as well as precision. Super smooth, velvety, finish is long, complex and vibrant with touch of green herbs showing at the end which I don't really favor. Climen really need aging to show as it tasted terribly sweet and viscous when young.
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2011 Simple Series II: Henry's Dinner (Huat Kee, Amoy Street): I loved this. My favourite Climens so far, and probably the best 1989 Sauternes / Barsac I have had to date. The cork broke, so I had to double decant it. When poured, it was a beautiful golden amber colour and filled the nose with rich tropical scents of mangoes and pineapples alongside toffee, caramel and coconut with a touch of flowers. Beautiful stuff. The palate was similarly rich, but it was the balance that struck me first. Unusually for a 1989, this wine had a lovely ring of acidity that sounded through it botrytised richness from attack to finish. This kept it fresh in spite of the soft, voluptuous Barsac-ness of the wine with its weighty tones of dried mangoes, caramel, pineapples, honey, sea coconut and brown sugar - all meltingly delicious flavours that tumbled one over another in the glass. Very noble in stature and depth, and yet really fun to drink with the fresh acid on each sip drawing another and another. Really nice, and yet this one certainly has its best years ahead of it. Pity I only had the one bottle.
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Simple Series Dinner 2 (Huat Kee): Bright golden. Plenty of dried preserved plums on the nose on first whiff. Thought this was quite Tokaji-like though after a while the hint of Sauternes flabbiness start to be more prominent. Nonetheless one of the better Sauternes I've had and not showing its age yet.
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Tasting the 1989 and 1990 alongside made interesting resuls.The 1989 lacks the huge power and sweetness of the 1990 but has a much warmer, honeyed profile. Love it tho I do sometimes the 1990 can be just a little overbearing, and on this showing I think I prefer the more softly-spoken 1989. All things are relative tho - these are both great wines and the 1989 is certainly no wallflower itself
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A lot of sweetness balanced with beautiful acidity. Apricots, Orange peel and honey in the bouquet and on the palate. Minerals as well. Still very youthful and a complex and long finish. Great wine and a high score, but a surprisingly forward style for Climens which I mostly see as delicate and elegant.
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Hedonistic Diner, Part 2 (Restaurant Le Défi, Sprang-Capelle): Charming, elegant, tender. Not overly sweet, leaves a dry and clean mouthfeel after the impressively long and balanced finish. Lovely refreshing acidity, vanilla, pears, mango and cream. What a beautiful wine! 18.5/20
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Excellent. Very clear color, not very evolved. Smell of honey, pineapple and passion fruit. Vanilla there too. Dense nose but can tell of the acidity. Was worried this would be a heavy, alcoholic, fat sauternes. But in the mouth it was quite light, fine and delineated. I enjoyed this wine. Ready to drink now.
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Carafé une petite demi-heure, ce sauterne à su nous en mettre plein la bouche. Complexe, raffiné tout en offrant un équilibre presque parfait entre le sucre et l'acidité. Entre en sa phase de maturité. Saura traverser les années facilement. 94.
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1989 Bordeaux at 20 years (Morton's NYC): Exactly as sweet as it can be without being too sweet. Perfectly balanced. Just into it's drinking window. Not caramelized yet but has some wonderful complexity. Excellent A
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1989 revisited offline (Hambleton Hall, Rutland): A noticeably lighter colour than the other two. It has a lovely nose, and then on the palate there is some orange flowers and a very subtle honey note. This is very classy on the palate, and stands head and shoulders above the 89 Suduiraut and 89 Rieussec.
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This usually highly reliable Climens seemed too sweet to me. The wonderful flavors of apricot and peach were prominently displaced but I found it just a bit cloying this time.
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Ledbury Bordeaux december Decadence: Wow. Gorgeous nose, all sweetness, pineapple fruit, hints of creme brulee. Lovliest nose on a Sauternes since an 89 Tour Blanche last year. Picks up the passion fruit of the souffle on the nose. Lovely palate, just lovely. Freshness, acidity, balance. It's sweet, it's not red, it's lovely! *****
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Conrad’s: Dark gold color; fantastic nose of caramel, clear apricot nose--nutty, w/classic petrol; not showing too much age at this point--rich silky entry, a bit slim mid-p, then nice long apricot-caramel finish. Very yummy.
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East Bank / HDH Tasting (Chicago): Big botrytis notes of honey on the nose. Huge and too low in acid and too high in perceived sweetness for me. Super long finish of golden raisin. I can see that this is good, it just doesn't hit my stylistic sweet spot and I wouldn't want more than about 1oz of it in a single sitting.
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The wine of the night for everyone (with Malcolm, Sandi, Adam and Jennifer). Powerful and muscular, especially in Climens terms. Hugely botrytised and dripping with apricot and honey yet held together by crisp acidity. No need to eat your dessert if you drink this.
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Kitchen Tasting Group does Lynch Bages: Minimal notes at this point. The nose is very sweet with caramel and citrus fruit notes. I wrote d'Yquem-like. On the palate this is well balanced, with good acidity to offset the sweet, concentrated fruit. Long, lingering finish. A great way to end the tasting.
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A Tale of Two Chateaux - Rauzan-Segla and Climens (The Wine Society, Stevenage): Bright, medium gold. Spicy, floral, rich nose. Very sweet indeed on the palate, floral, orange-blossom, candied fruit, creamy and rich and although very good acidity prevents it from becoming over-cloying, it does lack a little elegance in comaparison to the 96. Nevertheless an excellent, enjoyable mature Barsac.
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Drank at big dinner party with Rob, Izzie etc. Lovely stuff, but not quite as delicate and nuanced as I remember it. Lots of rich honey, floral flavours weight and length. Lovely stuff...
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drank at wine friday with table. Not that liked, but most don't do sweet wines. As always, great stuff but not quite the precision of flavours that someClimens has. Honey, white flowers, and a rich, smooth, finish.
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warm, honeyed, white flowers, a hint of petroleum notes and green fruit. Sweeter than many Climens and not quite as refined as I remembered... a lovely wine nonetheless.
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Dourado, límpido e brilhante. Aromas intensos e marcantes de pessego, damasco e um fundo mineral. Na boca untuoso, concentrado, incrívelmente fresco, destacando o damasco, o mel, a acetona e a Botrytis. Excelente acidez, extrema complexidade e praticamente não sai da boca de tanto que dura o final. A minha primeira experiência de um "real" Sauternes. Não saberia dizer se ainda pode melhorar.Excepcional!
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Almoço para Dd: Dourado intenso, límpido e com sedimentos apenas nas últimas taças. Deliciosos, profundos e pungentes aromas de damasco, laranja, manga, com boa presença de botritys, revelada por notas químicas, resinosas e de acetona. Untuoso, grande acidez, ótima fruta, pimenta branca, botritys novamente, amargor médio e extraordinária estrutura capaz de lastrear por muitos anos a evolução desse vinho. Final muitíssimo longo. Excepcional.
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Great stuff. Just what I want in my Sauternes; o.k., Barsac. Sweet, peachy and fragrant with perfect balancing fruity acids to keep it fresh with no sense of heaviness or overripeness that plagues some other '89s. I hope the '88 and '90 turn out this well. I can't imagine this '89 getting any better than it is right now, at least out of 375s.
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Fabulously good Barsac that may get even better with more time, but great now. Light orange yellow in color accurately predicts a very fresh wine (375 ml). Gorgeous aromas from a citrus garden; orange peel, lemon, lime, mango, passion fruit; they're all there or easy to imagine. Fully integrated on the palate and delicately poised in that stylish Climens way. Just the right degree of sugar backed up by racy fruit acids. Perfect example of full flavor in a lightweight package.
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From 375's. A glorious wine; close to Yquem but with the tell-tale Climens creaminess and acidity. This wine is drniking beautifully but also has a long life ahead!
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Interesting comparison to the '86 Climens I brought along with this 375. The two wines both had that ineffable Climens style of perfectly poised fruit and fruit acids, but this '89 was obviously richer and more affected by botrytis. It was not as full as a previous bottle that reminded me of Yquem, but Climens has a poise and elegance that cannot be smothered even by a heavy vintage such as '89. Great stuff and should go on for many years, but maybe never be more enjoyable than it is right now.
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Tasted at Boulevard in SF. Showing unbelievably well tonight. So well balanced between honey, pear, lime, just a hint of spice, coats the palate and doesn't let go. Very nice, honey-laced finish. A perfect ending to a wonderful meal.
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Another top notch example of this interesting Climens. Strikingly rich and luscious for a Barsac, even the Queen of Barsacs. Obvious apricoty botrytis and quite sweet, although there's just enough acidity to keep it fresh. Fully ready from these half bottles, but should hold for a long time.
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Dark gold - beautiful colour. Some botrytis on the nose, but not exuding it. Honeyed with hints of burnt caramel, on the palate still fresh with good acidity, but lacks some fat and concentration. Medium to long finish.
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Yellow with slightly brown hue. Notes of abricot and dried fruits. Oily and fat in the mouth with marvellous botrytis sweetness, superb intensity on the palate, and a chocolate/nougat taste. Much better than 6 months ago. Well defined and retaining good freshness with plenty of nuances and complexity. 45 second aftertaste. Very, very good.
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Medium golden colour. Excellent nose of nuts, honey, melon and burnt wood. Built into a nicely dimensioned framework, and bursting with nice flavours of ripe fruit, honey and roasted almonds. Classy and elegant, but also rich and oily. Drinking exceptionally well on the night, and a fantastic match for our Varhôna chocolate mousse desert. The two seemed to intensify the flavour of each other. A very long finish. (from half bottle).
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Lots of botrytis, spices and vanilla; quite big and concentrated, powerful, lovely Climens-acidity, excellent length. A fabulous wine. Drink 1996 - 2020.
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3/8/2024 - DanielAVTL Likes this wine: 93 Points
* Opened 5 hours before serving.
A wonderful Climens, paired beautifully at the end of our meal with both dessert (Tart Tatin) and cheese platter (Truffle Camembert, Stilton).
Color - bright gold core, hay on the rim.
Nose - Pronounced floral notes, honeysuckle and herbs, with an initial backdrop of peach and toasted nuts. Developed beautifully in the glass with every whiff, adding notes of pine, lemon and even nutmeg. Stunning complexity and nonstop intrigue and development.
Mouth - Drinking beautifully with harmonious, balanced layers of peach, apricot and sweet pear, and a full, structured body. Finishes long with rich spices and zest, leaving you wanting more.
93 points on the night. A stunner, with decades left of pleasure to give (but no need to wait).
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11/23/2023 - sapphofaires@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious, mellowed into a nutty flavor with a hint of apricot
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11/6/2023 - Echinosum Likes this wine:
Served at a dinner party, and I was a bit squiffy by the time we came to this, so no detailed notes. Utterly delicious. Still with years of life.
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8/24/2023 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
PnP served non-blind; color and fill vg. This was showing fully mature, with a coppery gold color - still bright, clear. Typical aromas of peach, ripe melon, candied spices, etc. Medium-bodied on the palate that showed avg vigor/tension, finish and complexity. At this stage, it's on the backside of its preferred curve, though clearly it'll last several more years. That said, I can't see any reason to hold it any longer. Elegant, and understated. 14,3% abv. recommended
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7/29/2023 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Candid fruit of apricot, green raisins, fresh blood orange, almonds, white chocolate. Crips acidity with a nicely creamy texture, in perfect balance. A consistently great wine at the peak of its drinking window.
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6/8/2023 - Cailles wrote: 94 Points
The third time tasting this beauty. Beautiful saffron notes at the core, lots of fruits, good freshness and cut. Unfortunately, I had enough wine when this was served and couldn‘t really open up anymore to get into it. I‘m sure I would have rated it higher.
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6/2/2023 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Saffron spice, candid apricot, fresh apricot and quince. On the palate distinctly melon fruit with crisp acidity and perfect balance. This continues to perform at a consistently high level and is in the perfect drinking spot right now, balancing sweetness with freshness and aromatic intensity.
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4/8/2023 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 97 Points
OMG. Beautiful youthful color. Incredible nose lingering over you for the entire time you enjoyed the glass. Great palate weight. Long finish apricot, butter, cinnamon. BUY. Long life ahead if you can find it.
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2/27/2023 - Peter Spijker Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lovely wine, but I'm more and more realising that I prefer a sweet Riesling over Sauternes. This was a bit high in alcohol, with dried peach, nectarine, orange caramel, honey, pineapple, saffron. Sweetness was balanced by a good amount of acidity, it did make for a great pairing with dessert. This will keep, but I reckon its drinking very well right now.
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2/4/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points
A beautifully aged Sauternes at the peak of its drinking window. Plenty going on on the herbal and spicy front with chamomile, saffron and fresh herbs. Candid fruits of dried apricot. Honey flavor makes up the brunt of the sweet notes. Hints of white flowers. Excellent viscosity, just slightly creamy texture with sufficient acidity. Second bottle from a 12-case this year with consistent result.
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1/7/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points
A slight tough of saffron, candid fruit, dried apricot quince and sweeter variations of apricot confiture. Infusion of Alpine herbs, white flowers. On the palate the perfect amounts of sweetness and acidity with nicely creamy texture to keep it signature Sauternes and fresh at the same time.
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1/3/2023 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
No notes taken. This showed great. Lots of expression from start to finish, good aromatic depth with a beautiful profile of spices, saffron to complement the quince/apricot fruit core, more in the dry spectrum, some tertiary notes of toffee and some herbs. This has hit a first nice level of maturity with a beautiful harmony between all components. Climens is not my favorite Sauternes as the missing Sauvignon Blanc usually leads to a slightly more cloying/oily texture. Still, this is a fantastic wine and vintage for Climens and should reach even higher highs in 10, 20, 30 years.
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12/14/2022 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
No notes taken. Tasted double blind. Superb texture and structural frame, very light and fresh with a very good sweetness and freshness balance. All the textbook aromas are there, first and foremost the typical Sauternes saffron botrytis notes. Additional layers of quince, dried apricot, toasty and toffee notes and a herbal component which lends additional freshness. At first not perfectly clean, this just needed time and air. 95+ pts.
Decanting: Not decanted. 1-2 hours in the decanter needed.
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12/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote: 94 Points
Candid, more dark berry type of fruit of plum but also dried apricot. There were some cardboard-like notes initially which was annoying, but that did dissipate over time. Otherwise nice intensity with saffron, honey, caramel and espresso notes, fresh herbs, hay and dried leaves. A surprisingly fresh, ideally soft palate with a light texture. Fresh green herbal notes are diagonally built into aroma profile which is expanding, adding details and accents. If it wasn’t for the cardboard-like notes initially, this would have been outstanding. I didn’t decant, but will go for a 1h+ decant with the next bottle.
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4/16/2022 - liber Likes this wine: 97 Points
16th half of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, superb if marginally less electric than last half in June 21, little upside, no rush. VF+ (19).
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2/4/2022 - Grinner wrote: 95 Points
"Old Bordeaux" = '86! (Old Home of Woodward): Another wedding year wine for us! Just great from 375 with orange rind, stone fruit, honey / botrytis, hints of nuts and tart pineapple. WOW! Now-2039.
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12/28/2021 - Iskama wrote: 98 Points
Next to a 1989 Yquem that tasted flat and a little dull in comparison (perhaps due to poor storage?), this was stunning. It had such amazing freshness and acidity that blind I never would’ve called an 89. So youthful. Flavors of orange marmalade and crème brûlée. A perfect Sauternes for my palate that easily has 20+ years to go in 375ml format. Need more of this.
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6/28/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 98 Points
15th of 24 halves, bright, young, unctuous, fresh, layered, unbelievable persistence and concentration.......sensational and yardstick wine! VFI (19.5).
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5/20/2021 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 98 Points
Close to perfection. Perfect balance of intensity, mouthfeel, concentration, complexity and evolution. Sweet caramel, masala, spice, mazing freshness, sensual, subtle, long.
Joint second in the 1924-2010 Climes tasting.
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11/30/2020 - Echinosum Likes this wine: 93 Points
No hurry to drink this yet. Still thick and oily. Amber coloure. So neither over-dark nor thinning out, my usual drink-it-up signs.
Powerful apricot notes, acid nicely in balance, fresh - some are calling marmalade or apple or candied fruit, I think it is the same thing.
It was a ripe year and the style leans a little more towards sauternes in this year, or at least now that it is very mature.
Not blow-you-away quality. But extremely competent and benchmark wine.
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8/6/2020 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 94 Points
energetic and vibrant. Beautiful amber, immense orange marmarlade, passion fruit jam, honey syrup, cream brulee, caramel, sweet vanilla, cedar wood.
Salivating acidity, more dusty, mushroomy notes and almond macaron emerged on palate, quite massive but the finish is lifting. Every bite delicious.
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7/17/2020 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
1989 / 1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Jade Palace, Forum Galleria, Singapore): Absolutely lovely. The nose was classic Climens, with little wafts of honey, almonds, and then dried apricots and candied apples, all these edged with a touch of ferrous mineral. The palate was lovely. Warm, honeyed and delicious, with reams of dried apricot and sweet red apples seasoned with a gentle infusion of spice. This was beautifully balanced and integrated, with a lovely roundness and deliciousness to it, yet it was still always lithe and focused. Great stuff. The warm botrytis influenced 1989 vintage really spoke through this, as did the freshness of the Barsac terroir - a delicious wine, drinking so well now.
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3/7/2020 - cfk49 wrote: 92 Points
Lovely, mature Barsac, still holding fruit. Cellared since original release.
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12/31/2019 - RWG Likes this wine: 94 Points
super lovely vintage Sauternes, full 750ml. 2nd bottle I've had out of a case. crisp, sweet, perfection. Great with soft cheeses.
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12/16/2019 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Sauternes study (Chicago, IL): Intense, thick, and unctuous, this is the sort of oily Sauternes that you really want when you pop the cork. The botrytis here is significant, and there are a lot of brown sugar flavours as well. The sweetness is very high, especially for a Barsac, and there is a nice mix of assorted dried stone fruits as well. I liked this much more than the 1986.
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11/28/2019 - RWG Likes this wine: 95 Points
legendary aged Sauternes. And had from a 750ml not a 500ml. It's really lovely at this point. Sweet but not dominating. Goes great with desert and a tiny bit of sediment.
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11/15/2019 - NickA Likes this wine: 89 Points
From half bottle. Gorgeous amber colour. Alluring creamy nose and delicious flavours of barley sugar, but has a hot finish that prevents this from being first-class.
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10/4/2019 - Wineloon Likes this wine: 95 Points
Marmalade. Fucking delicious bitter marmalade.
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8/4/2019 - SARED Likes this wine: 95 Points
94-95. No detailed note. First Climens. Had a nice grapefruit note I quite appreciated. If this bottle is indicative of Climens house style, I think I am a fan.
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7/28/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Jordan's 1989 Bordeaux Dinner (Feast & Imbibe - Evanston IL): Served alongside the Rieussec, both very different, and I slightly preferred Rieussec. Lots of rich peach and apricot throughout with lush, fleshy textures. Very enjoyable, just less complex giving this a slightly one-dimensional finish.
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12/7/2018 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow, super powerful with great intensity and delicious flavors of chalky yellow fruits and dusty minerals. Medium sweetness and still young but showing great bread and class with a long, crunchy finish. I actually liked this just a bit better than the '88 Yquem drunk alongside. 95+ At Craft, NYC with Man's Gotta Eat boys.
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11/9/2018 - liber Likes this wine: 97 Points
14th half of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, slightly darker but otherwise as or even more nuanced than last December's splendid half, and with decades left! VF+ (19)…...my kind of Sauternes.
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10/13/2018 - SGoenophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Golden copper colour. On the nose, honey and marmalade. Smooth velvety texture. Rich, and concentrated. Quite complex. Notes of honey, orange, balanced with fresh acidity characteristic of Barsac. Fresher and not as heavy compared with the Rieussec 1989 tasted recently.
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7/8/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 93 Points
Very good and very satisfying indeed, but not quite enough complexity to bump it up to that next level. Reasonably fresh for an 89, this still shows more ripeness than the 88 and a creamy, smoky, clementine-compote nose. Nice acidity on the palate which keeps the wine from being too top-heavy. Opened two bottles, both similar. 93-94.
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6/22/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 93 Points
Ripe fruit, dried fruit, caramel, orange marmalade, spices. Rich and dense on the palate, not overly fresh and vibrant, good weight. Very smooth, very generous and mouth-coating, but not incredibly complex or persistent. Still a very lovely wine. Drink or keep. 92-94
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12/31/2017 - liber wrote: 97 Points
13th of 24 halves, pnp, perfect cork and level, sensational, pale, youthful, best form, impressive layering and balance, almost fresh, more my style than my last bottle of Yquem 89 (but time will tell!). VF+ (19).
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7/12/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Fresh, bright, ripe, sweet, tropical fruits, focusing on pineapples and white peach, flowers and Macadamia nut honey. Everything you want in a sweet wine is here, combining freshness, honeyed fruits and acidity. A little more depth of flavor would be nice, but that does not take away from the sweet sensations in every sip found here. A perfect way to end a hot, summer night.
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2/24/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 95 Points
12th of 24 halves, pnp, perfect cork and level, slightly fuller than before, more marmalade and less lemon zip, regrettable step backwards. Still VF (18.5).
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12/27/2016 - vide wrote: 93 Points
Burnished gold colour; stewed fruit and candied orange on nose, with a mere suggestion of pear drop; taste = mouth filling of the above, rather rich for a Climens (indeed it was reminiscent of a Rieussec), and clearly in a very advanced state. The wine has lost its acidity, and the flavours have flattened out with age, but nonetheless it was quite delicious.
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12/25/2016 - Remony wrote: 93 Points
Remarkably pale, quite unlike other Sauternes & Barsacs of similar age. Very lovely nuanced flavours and exceptionally well balanced. But when it comes to the second glass ....... not quite so compelling. I don't know whether this shows a decline in my erstwhile love affair with sweet white Bordeaux, or whether I have merely graduated to the pinnacles of the genre -- e.g. Climens 1988 or Yquem 2001.
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12/10/2016 - Zweder Likes this wine: 95 Points
UWS 2016 End of year dinner (@ CdW and KvdK): The color is surprisingly light yellow and youthful. On the palate a delicious and elegant wine with caramel, apricots, beautiful botrytis and an excellent balance between acidity and sweetness. Great and complex, still very youthful wine.
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7/4/2016 - Rollerball wrote: 97 Points
750 Best on the first night. Grapefruit, cherry pits.
Drink now.
First night 99 ... 48 then 72 hours in fridge ... this is losing it's verve more quickly than I expected.
Surprise surprise 11-day update: still beautiful, suggesting end of one plateau but will have a long, balanced, complex life.
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6/29/2016 - MAOC wrote:
Light to mid gold. Initially seems like the lovely 88 but then clearly has a richer profile. Lemon curd, seville orange, pineapple, honey, spice all against a background of intense freshness. The delineation and kaleidoscopic profile of the palate is delightful. Clearly *****
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4/23/2016 - IzeAgeComing Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rounded caramel and honey, with sharp acidity to balance.
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1/21/2016 - nstow Likes this wine: 96 Points
11th of 12. Superb bottle. Honeyed and floral with layer upon layer of complexity. Beautiful balance. An elegant wine, overpowered by Roquefort cheese and better drunk on its own. 5/5
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1/18/2016 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Cos d'Estournel Vertical with Aymeric de Gironde (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Light and airy, candied lemon peel, honey, very spicy and a hint of petrol. Very polished, precise and energetic palate. Lovely long clean finish. Very Climens as the wine is very linear and polished.
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1/11/2016 - thomasito2001 wrote: flawed
Cork fell in small bits and was evidently corrupt, compromising the quality of the wine. Smell was generic and there was no lift in the palate. Too bad
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8/26/2015 - nstow Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep gold. Rich, unctuous, seville orange, apricots, honey with long citric finish. 4+/5
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4/24/2015 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 93 Points
Ripple and Ridonculous Wines (Ripple - Cleveland Park - Washington, DC): Gorgeous stuff. Rich and honeyed but not heavy. Lovely orange marmalade, dried pineapple, vanilla candles, honeycomb. Long, rich, pure, lasting minerality on the finish.
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3/25/2015 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 94 Points
Fin doft med saffran, tropisk frukt, honung, karamell och citrus. I smaken samma tropiska frukt, honung, mineral och lite citrus. Har inte den kraften som man ofta hittar hos Climens utan är ett lite elegantare och lite lättare vin med mindre botrytis. Väldigt fin balans.
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3/25/2015 - Ramberg wrote: 93 Points
No formal notes.
Very good wine indeed.
Had together with a Cohiba cigar and that is a combo hard, if not impossible, to beat.
Saffron on the nose, with lovely tropical fruits and excellent overall balance.
Very similar to my last tasting note.
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2/8/2015 - AWBryce Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sweet pineapple, tropical fruits, baked goods on the nose. Good sweetness, medium acidity, excellent match for creme brulee. In a good place.
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12/6/2014 - liber Likes this wine: 97 Points
11th of 24 halves, previous notes at least very fine - light gold, bright, pale for age; floral, honeyed, refreshing cut of lemon, complex; fullish, amazing length with extra expansion after 90 seconds, balanced, almost refreshing acidity, a still youthful masterpiece and rival to the 88 and indeed the fine Yquem 89. Very fine plus (19/20).
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6/22/2014 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
From a bottle purchased on release, this wine had a light amber color and clear rims. The medium intensity nose was more subtle than some Sauternes/Barsacs but offered a lot of complexity. It showed coconut, pear, hazelnut, lemons, and toffee.
In the mouth, this wine was beautifully balanced with great richness and nice acidity. It did not "bowl" you over with power. However, it did entrance the taster with its balance , length, and complexity.
While drinking now with a couple of hours of air, this will last decades.
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6/3/2014 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Burgundy dinner 90 Krug, Raveneau, Leroy, M. Gibourg, Truchot, H Lignier and etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): I initially told Paul to save the bottle but got overruled and that is a great thing. Lovely light caramel note, a hint of candied lemon, honey, and slight hint of petrol. Excellent concentration, chewy but airy palate and long finish. For my palate, the wine is beautifully balanced. No need to analyze, just simply delicious.
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5/28/2014 - cos65 Likes this wine:
Deep golden colored. Penetrating aromas spun sugar and honeysuckle. faintest marmalade flavors. Quite big and full. Lovely. (On second day, starting to get a tad heavy). Drink or hold (for as long as desired)
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5/17/2014 - Tavastgatan wrote: 92 Points
Is this very good? Yes. Is it great? No. Fully mature and an intense nose. Elegant and lighter in the mouth. Recent vintages are stronger.
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5/15/2014 - FamilyLarsson wrote: 93 Points
Underbar doft med massor av saffran, honung, karamell och ett uns av citrus. I smaken mogen frukt och relativt återhållen sötma med fin syra och minderal. Har inte den kraften som man ofta hittar hos Climens utan är ett lite elegantare och lite lättare vin med mindre botrytis och väldigt silkig och fin balans.
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5/15/2014 - Ramberg wrote: 93 Points
Had this served blind at Stockholm’s best wine bar, The Burgundy, located in old town.
I managed to nail both the wine and vintage.
A lovely nose with enormous amounts of expensive saffron, hint of sugar and honey, caramel and some citrus, with just a faint hint .
On the palate this shows a very good structure, clearly from a somewhat warmer year.
Not much botrytis, nor any overpowering either sweetness or acidity.
Very balanced, if perhaps not a huge and protruding Sauternes, but more a slim and sophisticated wine.
Really good & likable stuff.
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5/9/2014 - d'Artagnan wrote: 92 Points
"Dégustation de la quille qu'on ne veut pas sortir, à moins que ..." (Restaurant Chez Christophe): La couleur est évoluée, la bouche tendre et suave, aérienne et longue , avec des notes de marmelade et de miel.
C'est très long et épicé, gâteau aux fruits, un petit peu de chaleur dans une finale mielleuse. Très beau. 92-93 pts
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4/27/2014 - d'Artagnan wrote: 92 Points
Nez fin de miel, de truffes, de pain d'épice, avec des touches de marmelade.
Un vin équilibré et fin, encore d'une bonne richesse, avec une minéralité et une subtilité avérées. Rien de spectaculaire, mais un vin qui s'impose discrètement par sa classe. 92 pts
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3/1/2014 - BVal wrote: 94 Points
Color: deep old gold bordering on orange with slight amber tints. Fabulous nose of creme brulee, toffee and caramel with butterscotch and light citrus notes. While fantastic, this bottle didn't quite hit the heights of the last bottle from 8 months ago. Still full-bodied with tremendous focus and acidity, this bottle was just a notch below that last one in terms of intensity. Feminine, medium-sweet, still showing great depth of flavour with butterscotch, toffee, creme brulee and a huge finish.
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1/18/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 93 Points
Climens Vertical (Pasion, San Francisco, CA): From a half. Lighter color than the '88, fresher fruit; palate has a fuller body, more concentrated, sweet (maybe a tad too sweet), good acidity, white fruits. Very good, but comes across as far too young, which is surprising as the 89 Yquem tastes much more mature than the 88 Yquem. 93+
1/22: The nose is still surprisingly subtle, but the palate has developed superbly. Now rich and flavorful at first, but rapidly transitions to bright acidity, intense lime, citrus, tart; the finish is short-moderate. The intense flavors fade kind of quickly, but they are immensely enjoyable for the time that they are around.
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1/18/2014 - drwine2001 wrote:
A shade lighter than the '88. Rich and honeyed but with marvelous acidity. More like my prototypical memories of Climens than the post-2000 wines. Remarkably vigorous for its age.
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9/29/2013 - redders Likes this wine: 95 Points
another great showing for this wine. Brilliant mid gold. Sensational ethereal lifted nose of cirus botrytis and hint of barley sugar. Extraordinary refinement. Sweet but structured with Climens elegance and lightness but great intensity and long long finish. Brilliant.
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8/8/2013 - nstow Likes this wine:
A lovely elegant wine. 4/5 (90-92)
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7/18/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 93 Points
Wine Dinner (Thai Cottage, SF): Light golden color; complex light nose, good spice, slight chlorine, hard to determine fruit, slight floral; palate is light bodied, sweet in the midpalate, minerally, medium finish, good acidity, slightly high alcohol towards the finish. An excellently balanced barsac-styled wine that went very well with all types of food, slightly less complex than the best Climens I've had (86, 90) but very enjoyable. At early maturity and ready now or in the next 10 years. 92-93
Update Day 3: Held up well with lots of minerality on the nose, some slate; palate is still fresh and enjoyable. Still 92-93.
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6/18/2013 - devraj Likes this wine: 95 Points
Light gold in color. Superb aromas of candied citrus peel, apricots, creme-brulee and a high note of saffron. A refined and silky palate follows through with sweet ripe summer orchard fruits, superb acidity and an enormously long and perfumed finish. What a great showing for the 89 Climens, all the elements are in perfect harmony!!
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6/6/2013 - BVal Likes this wine: 96 Points
Color: deep old gold bordering on orange with slight amber tints. Fabulous nose of creme brulee, toffee and caramel with butterscotch and light citrus notes. The perfect way to end an evening of really nice wines, this was just stellar. About as full-bodied as Climens gets but showing the usual racy edge, focus, and femininity I've come to expect. Medium-sweet with perfect acidity and a ridiculously long finish. A perfect showing for this bottle. Between '76 and 2001, probably my second favorite vintage of Climens (second only to the nearly perfect 1990).
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4/29/2013 - Bistrobro1 wrote:
quite brown and advanced or this wine, but marvelous, complex, lots of botrytis...fully developed. not sure why this one bottle is so much darker, but remarkable in any case.
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4/19/2013 - Wine_lvr wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux 1989 Horizontal Tasting (Zurich): Nose of saffron, apricot, grapefruit. The wine has quite some acidity. Thick with lots of botrytis. Great wine with long life ahead. Drink - 2030
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12/8/2012 - nstow Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gorgeous wine. Elegant, smooth and restrained. Medium sweet, mandarin, apricot with lovely balancing citrus. 4+/5
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11/19/2012 - redders wrote: 94 Points
what a great wine. Pale straw gold, citrus peel, botrytis. A hint of creme brulee. Fantastic depth and breadth with impeccable balance. Just gorgeous.
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8/28/2012 - redders wrote: 94 Points
Pale gold. Classic barsac and Climens on the nose. Waves of restrained citrus peel and botrytis. Great persistence and elegance. Nothing forced. Medium sweet restrained power all in harmony and a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity leaving the palate fresh. Lovely wine.
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8/11/2012 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very dark, more developed than usual. Rich honey nose. Palate clean and fruit/honey driven, rich and more rieussec-like but not oxidised.
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6/24/2012 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Stunning as usual. Minerally apple skin quality with classic apricot notes, slick, rich but still clean with a tangy finish. High acidity kept it vibrant.
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6/24/2012 - WetRock wrote:
Reserved nose. Subtle palate with notes of mushrooms and a tart finish. I got a quick taste of TCA and one point and given the showing of the wine I think it had some cork taint.
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4/21/2012 - jkoenen wrote: 94 Points
Dreamtasting #4 (Restaurant de Watermolen, Kasterlee): This is a regal wine. Simply awesome in its rich, voluptuous, viscous mouthfeel. Slightly volatile out of the bottle. Beautiful nuances of tangerine, honeyed pears, marzipan, baked nectarines and a tiny hint of grilled pine kernels.. Great acidity, very persistent and carressing finish. Right in the sweet spot for me. Don't wait, enjoy! In retrospect this seemed much more lush, sweeter and concentrated than one tasted 2 years ago, I found it to be equally impressive (tasted blind both times). 18.5/20
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4/20/2012 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
VEO tasting - focus on 2005 Claret (Restaurant Bolenius, Amsterdam): Very rich and a bit caramelly, cream and honey, VA, looks older than you might expect, rich but crusty, lacks the vibrancy of e.g. the 1983.
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3/13/2012 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Very luxurious and concentrated bouquet with some not disturbing VA, orange peel, apricots and honet. Same on the palate with some beautiful oak as well. A beautiful and elegant wine with still a lot of future.
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12/29/2011 - plitton wrote: 92 Points
Lots of honey with a little cayenne.
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7/15/2011 - Schiffy wrote: 94 Points
Rich, smooth with a velvet like finish, this has a full array of tropical fruits, apricot, honey, fresh cut flowers and a wonderful nose and taste of burnt, crispy sugar. Feel like this is drinking in it's prime.
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6/16/2011 - wvcellars wrote: 94 Points
Drinking extrmemely young. Lots of acidity. Opened up after about 1+ hours. Apricot and hazelnut. Elegant sweetness. Not overwhelmingly sweet. Lots of life ahead.
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3/5/2011 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Great wine! Still youthful! Honey and botrytis and everything that comes with that. Can easily last another decade.
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1/25/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote:
Alcohol :: 14.3%
Bright golden. This wine is absolutely singing and a better wine to the Essencia today. Expressive, seductive nose of chalk, wax with layer and layer of mango, peaches and dried apricot which is deep and complex. Refine, well definition, seductive honey coated tropical fruits profile with Bortrytis spices that is amazingly dense and complex but what make this wine seductive is all about the acidity that give the wine razor sharp transparency as well as precision. Super smooth, velvety, finish is long, complex and vibrant with touch of green herbs showing at the end which I don't really favor. Climen really need aging to show as it tasted terribly sweet and viscous when young.
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1/25/2011 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
2011 Simple Series II: Henry's Dinner (Huat Kee, Amoy Street): I loved this. My favourite Climens so far, and probably the best 1989 Sauternes / Barsac I have had to date. The cork broke, so I had to double decant it. When poured, it was a beautiful golden amber colour and filled the nose with rich tropical scents of mangoes and pineapples alongside toffee, caramel and coconut with a touch of flowers. Beautiful stuff. The palate was similarly rich, but it was the balance that struck me first. Unusually for a 1989, this wine had a lovely ring of acidity that sounded through it botrytised richness from attack to finish. This kept it fresh in spite of the soft, voluptuous Barsac-ness of the wine with its weighty tones of dried mangoes, caramel, pineapples, honey, sea coconut and brown sugar - all meltingly delicious flavours that tumbled one over another in the glass. Very noble in stature and depth, and yet really fun to drink with the fresh acid on each sip drawing another and another. Really nice, and yet this one certainly has its best years ahead of it. Pity I only had the one bottle.
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1/25/2011 - Dbrane wrote: 89 Points
Simple Series Dinner 2 (Huat Kee): Bright golden. Plenty of dried preserved plums on the nose on first whiff. Thought this was quite Tokaji-like though after a while the hint of Sauternes flabbiness start to be more prominent. Nonetheless one of the better Sauternes I've had and not showing its age yet.
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12/11/2010 - Khamen wrote: 94 Points
Tasting the 1989 and 1990 alongside made interesting resuls.The 1989 lacks the huge power and sweetness of the 1990 but has a much warmer, honeyed profile. Love it tho I do sometimes the 1990 can be just a little overbearing, and on this showing I think I prefer the more softly-spoken 1989. All things are relative tho - these are both great wines and the 1989 is certainly no wallflower itself
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10/26/2010 - Rupert wrote:
Cheval Blanc dinner (The Ledbury, London): Blowsier, a touch spirity, luscious and sweet
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9/12/2010 - ginfizz wrote: 94 Points
Shows the weight and ripeness of the vintage, but packed with flavors and already complex. Delicious to drink, but young.
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8/20/2010 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
A lot of sweetness balanced with beautiful acidity. Apricots, Orange peel and honey in the bouquet and on the palate. Minerals as well. Still very youthful and a complex and long finish. Great wine and a high score, but a surprisingly forward style for Climens which I mostly see as delicate and elegant.
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8/20/2010 - jkoenen wrote: 94 Points
Hedonistic Diner, Part 2 (Restaurant Le Défi, Sprang-Capelle): Charming, elegant, tender. Not overly sweet, leaves a dry and clean mouthfeel after the impressively long and balanced finish. Lovely refreshing acidity, vanilla, pears, mango and cream. What a beautiful wine! 18.5/20
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7/7/2010 - SimonG wrote:
Bryan's Dinner Party Offline (The Ledbury, London): Riper nose, slightly volatile. Gorgeous palate though. Sweet, ripe, long, luscious, lovely. Stunning match with the pudding. ****1/2
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5/16/2010 - Alexis A wrote: 92 Points
Excellent. Very clear color, not very evolved. Smell of honey, pineapple and passion fruit. Vanilla there too. Dense nose but can tell of the acidity. Was worried this would be a heavy, alcoholic, fat sauternes. But in the mouth it was quite light, fine and delineated. I enjoyed this wine. Ready to drink now.
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12/5/2009 - jarjarbinx99 wrote: 94 Points
Carafé une petite demi-heure, ce sauterne à su nous en mettre plein la bouche. Complexe, raffiné tout en offrant un équilibre presque parfait entre le sucre et l'acidité. Entre en sa phase de maturité. Saura traverser les années facilement. 94.
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11/11/2009 - MRichman wrote:
1989 Bordeaux at 20 years (Morton's NYC): Exactly as sweet as it can be without being too sweet. Perfectly balanced. Just into it's drinking window. Not caramelized yet but has some wonderful complexity. Excellent
A
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10/16/2009 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 94 Points
1989 revisited offline (Hambleton Hall, Rutland): A noticeably lighter colour than the other two. It has a lovely nose, and then on the palate there is some orange flowers and a very subtle honey note. This is very classy on the palate, and stands head and shoulders above the 89 Suduiraut and 89 Rieussec.
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6/10/2009 - jlgnml wrote: 93 Points
Les Degustateurs Ladies Night (University Club of Chicago): Plentiful on the palate, great bright honey color, good flavor, hint of spice on the palate. Cheers
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1/3/2009 - sdr wrote: 88 Points
This usually highly reliable Climens seemed too sweet to me. The wonderful flavors of apricot and peach were prominently displaced but I found it just a bit cloying this time.
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12/10/2008 - SimonG wrote:
Ledbury Bordeaux december Decadence: Wow. Gorgeous nose, all sweetness, pineapple fruit, hints of creme brulee. Lovliest nose on a Sauternes since an 89 Tour Blanche last year. Picks up the passion fruit of the souffle on the nose. Lovely palate, just lovely. Freshness, acidity, balance. It's sweet, it's not red, it's lovely! *****
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10/22/2008 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Conrad’s: Dark gold color; fantastic nose of caramel, clear apricot nose--nutty, w/classic petrol; not showing too much age at this point--rich silky entry, a bit slim mid-p, then nice long apricot-caramel finish. Very yummy.
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1/17/2008 - jlm wrote:
East Bank / HDH Tasting (Chicago): Big botrytis notes of honey on the nose. Huge and too low in acid and too high in perceived sweetness for me. Super long finish of golden raisin. I can see that this is good, it just doesn't hit my stylistic sweet spot and I wouldn't want more than about 1oz of it in a single sitting.
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1/17/2008 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
East Bank / HDH Wine Tasting (Flair House): Full yellow copper color. Forward sweet ripe botrytis nose. Lovely caramel sweet yellow fruit. Nice, but not great.
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12/30/2007 - sdr wrote: 94 Points
The wine of the night for everyone (with Malcolm, Sandi, Adam and Jennifer). Powerful and muscular, especially in Climens terms. Hugely botrytised and dripping with apricot and honey yet held together by crisp acidity. No need to eat your dessert if you drink this.
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12/4/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Kitchen Tasting Group does Lynch Bages: Minimal notes at this point. The nose is very sweet with caramel and citrus fruit notes. I wrote d'Yquem-like. On the palate this is well balanced, with good acidity to offset the sweet, concentrated fruit. Long, lingering finish. A great way to end the tasting.
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12/4/2007 - Siggy wrote: 92 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Lynch Bages (JP's American Bistro, Minneapolis): Exotic, orange/salmon/pink color. Lush ripe cantaloupe, tangerine, and petrol flavors. Plump and lush. Well-integrated residual sugar. Fully mature.
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10/20/2007 - Paul D wrote: 90 Points
A Tale of Two Chateaux - Rauzan-Segla and Climens (The Wine Society, Stevenage): Bright, medium gold. Spicy, floral, rich nose. Very sweet indeed on the palate, floral, orange-blossom, candied fruit, creamy and rich and although very good acidity prevents it from becoming over-cloying, it does lack a little elegance in comaparison to the 96. Nevertheless an excellent, enjoyable mature Barsac.
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4/21/2007 - Pacherant wrote: 93 Points
Drank at big dinner party with Rob, Izzie etc. Lovely stuff, but not quite as delicate and nuanced as I remember it. Lots of rich honey, floral flavours weight and length. Lovely stuff...
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3/10/2007 - Ive Marx wrote: 93 Points
Consumed after a long evening of top burgs...excellent wine, but a previous bottle was better. Perhaps it needed more time.
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2/10/2007 - Pacherant wrote: 93 Points
drank at wine friday with table. Not that liked, but most don't do sweet wines. As always, great stuff but not quite the precision of flavours that someClimens has. Honey, white flowers, and a rich, smooth, finish.
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12/25/2006 - Pacherant wrote: 94 Points
warm, honeyed, white flowers, a hint of petroleum notes and green fruit. Sweeter than many Climens and not quite as refined as I remembered... a lovely wine nonetheless.
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12/16/2006 - losvinhos wrote: 95 Points
Dourado, límpido e brilhante. Aromas intensos e marcantes de pessego, damasco e um fundo mineral. Na boca untuoso, concentrado, incrívelmente fresco, destacando o damasco, o mel, a acetona e a Botrytis. Excelente acidez, extrema complexidade e praticamente não sai da boca de tanto que dura o final. A minha primeira experiência de um "real" Sauternes. Não saberia dizer se ainda pode melhorar.Excepcional!
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12/16/2006 - Vinho wrote: 95 Points
Almoço para Dd: Dourado intenso, límpido e com sedimentos apenas nas últimas taças. Deliciosos, profundos e pungentes aromas de damasco, laranja, manga, com boa presença de botritys, revelada por notas químicas, resinosas e de acetona. Untuoso, grande acidez, ótima fruta, pimenta branca, botritys novamente, amargor médio e extraordinária estrutura capaz de lastrear por muitos anos a evolução desse vinho. Final muitíssimo longo. Excepcional.
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9/11/2006 - Bucko wrote: 90 Points
Complex nose, lots of botrytis. Nice old Sauternes, quite dry and very strong. Less fruit than what you would expect from Climens.
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5/20/2006 - Chuck Miller wrote: 90 Points
Good, heavily botrytised. Tropical, oaky. Thick, somewhat cloying.
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4/23/2006 - sdr wrote: 95 Points
Great stuff. Just what I want in my Sauternes; o.k., Barsac. Sweet, peachy and fragrant with perfect balancing fruity acids to keep it fresh with no sense of heaviness or overripeness that plagues some other '89s. I hope the '88 and '90 turn out this well. I can't imagine this '89 getting any better than it is right now, at least out of 375s.
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3/4/2006 - sdr wrote: 96 Points
Fabulously good Barsac that may get even better with more time, but great now. Light orange yellow in color accurately predicts a very fresh wine (375 ml). Gorgeous aromas from a citrus garden; orange peel, lemon, lime, mango, passion fruit; they're all there or easy to imagine. Fully integrated on the palate and delicately poised in that stylish Climens way. Just the right degree of sugar backed up by racy fruit acids. Perfect example of full flavor in a lightweight package.
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11/29/2005 - jfs5 wrote:
From 375's. A glorious wine; close to Yquem but with the tell-tale Climens creaminess and acidity. This wine is drniking beautifully but also has a long life ahead!
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9/10/2005 - sdr wrote: 93 Points
Interesting comparison to the '86 Climens I brought along with this 375. The two wines both had that ineffable Climens style of perfectly poised fruit and fruit acids, but this '89 was obviously richer and more affected by botrytis. It was not as full as a previous bottle that reminded me of Yquem, but Climens has a poise and elegance that cannot be smothered even by a heavy vintage such as '89. Great stuff and should go on for many years, but maybe never be more enjoyable than it is right now.
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5/31/2005 - CP wrote: 94 Points
Tasted at Boulevard in SF. Showing unbelievably well tonight. So well balanced between honey, pear, lime, just a hint of spice, coats the palate and doesn't let go. Very nice, honey-laced finish. A perfect ending to a wonderful meal.
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4/23/2005 - sdr wrote: 92 Points
Another top notch example of this interesting Climens. Strikingly rich and luscious for a Barsac, even the Queen of Barsacs. Obvious apricoty botrytis and quite sweet, although there's just enough acidity to keep it fresh. Fully ready from these half bottles, but should hold for a long time.
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10/1/2004 - Rani wrote: 91 Points
Dark gold - beautiful colour. Some botrytis on the nose, but not exuding it. Honeyed with hints of burnt caramel, on the palate still fresh with good acidity, but lacks some fat and concentration. Medium to long finish.
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6/11/2004 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 94 Points
Yellow with slightly brown hue. Notes of abricot and dried fruits. Oily and fat in the mouth with marvellous botrytis sweetness, superb intensity on the palate, and a chocolate/nougat taste. Much better than 6 months ago. Well defined and retaining good freshness with plenty of nuances and complexity. 45 second aftertaste. Very, very good.
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12/31/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
Medium golden colour. Excellent nose of nuts, honey, melon and burnt wood. Built into a nicely dimensioned framework, and bursting with nice flavours of ripe fruit, honey and roasted almonds. Classy and elegant, but also rich and oily. Drinking exceptionally well on the night, and a fantastic match for our Varhôna chocolate mousse desert. The two seemed to intensify the flavour of each other. A very long finish. (from half bottle).
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3/23/1993 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 Points
Lots of botrytis, spices and vanilla; quite big and concentrated, powerful, lovely Climens-acidity, excellent length. A fabulous wine. Drink 1996 - 2020.
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