Not that complex but balanced and smooth end accompaniment to panettone bread pudding. Honey, marmalade, orange blossoms, not overly sweet, just enough structure.
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PnP from 750ml. Lots of honey and ripe apricot on the nose. An almost sugary palate with some hints of marmalade. Refreshing finish but not super complex. Could develop further but seems near peak. 89-90
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I did a double decant on this and paired it with a Potato Bisque. It was a bit of a test for our NY's Eve party. It actually paired ok. It was competing with a Alsatian and a Bordeaux Blanc wines. I have to state this wine has some life to it. Previously I have only coravined this wine. However, I believe the double decant added a lot to this wine. I am becoming more of a believer in Decanting all wines, white and red to aid in opening them up. Interested I other people's opinion on that.
Color: Light medium translucent orange. Somewhat advanced color.
Nose: Sweet nose of honied pears, ripe peach, sl spicy honey (botrytis), and tangerine confiture (jam). Totally clean in the nose (no fusel or acetone, at all). Very pretty.
Pal: Intense honey, quince, apricot, and tangerine confiture flavors. Full body, good concentration, and sweet (of course). Acidity holding (barely).
Lovely and delicious. Only a lack of complexity (and perhaps acidity) prevents this vintage of Raymond-Lafon from rating higher.
At its mid-evolution peak (at least in 375 ml).
JGH sommelier CMS-III, San Francisco, CA.
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Doesn't have the depth of a higher quality Sauternes. Lacking acid backbone, nose was there but mute. Finish shorter than expected. A good weekday wine for dessert but otherwise disappointing. However, good for the price!
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Final bottle to celebrate real dinner after COVID vaccine
Color: dark gold with viscous legs Nose: medium-full intensity. Lots of tropical fruits with pineapple and peach aromas; honey and vanilla Body/flavor: full body; tropical fruits with coconut. Somewhat acidic, more so than bottle from 2018. Aftertaste: lingering, smooth finish... left with some many fruit flavors, hard to distinguish.
Last bottle... still an amazing bottle for $20
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Incredible aromatics, with vanilla, coconut, fig, and slight touch of sherry. Not real sweet, at 13.5% alcohol, and tons of acidity give to keep it lean and sharp. Lush mouthfeel, delicious custard and cream, marzipan. Like this style a lot.
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9th bottle from a full case of 375's. Enjoyed with foie gras this evening. A stunning pairing, the Sauternes showed lovely restraint in a sweet wine that was not overly sweet, with beautifully balanced acidity to make each taste a dessert in itself. Drink now through 2022+
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Wow, this bottle was way different than previous bottles. Much more botrytized character, honey, lemon curd, figs, and a long finish. Much more rich than I recall.
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WSET L2 Review Appearance: gold Nose: pronounced, peach, honey, and nectarines Palate: sweet, excellent sharp acidity, caramel, orange, medium alcohol, full body Finish: Long Quality: Very Good
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Seven wines from 1978 (CA and WA), and a few others...: Served from large Bordeaux-style stems. Lighter honey color. The nose didn't give up a whole lot. On the palate, though, this is sweet and tasty. Apricot, marzipan(?), pineapple, slight spice. Very nice.
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Drank from a .375 ltr and uncorked 3 hours early. Enticing aromas of peach, honey, and nectarines. On the palate it had an excellent sharp acidity, cleanliness, precision, and mouth-saturating flavors that mirrored the palate without any cloyingness...truly delightful. It paired perfectly with a desert course of lemon tarts.
For this 375, I think the CT end date of 2022 is incredibly wrong as this bottle could easily last to 2030. And at the $15 I paid, this was a killer QPR and I'll be on the lookout for more due to the excellent quality, age-ability, and QPR!
As a side note, we served this following a dinner with some wine friends that had never had a Sauterne and I could tell from their initial reaction that they seemed to be recalling unpleasant memories they might've had from past sweet wines. However, as we know Sauternes are nothing like sweet wines of old. To their credit, they tasted with an open mind and actually said they liked it and it was good. I'm always happy to have converted another anti-sweet wine person into a Sauterne lover (or at least liker)!
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This is in a great spot right now. Beautiful tropical citrus notes with amazing balanced sweetness. I don't see it falling out of place for a long time.
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8th 375 bottle of 12 purchased. Sweet and delicious Sauternes, showing notes of caramel, orange rind, roasted nuts and honey. Adequate acidity to rein in the sweetness. Drink now through 2021+.
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By the glass. Memories of candied lemon and saffron on the nose. Delicious. On the palate the freshness from a citrus acidity is interspersed with a liqueur sensation that adds volume but in perfect harmony. Long seconds of pleasure. Still has room to improve and round up.
Por copas. Recuerdos a limón confitado y a azafrán en nariz. Delicioso. En boca el frescor procedente de una acidez cítrica se entremezcla con una sensación licorosa que aporta volumen pero en una perfecta sintonía. Largos segundos de placer. Todavía tiene espacio para mejorar y redondearse.
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Fantastic juice. In the sweet spot where I like Sauternes, with not too much vanilla custard, but plenty of exotic fruits and bright acidity. Should be good for quite a while.
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Luscious, sweet, honeyed, tropical fruits, vibrant acidity, vanilla and floral notes, with a racy, orange, pineapple and honeyed finish. What's not to like?
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Luminous golden yellow color. Sweet and concentrated nose with aromas of honey, wood glue, some waxy botrytis notes, light oaky tones of caramel, a hint of leather and a touch of dried peaches. The wine is full-bodied on the palate, but despite being moderately high in acidity, the wine still comes across as rather unctuous. However, the wine isn't particularly concentrated and weighty for a Sauternes. There are sweet flavors of lemon marmalade, beeswax, some spicy oak, a little bit of woody bitterness, light tones of dried stone fruits and a hint of spicy (i.e. not sweet) vanilla pods. The finish is lively and juicy with long and intese aftertaste of lemon marmalade, some woody bitterness, a little bit of spicy vanilla pods, a hint of honey and beeswax and a touch of overripe apricots.
A nice, sophisticated and nuanced Sauternes that shows good balance and potential for future development. Doesn't really match the sheer power and intensity of the better vintages, but at least shows more weight and richness than the delicate vintage 2002. In a sense this is somewhere in the middle ground between the concentrated high-quality vintages and the cool, lighter vintages, making it good and enjoyable, but not that special. Most likely could benefit from additional aging as the wine still seems quite far away from its apogee. Good value at approx. 30€ for a full-size bottle.
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Color: deep gold with long legs Nose: Intense; lots of complex fresh and dried tropical fruits; coconut, pineapple and lychee Body/flavor: Full body; very complex flavors; pineapple and coconut. Very well-balanced; no sign of flabby sweetness. Aftertaste: lingering; still tasting it an hour or more later!
Served with pistachio torta! Remarkable for a $20 bottle... wish I had a case!
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Deep golden brown. Figs and raisins on the slightly oxidized nose. Viscous sweet golden fruit on the palate with a corona of acid, very long spreading finish. More about shape and topography than smell and taste. Delicious. [Tasted after a day corked in the fridge. Interesting to compare this note with previous ones.]
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Honey, Peaches, some stone and botrytis. Not bad for $20/split but a little flabby/flat so sub 90 points. May improve with a couple days but not much change over the 2+ hours last night.
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Enjoyed with foie gras this evening. Notes of tangerine, apricot, honey and chalk on the nose...echoed on the palate. Syrupy in the mouth, big and juicy at 13.5% abv, with incredibly balanced acidity and a long, orange creamsicle finish. Drink now through 2020+. Delicious.
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Our second bottle (no notes on the first a few years ago; but my overall recollection is that we found that prior one less interesting than this). Deep golden. We got no off-putting metalic or chemical hits observed by some. The hint of bitterness we noticed was akin to stone fruit pit, and that was welcome. Deep and earthy. We would have appreciated a touch more acid. We enjoyed this in small pours over six days with some development and little appreciable increase in bitterness over that time.
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Very good until the last glass which showed the bitterness noticed during my first try and noted by others. My guess is the titrates at the bottom of the bottle are the most likely cause. Great QPR at less than $23 for a 375ML.
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Gold. Peach, honey, walnuts on the nose. Sweet and sour on the palate, some bitterness, long finish. Difficult wine to approach right now, off-putting if you are expecting a mellifluous wonder, but interesting if you shift expectations to something more sour and salty. 50 + 15 + 16 + 8.
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This has gone sharply downhill from the last moderately disappointing bottle I had a couple years ago. Strong diesel nose, which slightly blows off after an hour or so. Unfortunately, a strong metallic aftertaste never diminishes no matter how much time is given. The honeyed sweetness has become cloying, with acidity and fruitiness both disappearing with time. Quite disappointing.
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Golden orange. Aromas of tangerine, honey, botrytis. A little flat and oily the palate, good fruit, nice rising acid lift at the back,redeeming long finish. Pleasant wine at the end of an evening. 50 + 16 + 15 + 7. [Interesting that my last note on this, giving it a much higher score. was after the wine had sat in the cellar for two weeks. Will try to do the same for this bottle.]
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375 mL. Light/medium body. Deep golden colour. Medium sweetness, lots of botrytis. Peaches, and that mouldy sort of sense you get from the botrytis. Solid wine. Better with some air - the sense of mould declines a bit. Plenty of tartness on the finish.
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At first I thought my bottle was flawed as 6 people put down their glasses and didn't want to drink it because of an overwhelming chemical taste. acetone? It just overpowered any of the possibly nice notes about the wine. Two hours later and it still had that smell/taste. But now I see other reviews with similar comments. I do have another bottle, this time I will open it many hours before and see if that helps. My experience is inconsistent with the pro reviews as well
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Pretty good, straightforward Sauternes. Perhaps a bit simple for a wine that's almost 10 years old. But it's fine, and pretty delicious. No reason to wait.
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From a 375. Color is medium golden; nose has fresh florals, slight white fruit, but with swirling loses its complexity and has slight acetone heat; palate is full bodied, medium acid that give it freshness but not vibrancy, some simple white fruits at first that fade quickly through the midpalate leaving only sweetness and slight excess alcohol, simple; short finish. Very consistent with my last note a year ago, and overall this is a disappointment compared to others in this price range. 83-85
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Apricot, mandarin or tangerine, and assorted other citrus fruit on the nose. The quite thick and viscous palate brings in also a hint of nuttiness and medium acidity. Quite long finish with some more mandarin and citrus. Not very complex or profound, but pleasant and honest neverthless. Serve well chilled to bring out some extra freshness.
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A very nice wine to pair with foie gras this evening. Aromas and flavors of tangerine, honey, macadamia nut and flowers. Well balanced, nice complexity, drinking beautifully now...and will continue to do so through 2019 or so.
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Medium golden hue. Nose of apricot, lychee, caramel, and faint petroleum. Palate echoes flavors of apricot, caramel, rocks, and vaseline. There is ample acidity to support the plentiful sweetness. This wine is well balanced, showing precise sweetness without flabiness. This wine is drinking well now, and will continue to do so through 2020+.
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Drank this over the course of 5 nights - it held up well with honey and lychee flavors with sweet and acid tilted toward sweet, but was relatively straight forward. Think there is no hurry on this.
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A bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, there's some nice honey and tropical fruit in the nose, and there are nice lychee, honey and hazelnut flavors balanced with moderate acidity. On the minus side, there's a very noticeable solvent aroma that carries through into the finish. It's not quite strong enough to negate the good things going on, but it definitely holds this wine back.
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Coravin 8/8/14: Light-medium golden color; nose has some sweetness to it, some botrytis baking spice, hidden fruit; palate is full bodied, balanced sweetness with slight peach, but fades quickly through midpalate into a bit of a hollow finish; finish is surprisingly short and lacks fruit, but not displeasing. Overall a bit of a shy adolescent with some youthful fruit transitioning to some early teenager maturity, but lacking the density or complexity to make it more interesting. Will wait a few years before trying my last bottle. 87-88
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Consumed from 375 ml bottle, straight from refrigerator temperature. Beautiful med gold in color. The nose shows honey, pears, mango, lychee, and chalk. The palate shows off a viscous, full bodied wine, med in alcohol and med acidity (could have a bit more acid ideally, but still very nice). The palate flavors repeat from the aromas, with pear and honey on the forefront, followed by notes of clementine and a hint of wax. The finish is med in length...a bit shorter than I expected...but there is an elegant soil-laden quality that seems to linger on the finish, which is quite enjoyable. This wine is drinking beautifully right now. I have a case of the 375ml size, and will drink these through 2018 or so. Very, very nice when you are in the mood for a sweet wine.
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Not much depth of fruit. A little bitter on the mid that detracts. smooth, full mouthfeel, but Lacks acidity on the finish.Not bad for $20, but not really good either. Middle of the road.
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Enjoyed from a 375ml over three days. Vacuumed sealed overnight between tastings. Medium golden color and a rich texture displaying aromas and flavors of fresh raw honey, bitter orange marmalade, juicy sweet apricots, and mixed tropical fruit salad. Although sweet, and creamy, great acidity seems to provide good balance. It improved for the first two days, but by day three, there was a distinct bitterness on the finish which distracted from the overall experience. Tiny amounts of tartrate in the bottom of the glass. This should age well past 2025.
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2 hour decant from a 375m; similar to the drrobvino's notes though I am not getting the acetone profile; flavours of quince, honey, lychee and apricots; decent acidity present and is drinking well right now.
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Uncorked this 375mL wine a few hours before consuming. This wine is clear, and shows a med gold color at the core, fading to a pale gold at the rim. The nose is developing, showing med+ intensity aromas of honey and orange zest, but is otherwise muted by a rather off-putting nail polish remover (acetone) note. The palate shows a full bodied wine, very sweet, high in alcohol, with med+ intensity flavors of quince, lychee, orange, honey, and not-as-apparent acetone notes on the palate. The acidity is med+, offsetting the residual sugar nicely. The finish is med+ and repeats the flavors from the palate. This is a very good quality wine, which is just entering into it's drinking window. I would estimate this wine improving further over the next 5 years, and drinking well through 2025+. I am hoping I caught it in a dumb phase, or with a cork issue, because I certainly did not enjoy the acetone notes, especially since I have 11 more of the 375 bottles.
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As others have noted, this starts off with an acetone or diesel smell on the nose that is a little off-putting. Past that, the flavors are excellent, and we found that with a handful of mixed nuts after dinner, it was very enjoyable.
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Honey, orange, stone, pungent wildflowers on the nose, with rich botrytis. Deep penetrating fruit on the palate with spikes of acid on the mid-palate and a tannin-acid finish that goes on forever. [First tasted after dinner without a note and wasn't particularly moved. This tasting was after it had been sitting open in the cellar for a couple of weeks ... I hope this means it has some real aging potential.]
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11/10/2023 - renwom Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not that complex but balanced and smooth end accompaniment to panettone bread pudding. Honey, marmalade, orange blossoms, not overly sweet, just enough structure.
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11/7/2023 - deadwax Likes this wine: 91 Points
Shared with regular wine group. No detailed notes but this was in a good place. Rich concentrated fruit with no off notes.
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8/26/2023 - mdanyc wrote: 89 Points
Improving, more depth than our last bottle.
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2/18/2023 - Portland Seth Likes this wine: 91 Points
Leather, candle wax, honey, peach and marmalade.
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1/4/2023 - BHRH Likes this wine: 89 Points
PnP from 750ml. Lots of honey and ripe apricot on the nose. An almost sugary palate with some hints of marmalade. Refreshing finish but not super complex. Could develop further but seems near peak. 89-90
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12/27/2022 - jmcmchi wrote: 87 Points
I can’t imagine this has changed much since release
Competent, a light hint of botrytis, faint honey and apricot notes
Solid enough. Watch out for (a lot of) tartrates
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12/27/2022 - joecombellick@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Exactly what you would expect. Still plenty of life. Only a medium finish length. Lot of honey and raisin both in the nose and taste.
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1/3/2022 - 2 Utes Likes this wine: 93 Points
I did a double decant on this and paired it with a Potato Bisque. It was a bit of a test for our NY's Eve party. It actually paired ok. It was competing with a Alsatian and a Bordeaux Blanc wines. I have to state this wine has some life to it. Previously I have only coravined this wine. However, I believe the double decant added a lot to this wine. I am becoming more of a believer in Decanting all wines, white and red to aid in opening them up. Interested I other people's opinion on that.
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12/24/2021 - geexploitation Likes this wine:
I thought this was a pretty decent Sauternes, especially for the price. Seems in its peak now, but with a ways to go as well.
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11/20/2021 - wirelesswine wrote: 88 Points
Decent, but fruit comes off as a little dried out.
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11/14/2021 - Jon Harrison wrote: 91 Points
375 ml bottle.
Color: Light medium translucent orange. Somewhat advanced color.
Nose: Sweet nose of honied pears, ripe peach, sl spicy honey (botrytis), and tangerine confiture (jam). Totally clean in the nose (no fusel or acetone, at all). Very pretty.
Pal: Intense honey, quince, apricot, and tangerine confiture flavors. Full body, good concentration, and sweet (of course). Acidity holding (barely).
Lovely and delicious. Only a lack of complexity (and perhaps acidity) prevents this vintage of Raymond-Lafon from rating higher.
At its mid-evolution peak (at least in 375 ml).
JGH sommelier CMS-III, San Francisco, CA.
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8/22/2021 - justintime97 wrote: 87 Points
Doesn't have the depth of a higher quality Sauternes. Lacking acid backbone, nose was there but mute. Finish shorter than expected. A good weekday wine for dessert but otherwise disappointing. However, good for the price!
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4/10/2021 - OldwineinVT Likes this wine: 92 Points
Garagiste selection. 13.5% ABV
Final bottle to celebrate real dinner after COVID vaccine
Color: dark gold with viscous legs
Nose: medium-full intensity. Lots of tropical fruits with pineapple and peach aromas; honey and vanilla
Body/flavor: full body; tropical fruits with coconut. Somewhat acidic, more so than bottle from 2018.
Aftertaste: lingering, smooth finish... left with some many fruit flavors, hard to distinguish.
Last bottle... still an amazing bottle for $20
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2/16/2021 - robmatic wrote: 92 Points
Incredible aromatics, with vanilla, coconut, fig, and slight touch of sherry. Not real sweet, at 13.5% alcohol, and tons of acidity give to keep it lean and sharp. Lush mouthfeel, delicious custard and cream, marzipan. Like this style a lot.
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2/13/2021 - drrobvino wrote: 91 Points
9th bottle from a full case of 375's.
Enjoyed with foie gras this evening. A stunning pairing, the Sauternes showed lovely restraint in a sweet wine that was not overly sweet, with beautifully balanced acidity to make each taste a dessert in itself. Drink now through 2022+
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1/1/2021 - slabslovin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Initially was at room temperature. Was OK.
We cooled it and had it with dessert and it was lovely. Really came alive.
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12/25/2020 - klezman wrote:
Wow, this bottle was way different than previous bottles. Much more botrytized character, honey, lemon curd, figs, and a long finish. Much more rich than I recall.
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11/1/2020 - Wine_Bear wrote: 91 Points
Decent, but not wonderful.
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7/30/2020 - mdanyc Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very sweet, liking a little bit in acidity. Very nice with blueberry tart.
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5/13/2020 - FruitFly wrote: 92 Points
WSET L2 Review
Appearance: gold
Nose: pronounced, peach, honey, and nectarines
Palate: sweet, excellent sharp acidity, caramel, orange, medium alcohol, full body
Finish: Long
Quality: Very Good
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2/8/2020 - BRR Likes this wine: 89 Points
Seven wines from 1978 (CA and WA), and a few others...: Served from large Bordeaux-style stems. Lighter honey color. The nose didn't give up a whole lot. On the palate, though, this is sweet and tasty. Apricot, marzipan(?), pineapple, slight spice. Very nice.
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2/1/2020 - wine247365 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank from a .375 ltr and uncorked 3 hours early. Enticing aromas of peach, honey, and nectarines. On the palate it had an excellent sharp acidity, cleanliness, precision, and mouth-saturating flavors that mirrored the palate without any cloyingness...truly delightful. It paired perfectly with a desert course of lemon tarts.
For this 375, I think the CT end date of 2022 is incredibly wrong as this bottle could easily last to 2030. And at the $15 I paid, this was a killer QPR and I'll be on the lookout for more due to the excellent quality, age-ability, and QPR!
As a side note, we served this following a dinner with some wine friends that had never had a Sauterne and I could tell from their initial reaction that they seemed to be recalling unpleasant memories they might've had from past sweet wines. However, as we know Sauternes are nothing like sweet wines of old. To their credit, they tasted with an open mind and actually said they liked it and it was good. I'm always happy to have converted another anti-sweet wine person into a Sauterne lover (or at least liker)!
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12/3/2019 - Winning_Wines Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is in a great spot right now. Beautiful tropical citrus notes with amazing balanced sweetness. I don't see it falling out of place for a long time.
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11/28/2019 - drrobvino wrote: 91 Points
8th 375 bottle of 12 purchased.
Sweet and delicious Sauternes, showing notes of caramel, orange rind, roasted nuts and honey. Adequate acidity to rein in the sweetness.
Drink now through 2021+.
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2/19/2019 - pakabear wrote: 90 Points
Orange, tropical fruit, loads of noble rot, smooth and silky, good balance and very enjoyable.
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2/10/2019 - Nutty08 wrote: 87 Points
Just ok. Cloying sweetness on the palate though quite rich. Did fine with food but without its lack of balancing acidity was too much.
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12/20/2018 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
By the glass. Memories of candied lemon and saffron on the nose. Delicious. On the palate the freshness from a citrus acidity is interspersed with a liqueur sensation that adds volume but in perfect harmony. Long seconds of pleasure. Still has room to improve and round up.
Por copas. Recuerdos a limón confitado y a azafrán en nariz. Delicioso. En boca el frescor procedente de una acidez cítrica se entremezcla con una sensación licorosa que aporta volumen pero en una perfecta sintonía. Largos segundos de placer. Todavía tiene espacio para mejorar y redondearse.
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12/2/2018 - klezman wrote:
Quite nice. Medium density. Nice botrytis flavours. Not sweet enough for a proper dessert pairing - would be better with cheese or fruit.
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11/28/2018 - Enfant sauvage Likes this wine:
Much better than my 2015 bottle. Less volatility and plastic-y notes, more secondary and early tertiary development.
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11/26/2018 - robmatic wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic juice. In the sweet spot where I like Sauternes, with not too much vanilla custard, but plenty of exotic fruits and bright acidity. Should be good for quite a while.
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9/23/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Luscious, sweet, honeyed, tropical fruits, vibrant acidity, vanilla and floral notes, with a racy, orange, pineapple and honeyed finish. What's not to like?
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6/30/2018 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
13,5% alcohol.
Luminous golden yellow color. Sweet and concentrated nose with aromas of honey, wood glue, some waxy botrytis notes, light oaky tones of caramel, a hint of leather and a touch of dried peaches. The wine is full-bodied on the palate, but despite being moderately high in acidity, the wine still comes across as rather unctuous. However, the wine isn't particularly concentrated and weighty for a Sauternes. There are sweet flavors of lemon marmalade, beeswax, some spicy oak, a little bit of woody bitterness, light tones of dried stone fruits and a hint of spicy (i.e. not sweet) vanilla pods. The finish is lively and juicy with long and intese aftertaste of lemon marmalade, some woody bitterness, a little bit of spicy vanilla pods, a hint of honey and beeswax and a touch of overripe apricots.
A nice, sophisticated and nuanced Sauternes that shows good balance and potential for future development. Doesn't really match the sheer power and intensity of the better vintages, but at least shows more weight and richness than the delicate vintage 2002. In a sense this is somewhere in the middle ground between the concentrated high-quality vintages and the cool, lighter vintages, making it good and enjoyable, but not that special. Most likely could benefit from additional aging as the wine still seems quite far away from its apogee. Good value at approx. 30€ for a full-size bottle.
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3/3/2018 - OldwineinVT Likes this wine: 94 Points
Garagiste selection @ $20
Color: deep gold with long legs
Nose: Intense; lots of complex fresh and dried tropical fruits; coconut,
pineapple and lychee
Body/flavor: Full body; very complex flavors; pineapple and coconut. Very well-balanced; no sign of flabby sweetness.
Aftertaste: lingering; still tasting it an hour or more later!
Served with pistachio torta! Remarkable for a $20 bottle... wish I had a case!
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12/1/2017 - wgmccallum Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep golden brown. Figs and raisins on the slightly oxidized nose. Viscous sweet golden fruit on the palate with a corona of acid, very long spreading finish. More about shape and topography than smell and taste. Delicious. [Tasted after a day corked in the fridge. Interesting to compare this note with previous ones.]
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11/18/2017 - ScottPreston wrote: 91 Points
This is drinking really well right now. Nicely impressed.
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11/15/2017 - wabi47 wrote: 90 Points
easy to drink and with some complexity; lower acidity than i prefer
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8/20/2017 - SGates Likes this wine: 88 Points
Honey, Peaches, some stone and botrytis. Not bad for $20/split but a little flabby/flat so sub 90 points. May improve with a couple days but not much change over the 2+ hours last night.
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5/30/2017 - signotim wrote: 90 Points
Good length on the finish
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5/12/2017 - drrobvino wrote: 92 Points
Enjoyed with foie gras this evening.
Notes of tangerine, apricot, honey and chalk on the nose...echoed on the palate. Syrupy in the mouth, big and juicy at 13.5% abv, with incredibly balanced acidity and a long, orange creamsicle finish.
Drink now through 2020+. Delicious.
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5/3/2017 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Our second bottle (no notes on the first a few years ago; but my overall recollection is that we found that prior one less interesting than this). Deep golden. We got no off-putting metalic or chemical hits observed by some. The hint of bitterness we noticed was akin to stone fruit pit, and that was welcome. Deep and earthy. We would have appreciated a touch more acid. We enjoyed this in small pours over six days with some development and little appreciable increase in bitterness over that time.
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4/23/2017 - wmccone54 wrote: 89 Points
Very good until the last glass which showed the bitterness noticed during my first try and noted by others. My guess is the titrates at the bottom of the bottle are the most likely cause. Great QPR at less than $23 for a 375ML.
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11/27/2016 - wgmccallum wrote: 89 Points
Gold. Peach, honey, walnuts on the nose. Sweet and sour on the palate, some bitterness, long finish. Difficult wine to approach right now, off-putting if you are expecting a mellifluous wonder, but interesting if you shift expectations to something more sour and salty. 50 + 15 + 16 + 8.
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4/17/2016 - stvjackson Does not like this wine: 76 Points
This has gone sharply downhill from the last moderately disappointing bottle I had a couple years ago. Strong diesel nose, which slightly blows off after an hour or so. Unfortunately, a strong metallic aftertaste never diminishes no matter how much time is given. The honeyed sweetness has become cloying, with acidity and fruitiness both disappearing with time. Quite disappointing.
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3/10/2016 - dmitchell4 wrote: 91 Points
Not as intense as I would like but has all the elements of a fine French Sauternes
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2/14/2016 - wgmccallum wrote: 88 Points
Golden orange. Aromas of tangerine, honey, botrytis. A little flat and oily the palate, good fruit, nice rising acid lift at the back,redeeming long finish. Pleasant wine at the end of an evening. 50 + 16 + 15 + 7. [Interesting that my last note on this, giving it a much higher score. was after the wine had sat in the cellar for two weeks. Will try to do the same for this bottle.]
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1/24/2016 - molarchae wrote:
375 mL. Light/medium body. Deep golden colour. Medium sweetness, lots of botrytis. Peaches, and that mouldy sort of sense you get from the botrytis. Solid wine. Better with some air - the sense of mould declines a bit. Plenty of tartness on the finish.
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12/26/2015 - nyerr Does not like this wine: 75 Points
At first I thought my bottle was flawed as 6 people put down their glasses and didn't want to drink it because of an overwhelming chemical taste. acetone? It just overpowered any of the possibly nice notes about the wine. Two hours later and it still had that smell/taste. But now I see other reviews with similar comments. I do have another bottle, this time I will open it many hours before and see if that helps. My experience is inconsistent with the pro reviews as well
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11/20/2015 - Nutty08 wrote: 88 Points
Fair to good. Slightly cloying richness to the fruit but I wanted a little more cut and acidity. Long finish though with a moderate amount of depth.
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11/1/2015 - drrobvino wrote: 90 Points
no formal note, very tasty
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10/8/2015 - bspahn wrote: 89 Points
Pretty good, straightforward Sauternes. Perhaps a bit simple for a wine that's almost 10 years old. But it's fine, and pretty delicious. No reason to wait.
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9/30/2015 - wormfarmer wrote:
Eric: "Honey filtered through carpet."
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9/24/2015 - aagrawal wrote: 84 Points
From a 375. Color is medium golden; nose has fresh florals, slight white fruit, but with swirling loses its complexity and has slight acetone heat; palate is full bodied, medium acid that give it freshness but not vibrancy, some simple white fruits at first that fade quickly through the midpalate leaving only sweetness and slight excess alcohol, simple; short finish. Very consistent with my last note a year ago, and overall this is a disappointment compared to others in this price range. 83-85
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6/18/2015 - blaahhi wrote:
Apricot, mandarin or tangerine, and assorted other citrus fruit on the nose. The quite thick and viscous palate brings in also a hint of nuttiness and medium acidity. Quite long finish with some more mandarin and citrus. Not very complex or profound, but pleasant and honest neverthless. Serve well chilled to bring out some extra freshness.
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5/29/2015 - Enfant sauvage wrote:
A lot of volatile acidity at first, much better on day 2. On the light side for a sauternes. Good value.
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4/8/2015 - drrobvino wrote: 91 Points
Very tasty Sauternes, deliciously complex and well balanced with nice med/med+ acidity to balance the acidity. Drink through 2020.
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4/5/2015 - JCGuthrie wrote: 89 Points
Great nose, bit of chemical on the palate.
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4/4/2015 - clutj Likes this wine: 90 Points
classic, on the lighter side
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1/11/2015 - drrobvino wrote: 90 Points
A very nice wine to pair with foie gras this evening. Aromas and flavors of tangerine, honey, macadamia nut and flowers. Well balanced, nice complexity, drinking beautifully now...and will continue to do so through 2019 or so.
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12/19/2014 - drrobvino wrote: 91 Points
Medium golden hue. Nose of apricot, lychee, caramel, and faint petroleum.
Palate echoes flavors of apricot, caramel, rocks, and vaseline. There is ample acidity to support the plentiful sweetness. This wine is well balanced, showing precise sweetness without flabiness. This wine is drinking well now, and will continue to do so through 2020+.
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10/19/2014 - skifree wrote: 89 Points
Drank this over the course of 5 nights - it held up well with honey and lychee flavors with sweet and acid tilted toward sweet, but was relatively straight forward. Think there is no hurry on this.
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10/11/2014 - stvjackson wrote: 83 Points
A bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, there's some nice honey and tropical fruit in the nose, and there are nice lychee, honey and hazelnut flavors balanced with moderate acidity. On the minus side, there's a very noticeable solvent aroma that carries through into the finish. It's not quite strong enough to negate the good things going on, but it definitely holds this wine back.
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8/15/2014 - j.a.price.trucking wrote: 88 Points
No detailed noted. Perfect with blue cheese. Well balanced sweetness. Hint of funky rubber. Not profound.
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8/8/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 87 Points
Coravin 8/8/14: Light-medium golden color; nose has some sweetness to it, some botrytis baking spice, hidden fruit; palate is full bodied, balanced sweetness with slight peach, but fades quickly through midpalate into a bit of a hollow finish; finish is surprisingly short and lacks fruit, but not displeasing. Overall a bit of a shy adolescent with some youthful fruit transitioning to some early teenager maturity, but lacking the density or complexity to make it more interesting. Will wait a few years before trying my last bottle. 87-88
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8/3/2014 - drrobvino wrote: 90 Points
Consumed from 375 ml bottle, straight from refrigerator temperature.
Beautiful med gold in color.
The nose shows honey, pears, mango, lychee, and chalk.
The palate shows off a viscous, full bodied wine, med in alcohol and med acidity (could have a bit more acid ideally, but still very nice). The palate flavors repeat from the aromas, with pear and honey on the forefront, followed by notes of clementine and a hint of wax. The finish is med in length...a bit shorter than I expected...but there is an elegant soil-laden quality that seems to linger on the finish, which is quite enjoyable.
This wine is drinking beautifully right now. I have a case of the 375ml size, and will drink these through 2018 or so. Very, very nice when you are in the mood for a sweet wine.
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7/25/2014 - Richard123 Likes this wine: 91 Points
No detailed notes, but a fantastic Sauternes. Rich kaleidoscope of flavors -- without overdoing the sugar -- make this a perfect after-dinner drink.
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7/25/2014 - f22nickell wrote: 88 Points
Not much depth of fruit. A little bitter on the mid that detracts. smooth, full mouthfeel, but Lacks acidity on the finish.Not bad for $20, but not really good either. Middle of the road.
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5/19/2014 - wmccone54 wrote: 89 Points
Enjoyed from a 375ml over three days. Vacuumed sealed overnight between tastings. Medium golden color and a rich texture displaying aromas and flavors of fresh raw honey, bitter orange marmalade, juicy sweet apricots, and mixed tropical fruit salad. Although sweet, and creamy, great acidity seems to provide good balance. It improved for the first two days, but by day three, there was a distinct bitterness on the finish which distracted from the overall experience. Tiny amounts of tartrate in the bottom of the glass. This should age well past 2025.
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5/18/2014 - AMC Eagle wrote: 91 Points
2 hour decant from a 375m; similar to the drrobvino's notes though I am not getting the acetone profile; flavours of quince, honey, lychee and apricots; decent acidity present and is drinking well right now.
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5/18/2014 - drrobvino wrote: 85 Points
Uncorked this 375mL wine a few hours before consuming.
This wine is clear, and shows a med gold color at the core, fading to a pale gold at the rim.
The nose is developing, showing med+ intensity aromas of honey and orange zest, but is otherwise muted by a rather off-putting nail polish remover (acetone) note.
The palate shows a full bodied wine, very sweet, high in alcohol, with med+ intensity flavors of quince, lychee, orange, honey, and not-as-apparent acetone notes on the palate. The acidity is med+, offsetting the residual sugar nicely. The finish is med+ and repeats the flavors from the palate.
This is a very good quality wine, which is just entering into it's drinking window. I would estimate this wine improving further over the next 5 years, and drinking well through 2025+. I am hoping I caught it in a dumb phase, or with a cork issue, because I certainly did not enjoy the acetone notes, especially since I have 11 more of the 375 bottles.
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5/17/2014 - MaineMark wrote: 87 Points
As others have noted, this starts off with an acetone or diesel smell on the nose that is a little off-putting. Past that, the flavors are excellent, and we found that with a handful of mixed nuts after dinner, it was very enjoyable.
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4/26/2014 - wgmccallum Likes this wine: 95 Points
Honey, orange, stone, pungent wildflowers on the nose, with rich botrytis. Deep penetrating fruit on the palate with spikes of acid on the mid-palate and a tannin-acid finish that goes on forever. [First tasted after dinner without a note and wasn't particularly moved. This tasting was after it had been sitting open in the cellar for a couple of weeks ... I hope this means it has some real aging potential.]
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