2012 Sebastien Riffault Sancerre Les Quarterons

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 89.3 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View SuperSomm's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/21/2017 - SuperSomm wrote:

  Straw yellow colour. Lemons and gooseberries on the nose. Taste of lemons, gooseberries and minerals. A great Sancerre that goes well with shellfish or sushi. Tasted the magnum bottle.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Shiaxonna's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/9/2016 - Shiaxonna wrote: 86 Points

  Very much the same as last time I tasted it. Blackcurrant leaves and freshness. Good!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/12/2015 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  The "least natural" wine in the range of Riffault, made with late-harvested and 20% of botrytized Sauvignon Blanc grapes and bottled with 10 mg/l of sulfites. Aged for 2 years in stainless steel, very light filtration before bottling.
  
  Moderately deep and very slightly hazy golden yellow color tending slightly towards orange. Very rich, sweet and concentrated nose with powerful, exotic aromas of honey, stony minerality, some mango, a little bit of grassy greenness, light passion fruit tones, a hint of freshly pressed apple juice and a touch of dried pineapple. The wine is rich, full-bodied and slightly oxidative on the palate with remarkably intense flavors of bruised apples, peach, some stony minerality, light honeyed tones, a hint of lemon marmalade and a touch of sweet, exotic fruit. The wine feels it should be massively heavy and ponderous, yet it isn't - partly thanks to the high acidity that lends wonderful freshness to the palate and partly for some magical wizardry that makes the wine appear lighter and fresher than the above description makes it sound like. The finish is long, fresh and quite tangy with intense and ripe yet dry flavors of bruised apples and apple core, honeyed richness, some herbal spice, a little bit of stony mineral bitterness, a hint of mango and a touch of grassy greenness.
  
  A remarkably ripe, weighty and complex Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc that is a polar opposite to the crisp and pure style that is produced there today. This is a wine that shows how white wines were a century ago. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I love the slightly oxidative complexity, remarkable richness and almost paradoxical freshness this wine exhibits. Very atypical of what Sauvignon Blanc is today, but maybe that's exactly what makes this wine so great. Recommended.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/16/2015 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  The most "modern" white of Riffault, made with 20% of botrytized grapes and bottled with 10 mg/l of sulfites.
  
  Medium deep, pale green color tending to moderately deep golden yellow. Ripe, rich and almost dessert wine-esque nose with aromas of honey, apricot, dried pineapple and freshly pressed farmhouse apple juice - this is as far removed from a typical pungent, grassy Sancerre nose as imaginable! A slightest touch of spritz on the tongue that blows away immediately. Medium-bodied palate, but with intense concentration. Flavors of ripe and sweet citrus fruits, honey, some green apple, a little herbs and a touch of nutty oxidation. Lovely overtone of stony minerality. Even though the wine is voluminous and ripe, it does not lack in freshness nor bite. Concentrated, rich finish with flavors of spicy wildhoney, dried peach, orange marmalade, some Sauvignon Blanc's grassy greenness, a hint of almonds and a touch of steely minerality.
  
  A fantastic, concentrated Sauvignon Blanc that is almost paradoxical in its combination of grassy, mineral Sauvignon Blanc character and the flavors of sweet, overripe, honeyed and botrytized fruit. Even though this is supposed to be as "modern" as Riffault does it, it's nothing like any modern white you've had. Tastes like something you would've had in your glass a hundred years ago. So atypical for a Sauvignon Blanc, yet recognizable for a one. Truly lovely, truly unique. A good purchase at 28€.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View rlove's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/30/2015 - rlove wrote: flawed

  Oxidized. Seems a theme with these bottles. Unappetizing nose of stewed apple and straw.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.