Jonathan’s 2004 Bordeaux (Hawksmoor, Guildhall, London): Notes a bit sparse on this I’m afraid but it was a rich wine with stone fruits and barley-sugar, offfset by lovely vibrant acids which carried a good length finish. Lovely.
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Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Medium gold, more youthful colour than I was expecting, this retains freshness and balance, and has so many levels it is hard to describe (Especially with my notes at a standstill by this point). Suffice to say this was an excellent Sauternes at 20 years old but could keep for 30 or 40. Delicious match with sticky toffee pudding.
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Jonathan's 2004 Bordeaux Check In (Hawksmoor Guildhall, London, UK): Such an underrated wine. There is a delightful sweet / savoury balance brought to life as this evolves. Initially pleasant nose of barley sugar, spearmint dominate. The palate is rich and mouth coating and balances the citruss freshness with a rich multi layered fruit component. With air there is a nutty creaminess that reminds me of Pistachio macaron. Yummy.
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From 375mL. Golden-orange color; medium intensity aromatics, a bit of orange marmalade, orange peel, not much botrytis or baking spice though there is a bit, a bit of alcohol peeks through the aromatics; palate is medium-full bodied, citrus/orange marmalade, a bit of honey and slight caramel, richly textured at first then medium-plus acidity kicks in with great freshness, midpalate thins out a bit and the alcohol shows through; finish has a bit of orange liqueur and medium length. 5 years since my last half bottle, this seems at early maturity, enjoyable and drinking well now but lacking the complexity of Rieussec in good years (or even average years). More of a food wine now, and while this will last 5-10 more years, I don't think it will develop significantly more complexity. 89
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Fra 375 ml. Frisk nese med appelsinskall, ananas, fersken, botrytis og aprikos. Mye tropisk frukt i munnen også. Lang avslutning med honning og edelråte. Ikke for søt og ikke for tung. Meget pent balansert. 04 har en friskhet jeg savner i mange andre årganger fra tidlig 2000-tall (unntaket er selvfølgelig 2001!). Denne har drukket bra i flere år allerede, men ser ut til å holde seg i mange år til. Jeg elsker undervurderte årganger!
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2004 is such an underrated vintage. The Rieussec is pale gold and just so elegant with a clean fresh vibrancy and perfect botrytis from start to finish. Acidity ideal and those it may not be as complex as some vintages it is a real success.
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Pineapple, orange and a lite caramel/nut quality on the nose. Nearly full bodied with a great variety of tropical notes both upfront and through the middle, especially pineapple, orange and mango. Mid-body has excellent density and richness with the fruit notes feeling like they layer upon layer of depth and nuance. This complexity, married with the acidity, tart fruit/citrus notes gave the wine great balance as well as length through the finish. The fruit through the mid-body and into the finish felt perfectly rounded, while showing expressiveness, depth and contrast. This wine is really in a great spot now and while it certainly has some years in front of it, considering how harmonious everything showed, I won't wait too long and I'll probably open my next bottle in June/July 2022.
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From a .375. Bottle was refrigerated for 2 days, on ice for 3 hours and then left on the table for 40 minutes before consuming. Deep golden hue. No tartrate crystals. Nose of honey, apricots, pineapple and orange blossoms. In the mouth, more apricot and honey with an almond counterpoint. Good acidity kept the wine from being cloying. Plenty of depth and intensity with a long finish. Very nice dessert wine.
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Deep copper gold. Nose of ripe peach and apricot. On the palate rich concentrated with tropical fruits and super ripe peach. Honeyed focussed with perfect acidity to balance. This is in a perfect place and defies all the rules about vintage. This is a great aged Sauternes and one to buy and drink over the next two to three years. Deliciously long on the palate and shocked the room with its complexity and class. Comment (79 views)
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Superb drinking! In the glass straw yellow. An exotic nose. On the palate abricot, honey, nut. Still very fresh and thick, this is a huge pleasure to drink.
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13 years old and 3 years since my last note. Not much change that I can taste. Still very broad, tropical fruit, apricot. A bit less defined that other r vintages tasted recently, but very enjoyable
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From magnum. No formal notes - over lunch. Lovely colour, deep golden-yellow. A bit of evolution on the nose - notes of tropical fruit, orange peel, caramel, nuts, honey. On the palate well balanced - great richness of fruit, lots of weight and concentration, but also lovely, well-integrated acidity. Fairly vibrant, smooth and very long. Very good. Drink or keep. 91-93
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Epic 2001 Sauternes Horizontal (San Francisco): Tasted single-blind. From a 375. Golden color; nose is moderately aromatic with some slight white fruits, slight glue; palate is rich, dense sweetness that is slightly cloying at first, nice medium acidic bite that kicks in through the midpalate to clean up the wine a bit, medium finish. This shows a bit of class on the palate. I would pick this up as Rieussec based on the density on the palate, on the nose I couldn’t tell. 88. Compared to my last half, the oak is better integrated, and overall it seems to be evolving better than I expected. Day 2: Nose is slightly more aromatic with its fruit; palate seems almost even a bit less evolved with a little vanilla showing, nice balance. I think this is going to need another 5-10 years of bottle age but will end up being a nice wine. Will try to wait that long before getting to another half. 88-90. but likely to improve a couple of points with age. Not nearly as unbalanced as the first bottle that I tasted years ago.
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Was yellow gold starting to go a little caramel. Had medium body and a good texture, but didn't quite have flair in the finish to push it higher in my regard. Looked and tasted mature for the age. Good, but have had better vintages of this.
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(Blind tasting) Complex, invinting, deep and rich nose. Perfect balance between botrytis, saffron, pine-apple and citrus. Oak beautifully integrated. Lovely. Very balanced palate. Harmonius, pure and rich with just the right amount of saffron. Generous, sweet fruit and freshness. In a perfect Place. Oak fully integrated. Not as full bodied as some othter vintages of Rieussec (which made us guess on Climens, actually). After time in glass some elegance is lost which may suggest that it's not for the long haul. Drink from now and 5-10 years into the future.
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A Wine of Interest. On a good way: youngish color, promising, accented nose, very fine overall, some lightness and slightly bitter, good signs for further development. Will improve. 91+
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Very sweet and rich. Slight plastic on the nose. On the palate the wine is very sweet with nice botrytis and a hint of bitterness. Excellent dessert wine.
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Very impressive wine by its texture and richness. The nose is of course very primary, sweetness is not overwhelming and there is a massive, attractive nose with lanolin and oak still dominating. Palate is a real beauty, very rich but with perfect equilibrium for my taste (I am often underwhelmed by liquoreux where I find there is not enough stuffing behind the sweetness... not here!). Length is good but not great. Interesting to see how this will develop, although it is an absolute delight to drink now.
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Interesting... Relative to other Rieussec 98 99 00 there's less caramel and spice, not quite enough acid to hold it all together. But what's left is a pure clean warm honeyed fruit shot. Mild burnt aftertaste very long
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Rieussec Mini-Vertical (San Francisco, CA): From a 375. Light golden color; moderate intensity nose with wax, vanilla, some baking spice with swirling, a bit of pineapple; palate is full bodied, moderate sweetness, decent acidity at front of palate, early fruit is difficult to pin down, and it fades towards a slightly hollow midpalate; short-moderate finish. This is enjoyable by itself, but 1) is too young by 5 years, 2) lacks persistence on the palate, 3) seems short on the fruit, 4) has oak that is quite pronounced. Certainly falters compared to the 1999 Rieussec beside it, but I'm hopeful that 5 years will show some improvement (though factors going against that include lack of persistence on the palate and high oak/fruit ratio). I have a few left, and will try my next one in 5 years. 88 Day 2: Consistent with initial notes above.
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Splendid colour; initially too cold, relatively (for Rieussec) low key, correct; sweetness kept in check, quite high acidity leads to an angular feel but not overbearing; fully ready, at peak but should drink well for 5+ years.
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Appearance: Bright and clear, it has medium gold color, with legs. Nose: Clean, with pronounced intensity aromas, showing stone fruit of apricot, citrus fruit of orange marmalade, dried fruit of sultana, maturity notes of honey, sweet spice of cinnamon, oak notes of caramel, kernel notes of cream, and floral notes of honeysuckle. The wine is developing. Palate: Sweet with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and full body, with has medium (+) intensity flavors of tropical fruit of mango, stone fruit of apricot, citrus fruit of lemon zest, oak notes of caramel and cedar, dried fruit of sultana. The wine has a long finish. Conclusion: Very good quality Sauternes with an intense nose showing good range of aroma characters, the wine has good acidity to balance the sweetness, providing a refreshing palate of structure and elegance. Good concentration with a long finish, the wine is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.
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First bottle opened of 24 in the cellar bought a long while ago because the vintage was not popular so a lot riding on this! My theory at that the time was that as a Rieussec it would still be a delicious wine, and so just about it proved. Initially I found it a bit underwhelming, esp relative to the 1995 and 1999 that I tried recently - not quite the intensity of fruit and a bit ungainly without enough acidity to hold it all together? But I may have served it too cold because later, and the next day I got more sweet spice on the nose, and long strong apricot taste. Not a complex wine, but excellent
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Dinner with Monthly Group at Yantra (Yantra, Tanglin Mall): I am normally a big fan of Rieussec young or old, but this 375ml bottle left me very non-plussed. First of all, there was a ton of oak still present - not a great sin in young Sauternes of course, but this came across very coconutty on the nose, almost d'Yquem like on that count, so much so that it almost overshadowed the finer aromas of yellow fruited mangoes, burnt sugar, and more typical Rieussec notes of spicy cloves and cinamon. Still though, it would have been nice enough a bouquet on its own, but there was also a metallic, iodine-like twang in there that threw me off a bit. Thankfully, that blew off with a bit of time. It was actually the palate that I did not appreciate that much. There was certainly a whole lot of depth and power here, a lot of it actually for a 2004, with a sweet, caramelly attack moving into an equally opulent midpalate of dried apricots and brown sugar. Tremendously primary I thought, but more disturbingly, for all its power, it seemed to lack a bit of the cut and balance I would expect of a top Sauternes, so that it came across a bit cloying and flabby as it slid into an almost corpulent finish. A bit disappointing, especially as it was paired with some North Indian food, which should have been perfect on paper. We may have caught this at a dumb stage - I hope so, because while a decent sweet wine, it was certainly no great shakes. One to try again in 5-6 years' time to gauge its progress.
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From 375. Medium golden color; medium-profound nose of orange citrus, honey, very strong vanilla; palate is full bodied, well balanced, strong vanilla, fresh concentrated fruit, especially orange, some papaya, hints of more tropical fruit; finish is quite long. This is a very promising but young and disjointed wine. The excess vanilla notes tell me that the oak has not yet integrated, and all the flavors (though intense) are somewhat linear, especially in the early palate. This is still enjoyable (as 99% of sauternes are throughout their life), but this is solidly in the awkward phase and needs 5-7 years minimum to emerge. Young sauternes benefit from lots of air, so I will keep enough to try over the upcoming week. My suspicion is that it will improve but not fully emerge/integrate from where it is now. Right now 90+++, but could easily reach 92-93+ if the oak integrates and it shows more complexity. Day 6: Vanilla has barely started to integrate on the nose; integrated a bit better on the palate. This is still young. Hopefully the oak will eventually subside a bit. The EtOH is showing a bit more today than I recall on the day it was opened, but more complexity too. Still 90 today. I have a few more halves and will wait 3-5 years before opening the next one. Day 10: This is the first time that the vanilla/oak has started to integrate. This wine needs plenty of time. The fruit has also subsided though. This is never going to be great, but it should be very good. Day 17: I'm really stretching this out, somewhat unintentionally. Still enjoyable, but really just isn't showing the balance I expect in top tier sauternes. I wouldn't recommend this vintage... the 2006 is the same price and much better. 88-89
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Again a perfect pairing with Foie gras. Very good acidity to balance the sweetness - surprising lenght. Ok to drink now - will gain complexity in upcoming years.
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Rieussec Vertical (Vini di Domani, Eksel): While tasting this wine I had my thoughts whether this Rieussec had the mandatory class and breeding. Of course, it's pretty young at the moment and maybe the future will be kind to this one, but the wine was seeking for balance and finish was a bit clipped. 15,5-16/20
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The bouquet is a bit locked. The oak is not really integrated yet. Some sharp edges. There is concentration. In the taste all elements of a Sauternes together with coconut and white chocolate. But at this moment disappointing. Hope it will recover. The score is for now.
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Based on initial sip I thought the notes below were going to come true (Intense, intense. Apricot, almonds, brown sugar, but beautifully balanced with bracing acid. Long finish) and this would be a great bottle however after being open an hour it started to fade and was flat then developed a bit of a bitter finish - never have had a sauternes do this to me before
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Full bodied and thick on the palate. Peaches galore and some almonds and honey to top it off. Really zinging, and will only be better with time. Sweet.
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Rich but youthful with a delicious mouthful of buttered almond, pineapple cream, orange, oak and vanilla flavors. Medium bodied and creamy-textured, though unresolved; even from a 375ml, this was effusive, but still years away from being ready.
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More infanticide in my house. Served to out of town guests after dinner last night. Didn't take notes. Overall impression: except for me, this was everyone's favorite wine. Golden yellow. Nose of honey, almond, caramel, and peach. Delicious palate of fresh fruit cocktail, honey, and vanilla. Really excellent.
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Rich, deep golden color. Honey, peaches, apricots, burnt sugar (like the top of a creme brule), hazelnut fragrance. Sweet but no overly so. Wonderful mouthfeel. Exquisite finish. Very fresh and drinkable now, but would be interesting to try it after a few more years in the cellar.
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From .375. Deep golden color. Nose of honey and green apple. Loaded with hazelnut and toffee on the palate. Refreshingly youthful, a beauty of a sweet one with which to finish. Good night.
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Classic Rieussec nose, with hazelnut, coconut, burnt sugar, honey, and stone fruits. This is young-- far younger than I usually open Rieussec-- but it's very fresh and drinkable. Medium-bodied and deeply caramelized on the palate, this lacks the acidity of some of the better vintages (especially the '01), but it has a deep, long, and exotic finish.
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Pour finir la soirée en beauté, nous avons partagé une bouetille de Château Rieussec - Sauternes Grand Cru Classé 2004. Pour plusieurs, ce fut ici une première expérience avec le Sauternes (dans mon cas, mon initiation avait eu lieu la semaine précédente…!). C’est le vin qui a suscité le plus d’exclamations à table, tout juste devant l’Alion. Un nez puissant de miel, de fleurs ont impressionné pas mal de gens. En bouche, c’était frais avec une belle acidité et d’une longueur interminable. Un peu moins gras et liquoreux que ce à quoi je m’attendais, mais c’était probablement dû à la jeunesse de la bouteille.
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93 pts right now. Green apples, apricot, light melong, light honeydew, couple layers of fresh flower honey, and lemon grass, lemon cake. sweet but not so thick that it coats all over ur mouth. Medium to long finish. It is very young and the acidity which is well integrated will come together nicely with some time. In the future the ratings for this wine will go up.
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To young really to drink, but at the same time a great bottle of wine. Very well balanced in acidity, sweetness en alcohol. Beautiful color. Taste is very fresh, round sweets but no to sweet and many flavours at once. My advise is to wait at least another 5 to 10 years, to give it a more rich and more full taste
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This started off with a noticeable petroleum mid palate that I did not enjoy and then with some decanter timed burned off and the second day not noticeable at all. Very good
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Quite young, but with fantastic nose of honey, pineapple, peach and a bit of some flower. Good body, very full on the mouch, with the classic and expected long finish that a good quality Sauternes require. The acidity is beautifully integrated to the wine, making it easy to drink until the last drop of the bottle. Hope to drink again in 10 or maybe 20 years.
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Drank this at Thanksgiving dinner. it was nice, though too young. Honey, pineapple, sweet mango, cedar, and creme broulet dominate this. Finish moderately long. Well done effort. Will wait on my other bottles.
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4/15/2024 - Paul D wrote: 90 Points
Jonathan’s 2004 Bordeaux (Hawksmoor, Guildhall, London): Notes a bit sparse on this I’m afraid but it was a rich wine with stone fruits and barley-sugar, offfset by lovely vibrant acids which carried a good length finish. Lovely.
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4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Medium gold, more youthful colour than I was expecting, this retains freshness and balance, and has so many levels it is hard to describe (Especially with my notes at a standstill by this point). Suffice to say this was an excellent Sauternes at 20 years old but could keep for 30 or 40. Delicious match with sticky toffee pudding.
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4/15/2024 - Vinumming & Ahhing Likes this wine: 92 Points
Jonathan's 2004 Bordeaux Check In (Hawksmoor Guildhall, London, UK): Such an underrated wine. There is a delightful sweet / savoury balance brought to life as this evolves. Initially pleasant nose of barley sugar, spearmint dominate. The palate is rich and mouth coating and balances the citruss freshness with a rich multi layered fruit component. With air there is a nutty creaminess that reminds me of Pistachio macaron. Yummy.
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4/7/2024 - Richard.schmit Likes this wine: 93 Points
nice color. maderin and citrus in the nose. well balanced on the pallet withsufficient sweet and character. paired very well with the desert.
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12/3/2023 - chanukha Likes this wine: 93 Points
Borders on excellence. Secondary notes well developed and I actually like the minimal botrytisiness.
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9/23/2023 - aagrawal wrote: 89 Points
From 375mL. Golden-orange color; medium intensity aromatics, a bit of orange marmalade, orange peel, not much botrytis or baking spice though there is a bit, a bit of alcohol peeks through the aromatics; palate is medium-full bodied, citrus/orange marmalade, a bit of honey and slight caramel, richly textured at first then medium-plus acidity kicks in with great freshness, midpalate thins out a bit and the alcohol shows through; finish has a bit of orange liqueur and medium length. 5 years since my last half bottle, this seems at early maturity, enjoyable and drinking well now but lacking the complexity of Rieussec in good years (or even average years). More of a food wine now, and while this will last 5-10 more years, I don't think it will develop significantly more complexity. 89
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5/25/2022 - kfinsrud wrote: 91 Points
Fra 375 ml. Frisk nese med appelsinskall, ananas, fersken, botrytis og aprikos. Mye tropisk frukt i munnen også. Lang avslutning med honning og edelråte. Ikke for søt og ikke for tung. Meget pent balansert. 04 har en friskhet jeg savner i mange andre årganger fra tidlig 2000-tall (unntaket er selvfølgelig 2001!). Denne har drukket bra i flere år allerede, men ser ut til å holde seg i mange år til. Jeg elsker undervurderte årganger!
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4/28/2022 - Mr. Montrachet Likes this wine: 92 Points
Walnut, orange peel, maple syrup, nocino, botrytis.
Wonderful. Good length.
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3/6/2022 - Loathesome Likes this wine: 92 Points
2004 is such an underrated vintage. The Rieussec is pale gold and just so elegant with a clean fresh vibrancy and perfect botrytis from start to finish. Acidity ideal and those it may not be as complex as some vintages it is a real success.
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11/21/2021 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pineapple, orange and a lite caramel/nut quality on the nose. Nearly full bodied with a great variety of tropical notes both upfront and through the middle, especially pineapple, orange and mango. Mid-body has excellent density and richness with the fruit notes feeling like they layer upon layer of depth and nuance. This complexity, married with the acidity, tart fruit/citrus notes gave the wine great balance as well as length through the finish. The fruit through the mid-body and into the finish felt perfectly rounded, while showing expressiveness, depth and contrast. This wine is really in a great spot now and while it certainly has some years in front of it, considering how harmonious everything showed, I won't wait too long and I'll probably open my next bottle in June/July 2022.
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5/1/2021 - rjpbath Likes this wine: 91 Points
I really like this wine. It has grown into a lovely bottle. Still there and no hurry.
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2/13/2021 - bunhiong wrote:
just starting to mature, this is complex and not sickly sweet, easily another 10 years
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11/20/2020 - OenophilistMN Likes this wine: 90 Points
From a .375. Bottle was refrigerated for 2 days, on ice for 3 hours and then left on the table for 40 minutes before consuming. Deep golden hue. No tartrate crystals. Nose of honey, apricots, pineapple and orange blossoms. In the mouth, more apricot and honey with an almond counterpoint. Good acidity kept the wine from being cloying. Plenty of depth and intensity with a long finish. Very nice dessert wine.
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5/16/2020 - zindhum wrote: 93 Points
Deep copper gold. Nose of ripe peach and apricot. On the palate rich concentrated with tropical fruits and super ripe peach. Honeyed focussed with perfect acidity to balance. This is in a perfect place and defies all the rules about vintage. This is a great aged Sauternes and one to buy and drink over the next two to three years. Deliciously long on the palate and shocked the room with its complexity and class.
Comment (79 views)
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5/28/2019 - vinero Likes this wine: 93 Points
Superb drinking! In the glass straw yellow. An exotic nose. On the palate abricot, honey, nut. Still very fresh and thick, this is a huge pleasure to drink.
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2/23/2019 - Binkey wrote: 90 Points
The nose has tropical fruits,apricots and honey, the taste is more balanced from the 2010, lower acidity and nice aftertaste.
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9/23/2018 - chbeaumont wrote: 90 Points
Good colour; restrained, with a real presence; sweet, plenty of acidity to counterbalance, on lean side; drinking well, no hurry.
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12/10/2017 - RKCam Likes this wine: 91 Points
13 years old and 3 years since my last note. Not much change that I can taste. Still very broad, tropical fruit, apricot. A bit less defined that other r vintages tasted recently, but very enjoyable
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5/13/2017 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
From magnum. No formal notes - over lunch. Lovely colour, deep golden-yellow. A bit of evolution on the nose - notes of tropical fruit, orange peel, caramel, nuts, honey. On the palate well balanced - great richness of fruit, lots of weight and concentration, but also lovely, well-integrated acidity. Fairly vibrant, smooth and very long. Very good. Drink or keep. 91-93
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4/15/2017 - aagrawal wrote: 89 Points
Epic 2001 Sauternes Horizontal (San Francisco): Tasted single-blind. From a 375. Golden color; nose is moderately aromatic with some slight white fruits, slight glue; palate is rich, dense sweetness that is slightly cloying at first, nice medium acidic bite that kicks in through the midpalate to clean up the wine a bit, medium finish. This shows a bit of class on the palate. I would pick this up as Rieussec based on the density on the palate, on the nose I couldn’t tell. 88. Compared to my last half, the oak is better integrated, and overall it seems to be evolving better than I expected.
Day 2: Nose is slightly more aromatic with its fruit; palate seems almost even a bit less evolved with a little vanilla showing, nice balance. I think this is going to need another 5-10 years of bottle age but will end up being a nice wine. Will try to wait that long before getting to another half. 88-90. but likely to improve a couple of points with age. Not nearly as unbalanced as the first bottle that I tasted years ago.
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3/21/2017 - portman63 wrote: 90 Points
Was yellow gold starting to go a little caramel. Had medium body and a good texture, but didn't quite have flair in the finish to push it higher in my regard. Looked and tasted mature for the age. Good, but have had better vintages of this.
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10/21/2016 - Argrath wrote: 94 Points
(Blind tasting)
Complex, invinting, deep and rich nose. Perfect balance between botrytis, saffron, pine-apple and citrus. Oak beautifully integrated. Lovely.
Very balanced palate. Harmonius, pure and rich with just the right amount of saffron. Generous, sweet fruit and freshness. In a perfect Place. Oak fully integrated. Not as full bodied as some othter vintages of Rieussec (which made us guess on Climens, actually).
After time in glass some elegance is lost which may suggest that it's not for the long haul. Drink from now and 5-10 years into the future.
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1/10/2016 - Nubian Likes this wine: 91 Points
A Wine of Interest. On a good way: youngish color, promising, accented nose, very fine overall, some lightness and slightly bitter, good signs for further development. Will improve. 91+
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10/26/2015 - Wineteacher Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very sweet and rich. Slight plastic on the nose. On the palate the wine is very sweet with nice botrytis and a hint of bitterness. Excellent dessert wine.
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10/24/2015 - Alex H wrote: 88 Points
Sweet honeyed ripe apricots and lychee pineapple in syrup. Touch of white florals. Still thick and rich. Needs more time.
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1/15/2015 - thomasito2001 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very impressive wine by its texture and richness. The nose is of course very primary, sweetness is not overwhelming and there is a massive, attractive nose with lanolin and oak still dominating. Palate is a real beauty, very rich but with perfect equilibrium for my taste (I am often underwhelmed by liquoreux where I find there is not enough stuffing behind the sweetness... not here!). Length is good but not great. Interesting to see how this will develop, although it is an absolute delight to drink now.
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12/18/2014 - RKCam Likes this wine: 90 Points
Interesting... Relative to other Rieussec 98 99 00 there's less caramel and spice, not quite enough acid to hold it all together. But what's left is a pure clean warm honeyed fruit shot. Mild burnt aftertaste very long
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9/20/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
Rieussec Mini-Vertical (San Francisco, CA): From a 375. Light golden color; moderate intensity nose with wax, vanilla, some baking spice with swirling, a bit of pineapple; palate is full bodied, moderate sweetness, decent acidity at front of palate, early fruit is difficult to pin down, and it fades towards a slightly hollow midpalate; short-moderate finish. This is enjoyable by itself, but 1) is too young by 5 years, 2) lacks persistence on the palate, 3) seems short on the fruit, 4) has oak that is quite pronounced. Certainly falters compared to the 1999 Rieussec beside it, but I'm hopeful that 5 years will show some improvement (though factors going against that include lack of persistence on the palate and high oak/fruit ratio). I have a few left, and will try my next one in 5 years. 88
Day 2: Consistent with initial notes above.
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9/15/2014 - chbeaumont wrote: 90 Points
Splendid colour; initially too cold, relatively (for Rieussec) low key, correct; sweetness kept in check, quite high acidity leads to an angular feel but not overbearing; fully ready, at peak but should drink well for 5+ years.
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5/28/2014 - peterchoy wrote: 91 Points
Appearance: Bright and clear, it has medium gold color, with legs.
Nose: Clean, with pronounced intensity aromas, showing stone fruit of apricot, citrus fruit of orange marmalade, dried fruit of sultana, maturity notes of honey, sweet spice of cinnamon, oak notes of caramel, kernel notes of cream, and floral notes of honeysuckle. The wine is developing.
Palate: Sweet with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and full body, with has medium (+) intensity flavors of tropical fruit of mango, stone fruit of apricot, citrus fruit of lemon zest, oak notes of caramel and cedar, dried fruit of sultana. The wine has a long finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality Sauternes with an intense nose showing good range of aroma characters, the wine has good acidity to balance the sweetness, providing a refreshing palate of structure and elegance. Good concentration with a long finish, the wine is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.
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2/23/2014 - RKCam Likes this wine: 90 Points
First bottle opened of 24 in the cellar bought a long while ago because the vintage was not popular so a lot riding on this! My theory at that the time was that as a Rieussec it would still be a delicious wine, and so just about it proved. Initially I found it a bit underwhelming, esp relative to the 1995 and 1999 that I tried recently - not quite the intensity of fruit and a bit ungainly without enough acidity to hold it all together? But I may have served it too cold because later, and the next day I got more sweet spice on the nose, and long strong apricot taste. Not a complex wine, but excellent
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11/3/2013 - rjpbath Likes this wine: 91 Points
Remarkably good for an 'off' vintage. Would do excellently as an aperitif! Very good but not great
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9/18/2012 - Kriz wrote: 91 Points
From 0,375 bottle. Light golden yellow. Apricot, peach and apple. Good balance between sweetness and acidity. And that typical sharpness... nice!
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7/27/2012 - Paul S wrote: 89 Points
Dinner with Monthly Group at Yantra (Yantra, Tanglin Mall): I am normally a big fan of Rieussec young or old, but this 375ml bottle left me very non-plussed. First of all, there was a ton of oak still present - not a great sin in young Sauternes of course, but this came across very coconutty on the nose, almost d'Yquem like on that count, so much so that it almost overshadowed the finer aromas of yellow fruited mangoes, burnt sugar, and more typical Rieussec notes of spicy cloves and cinamon. Still though, it would have been nice enough a bouquet on its own, but there was also a metallic, iodine-like twang in there that threw me off a bit. Thankfully, that blew off with a bit of time. It was actually the palate that I did not appreciate that much. There was certainly a whole lot of depth and power here, a lot of it actually for a 2004, with a sweet, caramelly attack moving into an equally opulent midpalate of dried apricots and brown sugar. Tremendously primary I thought, but more disturbingly, for all its power, it seemed to lack a bit of the cut and balance I would expect of a top Sauternes, so that it came across a bit cloying and flabby as it slid into an almost corpulent finish. A bit disappointing, especially as it was paired with some North Indian food, which should have been perfect on paper. We may have caught this at a dumb stage - I hope so, because while a decent sweet wine, it was certainly no great shakes. One to try again in 5-6 years' time to gauge its progress.
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6/23/2012 - aagrawal wrote: 89 Points
From 375. Medium golden color; medium-profound nose of orange citrus, honey, very strong vanilla; palate is full bodied, well balanced, strong vanilla, fresh concentrated fruit, especially orange, some papaya, hints of more tropical fruit; finish is quite long. This is a very promising but young and disjointed wine. The excess vanilla notes tell me that the oak has not yet integrated, and all the flavors (though intense) are somewhat linear, especially in the early palate. This is still enjoyable (as 99% of sauternes are throughout their life), but this is solidly in the awkward phase and needs 5-7 years minimum to emerge. Young sauternes benefit from lots of air, so I will keep enough to try over the upcoming week. My suspicion is that it will improve but not fully emerge/integrate from where it is now. Right now 90+++, but could easily reach 92-93+ if the oak integrates and it shows more complexity.
Day 6: Vanilla has barely started to integrate on the nose; integrated a bit better on the palate. This is still young. Hopefully the oak will eventually subside a bit. The EtOH is showing a bit more today than I recall on the day it was opened, but more complexity too. Still 90 today. I have a few more halves and will wait 3-5 years before opening the next one.
Day 10: This is the first time that the vanilla/oak has started to integrate. This wine needs plenty of time. The fruit has also subsided though. This is never going to be great, but it should be very good.
Day 17: I'm really stretching this out, somewhat unintentionally. Still enjoyable, but really just isn't showing the balance I expect in top tier sauternes. I wouldn't recommend this vintage... the 2006 is the same price and much better. 88-89
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3/4/2012 - VindependenceDay wrote: 92 Points
Thought it could have used some more acid.
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12/24/2011 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 92 Points
Super Sauternes!
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9/29/2011 - Ianjaig wrote:
Tried at GGs BT.
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9/11/2011 - carlturcotte wrote: 94 Points
Again a perfect pairing with Foie gras. Very good acidity to balance the sweetness - surprising lenght. Ok to drink now - will gain complexity in upcoming years.
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6/15/2011 - mwanasheria wrote: 93 Points
Marzipan, apricots, honey, nicely integrated acidity.
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3/28/2011 - mjsherwin68 Likes this wine: 92 Points
yummy. Very a nice desert wine. Would get again.
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3/26/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 86 Points
Rieussec Vertical (Vini di Domani, Eksel): While tasting this wine I had my thoughts whether this Rieussec had the mandatory class and breeding. Of course, it's pretty young at the moment and maybe the future will be kind to this one, but the wine was seeking for balance and finish was a bit clipped. 15,5-16/20
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3/25/2011 - Zweder wrote: 89 Points
The bouquet is a bit locked. The oak is not really integrated yet. Some sharp edges. There is concentration. In the taste all elements of a Sauternes together with coconut and white chocolate. But at this moment disappointing. Hope it will recover. The score is for now.
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3/23/2011 - julianseersmartin wrote: 93 Points
Very, very good but oh so young. Stunning length for the age.
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12/19/2010 - Rick-again wrote:
Based on initial sip I thought the notes below were going to come true (Intense, intense. Apricot, almonds, brown sugar, but beautifully balanced with bracing acid. Long finish) and this would be a great bottle however after being open an hour it started to fade and was flat then developed a bit of a bitter finish - never have had a sauternes do this to me before
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9/19/2010 - VindependenceDay wrote: 96 Points
Intense, intense. Apricot, almonds, brown sugar, but beautifully balanced with bracing acid. Long finish. Hit of the night.
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9/1/2010 - ChinonRouge wrote: 84 Points
I can't believe I paid $46 for 375mL. Terrible value. Will not buy again. Poor example of Sauternes. Avoid it.
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6/10/2010 - rherman wrote: 91 Points
had in Napa after the 2007 Coho Pinot Noir. very nice!!
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1/23/2010 - janare wrote: 93 Points
Full bodied and thick on the palate. Peaches galore and some almonds and honey to top it off. Really zinging, and will only be better with time. Sweet.
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12/25/2009 - wino_tim wrote: 90 Points
Rich but youthful with a delicious mouthful of buttered almond, pineapple cream, orange, oak and vanilla flavors. Medium bodied and creamy-textured, though unresolved; even from a 375ml, this was effusive, but still years away from being ready.
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10/27/2009 - Wink wrote: 92 Points
More infanticide in my house. Served to out of town guests after dinner last night. Didn't take notes. Overall impression: except for me, this was everyone's favorite wine. Golden yellow. Nose of honey, almond, caramel, and peach. Delicious palate of fresh fruit cocktail, honey, and vanilla. Really excellent.
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8/15/2009 - ELH wrote: 93 Points
Rich, deep golden color. Honey, peaches, apricots, burnt sugar (like the top of a creme brule), hazelnut fragrance. Sweet but no overly so. Wonderful mouthfeel. Exquisite finish. Very fresh and drinkable now, but would be interesting to try it after a few more years in the cellar.
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7/8/2009 - hshdream wrote: 86 Points
Taste is so so. But I don't like it. It's too sweet for me. If it was more dry, I would be better.
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5/25/2009 - decaturwinedude wrote: 92 Points
From .375. Deep golden color. Nose of honey and green apple. Loaded with hazelnut and toffee on the palate. Refreshingly youthful, a beauty of a sweet one with which to finish. Good night.
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3/10/2009 - MarkL wrote: 89 Points
No formal note. Good acidity well balanced with the sweetness.
Light gold in colour.
Honeyed nose.
There was probably more going on but we had it at the end of a meal (with blue cheese) and I cant find the notes I scribbled down at the time.
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2/28/2009 - Brix wrote: 93 Points
Classic Rieussec nose, with hazelnut, coconut, burnt sugar, honey, and stone fruits. This is young-- far younger than I usually open Rieussec-- but it's very fresh and drinkable. Medium-bodied and deeply caramelized on the palate, this lacks the acidity of some of the better vintages (especially the '01), but it has a deep, long, and exotic finish.
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1/4/2009 - Willy W wrote: 92 Points
honey and appricots. not bad at all. will get better in time.
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12/21/2008 - bmarshall wrote: 92 Points
Excellent wine. Apricots, peaches and some petrol. Refreshing acidity and great finish.
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11/29/2008 - konquest wrote: 93 Points
Pour finir la soirée en beauté, nous avons partagé une bouetille de Château Rieussec - Sauternes Grand Cru Classé 2004. Pour plusieurs, ce fut ici une première expérience avec le Sauternes (dans mon cas, mon initiation avait eu lieu la semaine précédente…!). C’est le vin qui a suscité le plus d’exclamations à table, tout juste devant l’Alion. Un nez puissant de miel, de fleurs ont impressionné pas mal de gens. En bouche, c’était frais avec une belle acidité et d’une longueur interminable. Un peu moins gras et liquoreux que ce à quoi je m’attendais, mais c’était probablement dû à la jeunesse de la bouteille.
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10/12/2008 - ludwigbpm wrote: 92 Points
Sans notes
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5/3/2008 - the drops of god wrote: 93 Points
93 pts right now. Green apples, apricot, light melong, light honeydew, couple layers of fresh flower honey, and lemon grass, lemon cake. sweet but not so thick that it coats all over ur mouth. Medium to long finish. It is very young and the acidity which is well integrated will come together nicely with some time. In the future the ratings for this wine will go up.
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4/26/2008 - pinotwinelover wrote: 93 Points
Offered this up to some Sauterne newbies, very enjoyable.
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3/25/2008 - ReneB wrote: 90 Points
To young really to drink, but at the same time a great bottle of wine. Very well balanced in acidity, sweetness en alcohol.
Beautiful color. Taste is very fresh, round sweets but no to sweet and many flavours at once.
My advise is to wait at least another 5 to 10 years, to give it a more rich and more full taste
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3/14/2008 - pinotwinelover wrote: 93 Points
This started off with a noticeable petroleum mid palate that I did not enjoy and then with some decanter timed burned off and the second day not noticeable at all. Very good
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2/14/2008 - frederikboivin wrote:
wow
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2/12/2008 - BrunoStort wrote: 94 Points
Quite young, but with fantastic nose of honey, pineapple, peach and a bit of some flower. Good body, very full on the mouch, with the classic and expected long finish that a good quality Sauternes require. The acidity is beautifully integrated to the wine, making it easy to drink until the last drop of the bottle. Hope to drink again in 10 or maybe 20 years.
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11/24/2007 - mmyette wrote: 92 Points
Drank this at Thanksgiving dinner. it was nice, though too young. Honey, pineapple, sweet mango, cedar, and creme broulet dominate this. Finish moderately long. Well done effort. Will wait on my other bottles.
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