| Vintage | Score | Drink Rec | Description | |
| 84-87 | NYR | Botrytis formed, but with constant rains and no warm, sunny patches during harvest, the grapes couldn't get concentration. The best Sauternes are friendly but loosely knit, lacking depth; some top châteaus did not produce a grand vin. Barsac fared much better, with some excellent wines | ||
| 94-97 | NYR | Botrytis arrived early and quickly, while the cool second half of the season allowed grapes to retain acidity. Wines are racy, detailed, pure and driven; should rival '01 | ||
| 93 | Hold | Botrytis arrived late and quickly. Wines are clean, round and dense, though not as complex as '09 or '01 | ||
| 96 | Hold | Terrific companion vintage to the reds, with ripe, powerful botrytis character; easily the best since '01 | ||
| 90 | Hold | Marked by tangy acidity; not broadly ripe, but some are showy enough | ||
| 92 | Hold | Lots of botrytis led to a rich, tropical fruit and raisined-style vintage with rounded, hedonistic wines | ||
| 91 | Drink or hold | Not as dense as top years, but fresh, vibrant wines with lively acidity | ||
| 93 | Hold | Opulent and structured, with underlying finesse | ||
| 89 | Drink or hold | Harmonious, aromatic and spicy; for early drinking | ||
| 95 | Drink or hold | Exotic, ripe and spicy; good botrytis | ||
| 87 | Drink | Small crop; clean and spicy, with good fruit | ||
| 97 | Drink or hold | Magnificently rich and structured, yet balanced | ||
| 87 | Drink or hold | Most of the crop was rained on; only small quantities of good wine | ||
| 90 | Drink or hold | Creamy, rich and spicy | ||
| 88 | Drink | Elegant, refined and delicious | ||
| 92 | Drink or hold | Balanced, racy and structured; classy | ||
| 89 | Drink or hold | Spicy, rich and round; generous style | ||
| 87 | Drink | Sweet and balanced; uneven quality | ||
| 72 | Drink | Light, straightforward, diluted and medium sweet | ||
| 77 | Drink | Moderately sweet, attractive apertif wines | ||
| 97 | Drink | Harmonious, rich and racy | ||
| 98 | Drink | Loads of botryitis; opulent and structured | ||
| 93 | Drink | Elegant and refined | ||
| 79 | Drink | Clean and appealing, with little botrytis | ||
| 90 | Drink | Charming, lively and fresh; spicy and sweet | ||
| 79 | Drink | Little botrytis character; clean and sweet | ||
| 68 | Drink | A wet, difficult harvest; a few good wines | ||
| 95 | Drink | Intense, complex and rich | ||
| 77 | Drink | Mostly fat, alcoholic and sweet | ||
| 83 | Drink | Medium richness; finely balanced wines | ||
| 82 | Drink | Good year; balanced, lightly botrytized wines | ||
| 93 | Drink | Exotic, thick and powerful | ||
| 94 | Drink | Harmonious, lively, spicy and sweet | ||
| 91 | Drink | Supple, refined and long | ||
| 97 | Drink | Classic; long-lived, everything is there | ||
| 98 | Drink | Concentrated, lots of botrytis | ||
| A score range indicates preliminary analysis based on barrel samples and/or a limited sampling; many wines of the vintage not yet reviewed. Vintage ratings: 95-100, classic; 90-94, outstanding; 85-89, very good; 80-84, good; 75-79, mediocre; 50-74, not recommended Drinkability: "NYR" means the vintage has not yet been released; "drink" means most of the wines of the vintage are ready to drink; "hold" means most of the ageworthy wines have yet to fully mature; "past peak" means most of the wines are declining rather than improving. SOURCE: WINE SPECTATOR | ||||
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sauternes Vintage Report
Wine of the Year: 2004
Château Rieussec
Issue: December 31, 2004
Château Rieussec
Sauternes 2001 100/$80
Sauternes, the sweet white wine from France's Bordeaux region, is one of the greatest and longest-lived wines in the world. Yet it remains undervalued by many wine lovers. Perhaps it's because sweet wines in general are out of favor these days. Or because people don't know what foods to serve with them. Whatever the reasons Sauternes has been neglected, it's time to get excited about this wine. A classic vintage, a benchmark château, a perfect bottling: That's why this year's Wine Spectator Wine of the Year is the 100-point 2001 Château Rieussec.
The 2001 Rieussec is a phenomenal wine any way you look at it. It's hyperconcentrated, with layers of flavors that deliver an array of mineral, honey and pineapple with accents of dried spices. It's full-bodied and very sweet, yet a vibrant underlying acidity gives it wonderful agility on the palate. This is a wine for long-term aging, but it will give great pleasure when drunk young as well.
"It is one of the greatest wines ever produced at Rieussec," says Charles Chevallier, the estate's director.
Chevallier also runs Bordeaux first-growth Château Lafite Rothschild, as well as châteaus L'Evangile and Duhart-Milon. All four properties are owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite). Chevallier began working at Rieussec in 1985 and was appointed director of Lafite in 1994. His dedication to detail and his diligent team delivered what could be the greatest modern Sauternes ever produced.
The 2001 vintage for red Bordeaux was in general very good to outstanding in quality, but not extraordinary. For Sauternes, however, 2001 was classic in quality; I rate it 97 points.
"The 2001 vintage was exceptional quality in Sauternes," Chevallier says. "It's often the case in a less-than-exceptional vintage for reds, that it is a superb one for Sauternes, and this was the case in 2001."
Rieussec employed about 70 workers to harvest the grapes in 2001.
They made four different passes (known as tris in French) through the vineyards to select the best grapes. Chevallier says that the grapes had ripened to perfection before being attacked by the noble rot, Botrytis cinerea. (The rot, crucial to making Sauternes, concentrates the sugar in the grapes.) The vineyards are planted mostly to Sémillon (222 acres); the remainder is Sauvignon Blanc (17 acres) and Muscadelle (7 acres).
"What was really exceptional in 2001 was the Sauvignon," the director notes. "Of course, it is a small percentage of the wine, but it gave wonderful aromas and acidity to the Rieussec 2001. [The wine] is high in alcohol and very rich in sweetness, but it has the acidity to age quite well."
Rieussec is made like many other top Sauternes. After the grapes are picked, they are quickly pressed. The ultrarich juice is placed in vats for about 24 hours to allow some of the solids to fall to the bottom. The juice is then racked to new 225-liter barrels and fermented for one to three weeks. Once fermentation is finished, the new wines remain in barrel for about five or six months before being blended together. The blended wine is then put back in barrels and is aged another 18 months or so. One hundred percent new French oak is used in the aging. The wine is usually filtered before it's bottled.
Rieussec made an impressive 12,500 cases of Sauternes in 2001. The wine originally sold for about $40, as futures in 2002. It sold for about $80 when it was released in the market in bottle earlier this year.
The wine was great from the earliest stage of its life, showing fabulous balance between superbly rich, sweet fruit and lively acidity. It is a perfect example of modern Sauternes; the wines are made with more precise control in the vineyard and cellar, resulting in lower amounts of sulfur. This enables them to be enjoyed earlier, yet doesn't impair their ability to evolve well in bottle. It's not unheard of for bottles of Sauternes to be 150 years of age and still be very good to drink. I believe this Rieussec will live for decades.
Considering such aging potential, you might ask, "When is the perfect time to drink the 2001 Rieussec?"
"I either drink it very young or very old," says Chevallier. "That means that I drink it all the time."
Three Centuries of Château d'Yquem
Controversial wine collector Hardy Rodenstock makes his point perfectly clear in a record-setting tasting of the famous Sauternes
By Per-Henrik Mansson
It was an electric moment during an unprecedented vertical tasting of Château d'Yquem.Two glasses filled with inestimably rare wine were eased across the tablecloth as smoothly as chips at a roulette table. These glasses came on the sixth and final day of a 125-vintage Yquem marathon hosted by German wine dealer and collector Hardy Rodenstock, a devotee of this esteemed Sauternes estate's product.
There is such a concept as "drinking history," I thought. The two amber-colored Sauternes waiting to be tasted were made before the French Revolution. That these two vintages of Yquem came from two of the world's most controversial bottles of wine only turned up the voltage.
To my left was the "Th.J." 1784 Yquem and to my right stood a glass with the "Th.J." 1787. The initials are engraved in the bottles and are supposed to prove that Thomas Jefferson had ordered them. A serious enophile, the framer of the American Declaration of Independence bought Yquem and other top Bordeaux and had many cases shipped home.
But questions about the wines' provenance--and authenticity--have generated a heated debate. Rodenstock has stoked the controversy by refusing to give any details beyond a vague description of a cellar in Paris, "closed off by a brick wall," where he was led to a cache of "Th.J." bottles. To collectors convinced by the presidential linkage, however, each bottle may justify dropping upward of $100,000 at auction, if Rodenstock ever decides to sell the remaining bottles he claims he has.
Few had actually drunk these wines--that is, until this day last September in Munich, when Rodenstock opened the wines for two dozen tasters gathered at the Hotel Königshof. Amazingly, they didn't taste over-the-hill or oxidized.
The 1784 tasted as if it were decades younger, perhaps from the mid-1800s, which was a golden era for Yquem, to judge from the results of this vertical tasting. I rated this 1784 outstanding (93 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale). It wasn't just a curiosity--an ancient wine that had "held up"--but actually drank wonderfully, with tropical, dried apricot, honey and truffle aromas and flavors, and a round and harmonious, still-sweet finish. The 1787 (81 points) was clean but showed the passage of two centuries in its faded fruit flavors and a dry, tart finish. (For my complete tasting notes on all these wines, turn to page 190 of the Buying Guide.)
In any other tasting, a flight with two such legendary old wines would have stolen the show. Not so here. Flight No. 25 was just another workout session among 28 Yquem flights, in a week that scaled many peaks. (We also tasted many flights of other top wines--including a vertical, spread over several days, of the Pomerol estate Château Lafleur.)
What wine estate anywhere in the world has a longer, richer, finer track record for making great wines than Château d'Yquem? None. That seems the only logical response in the face of so many great wines. I rated 20 wines outstanding (90-94 points) and another 20 wines classic (95-100), including four that earned a perfect 100 points: 1811 (the "Comet vintage"), 1834, 1859 and 1967. They represented Yquem at its best--full-bodied and sweet but not cloying, with fresh acidity, complex, intense dried-fruit flavors from noble rot and above all, opulent texture and an ultrasmooth finish.
The legendary 1921 should have been a shoo-in as a 100-point wine, but I found the bottle imperfect despite great richness, and rated it 74 points, lower than some other participants. "This wine isn't perfect," agreed Rodenstock, who has tasted better bottles before, "but it's delicious on the palate."
It's a foregone conclusion that several bottles will be bad when you review so many old wines, especially if they come from difficult vintages. Indeed, I rated almost a quarter of the wines average or poor, scoring them 79 points or below. That amounts to 30 wines, which compares to the 40 wines I rated outstanding or classic, and 51 that I rated good to very good (80 to 89). (The last six wines were tasted with dinner on the last day of the tasting; unfortunately, I was unable to attend.)
A handful were simply corked and tasted moldy. Others clearly suffered from bottle variation; this was the reason for the poor showing of the celebrated 1962 vintage (75 points). It was totally overshadowed by a lovely bottle from 1965 (92), although that's considered a mediocre vintage in Sauternes. "It's the world upside-down," commented French journalist Michel Bettane of La Revue du Vin de France. Added Michael Broadbent of Christie's, "This is a risky business because the bottles are very variable."
Previous megaverticals of Yquem have consisted of about 100 vintages. In plumbing even greater depths in this record-breaking tasting, Rodenstock sought to show that Yquem is unquestionably the world's most collectible wine, as defined by the impressive number of wines it has produced in the last two centuries, the high prices it fetches at auctions and the number of old vintages that still drink beautifully. But vindicating himself was just as important to Rodenstock, who also holds a personal record of sorts--that of being the world's most controversial collector.
Rodenstock stayed focused, like a stern schoolmaster, during the tasting sessions. They started at 10 a.m. sharp every day, and latecomers were scolded. He threatened to throw out anybody caught spitting the wines--"you don't spit away history; you drink it," he admonished--although Broadbent and a few others, myself included, hid spittoons in our laps or under the table.
Minimizing alcohol intake, even if it required spitting out 1896 Yquem (95 points), seemed the only way to stay sharp and sober during six days of conspicuous consumption--Rodenstock's 18th annual Rare Wine Tasting. Besides the Yquem vertical, another 100 of the world's finest wines were enjoyed during multiflight, multicourse gourmet lunches and dinners prepared by Königshof's talented kitchen staff, headed by its creative chef de cuisine, Martin Bräuer. One typical dinner featured 1986 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste.--Hune, followed by five Montrachets going back to 1945, then Château Lafleur 1970, 1971 and 1978, followed by Château Lafite Rothschild 1947, 1952, 1962 and 1990, and finally by Yquem 1979 (93 points) and 1981 (80 points).
The morning Yquem tastings took place in silence. The format was educational, the atmosphere studious. Rodenstock provided photos of the bottles so we could study the fill of each wine and thus gauge potential oxidation problems. He addressed the quality of each vintage. He passed around corks (on a silver plate when they had crumbled) of the oldest wines--the better to demonstrate their authenticity.
When relevant, Rodenstock gave the dates on which wines had been recorked. We blind-tasted, from the same vintages, bottles that had been recorked against bottles with the original cork, then voted on our favorite. Flight No. 6 showed how recorking can harm a wine. The 1929 Yquem with the original cork (97 points) was very supple and creamy, showing amazing purity of fruit and a long, pineapple-flavored finish. By comparison, a 1929 bottle that had been recorked (80 points) showed some drying cedar notes and lacked a bit of harmony despite tasting ripe. It was the same story with two 1928 bottles--the recorked one was inferior.
We also compared Yquems made before and after the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed European vineyards in the second half of the 19th century. We compared pre-phylloxera wines with post-phylloxera versions made 100 years later. A bottle of 1834 (100 points), an "exceptional" vintage in Sauternes, won handily over the 1934 (83), a vintage classified as "very good" in the appellation. The older wine tasted infinitely more concentrated and complex than the younger one.
In another extraordinary flight, again comparing wines a century apart, a pre-phylloxera wine--1814--again won the approval of the group. In each pairing--1814 (98) vs 1914 (83), 1818 (91) vs. 1918 (90), 1822 (74) vs. 1922 (83)--the older wine won out. "There's no vote for a 20th century wine," said Rodenstock, after asking for our favorite. "The pre-phylloxera wines are the best."
Rodenstock, 58, has unruly, dark hair that is graying and thinning. His epicurean love for great food and wine shows in a paunch he hides behind a smartly tailored suit. He speaks softly, almost in a whisper, and disarms you with his easy, boyish charm, expressed in an impish smile and warm, small, blue eyes that glint from behind gold-rimmed glasses.
Throughout the affair, he served wines worth a fortune for free, playing host to a crowd that swelled from the early two dozen tasters to more than four dozen guests during a gala finale, when large bottles of famous wines were poured. He invited auctioneers, journalists, collectors, businessmen, associates, winemakers like Angelo Gaja of Piedmont and celebrities like German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer. They came from London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York, Paris, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and all over Germany. Rodenstock said he was simply happy to share good wines with other wine lovers.
Nobody can doubt Rodenstock's passion for great wines. When the best wines were poured, he'd jump up from his seat and joyfully walk around his guests, affectionately ruffling their hair or making some other physical contact while repeating excitedly, "Ja, unglaublich [yes, incredible]. 100 points! 100 points!"
But the host had a hidden agenda when he pitted older vs. younger wines in these eye-opening flights. He wanted to make a point--and to do so he put on this monumental Yquem tasting.
Rodenstock has been portrayed as generous, knowledgeable and passionate, but also--and these labels have stung--secretive, opportunistic and self-serving. His uncanny ability to unearth old, very rare wines (often in large formats) may not have raised so many questions about their provenance and authenticity had it not been for Rodenstock's dual role: He's not only a big wine collector, but also a trader of old wines. It's in this latter capacity that Rodenstock has become vulnerable to conflict-of-interest accusations.
Throughout the tasting, some participants were on their guard against potential counterfeit bottles, but few wines raised suspicions. The exception involved an 1858 with aromas and flavors that were unusual for an Yquem. The wine seemed flavored with vanilla concentrate, as it offered a pronounced taste of a raspberry and whipped cream pastry. "I don't think this is right," said Broadbent of the 1858. "Something is wrong." While it seemed out of character, the wine was still balanced and delicious, and I rated it outstanding (92 points).
Rodenstock has drawn much attention to himself with a thesis that essentially comes down to this: For all the current enthusiasm about modern wines, there's been a general decline of viticulture and winemaking in the 20th century compared to the 18th and 19th centuries, to say nothing of the weaker wines that this century's developments have produced.
His argument, however, has been lost in a debate about his own motivations in making this point in the first place. After all, it's well-known that Rodenstock owns many old bottles--most famously the controversial "Th.J." bottles, along with Yquems and great red Bordeaux from the 19th century--and their resale value would increase if he's right.
Rodenstock denies his position has anything to do with commercial interests. In the 1970s and 1980s, he made money as a rock group manager and promoter, and in recent years he's made a killing in the stock market, he says. He and his wife, Helga, live a jet-set life, with homes in Munich, Monaco and Kitzbühel, Austria. He doesn't need to sell wine for a living, nor does he trade much anymore, he insists.
What does motivate him, however, is winning a debate of historic significance to the wine world. And he's ready to go to almost any length to make his case, as he demonstrated by his hosting of this unprecedented Yquem tasting.
"I've always said that compared to the pre-phylloxera wines, the post-phylloxera wines had lost some complexity because the vines planted after phylloxera were from American rootstocks, and this didn't create as powerful wines," he says. "In the pre-phylloxera wines of Yquem, you find more flavors, more caramel, more singularity, more power, more class."
In the old days, he adds, the wine may have been made by rustic techniques, but they used "good material [grapes], little pesticides, old vines, good rootstocks, no filtration--and it shows in how the 100- to 120-year-old wines can live."
The tasting seems to prove his theory true. Of my own eight highest-scoring wines, all but one (1967, 100 points) was from the 19th century: 1814 and 1831 (both 98), 1840 and 1847 (both 99) and the trio of 100-point wines--1811, 1834, 1859. Of the 20 wines I rated classic, 11 were from the 19th century, even though that century represented less than one-third of the wines I sampled (38 vintages compared to 79 from the 20th century and two from the 18th century).
Some of the criticism leveled at Rodenstock has originated, he says, from château owners and other wine professionals who feel threatened by his argument. "Château owners would never admit that pre-phylloxera wines are better, but they know they are better," the German said. "They must hype newer, more modern wines."
Relaxing with a Robusto cigar from the "Hardy Rodenstock" line he launched recently, he continued: "I invited a few journalists so they could tell the whole world how good the wines are, because we have drunk them. We have drunk a lot of history. It was important to do a big tasting in one week and not spread it out over a longer period like a year or so, because if you drink them over a couple of years, you can't remember [Yquem] 1800 vs 1900. But if you drink them in one week, you can remember the differences.
"Pre-phylloxera wines were different, and I proved it, such as when we blind-tasted the 1934 [Yquem] vs. the 1834 and other similar flights," he added. "I've said it before [about the superiority of pre-phylloxera wines], and now nobody can challenge it. Nobody can say Hardy Rodenstock doesn't know what he's talking about, and you're all my witnesses.
"So now it's done. It's over with."
The Source of Yquem's Quality
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 was right on the money when it gave Château d'Yquem No. 1 status in Sauternes by designating it the only premier cru supérieur in front of 11 estates ranked as mere premiers crus. The great quality of Yquem's wine stems from a unique microclimate but also from the careful husbandry demonstrated by the Lur Saluces family, who have owned it since 1785.
In late 1996, a majority of Yquem's family shareholders decided to sell 55 percent of Yquem to LVMH Moët-Hennessy Louis Vuitton. But the estate's director, Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces, has sued to reverse the transaction. The case is still being litigated, and LVMH has so far won only a minority ownership in the estate.
The most ancient part of the château dates to the 15th century. Yquem stands on the crest of a hill--at 225 feet, the highest in the Sauternes region--and from this point the vines slope down softly. The property, covering more than 400 acres, includes pine woods and meadows, but its centerpiece is 254 acres of well-tended vineyards, planted 80 percent to Sémillon and 20 percent to Sauvignon Blanc.
When autumnal mists blanket the vines, the grapes develop a beneficial fungus--Botrytis cinerea, a.k.a. "noble rot"--that causes the grapes to dry out and shrivel up, which in turn concentrates the grapes' sugar and flavors.
It's risky to wait until the vineyard is covered with noble rot, since rain might fall and ruin the crop. But the tradition is upheld at Yquem, whose late harvest begins between mid-October and mid-November, depending on the vintage. To pick the grapes at optimum ripeness, the pickers select only the ripest grapes, going through the vineyards several times--a costly undertaking. The harvest might consist of five or six passages, known as tries, and last 40 days.
The motto "quality at any cost" seems to define Alexandre de Lur Saluces' policy since taking over the company in 1968. He will skip part or all of a vintage that doesn't meet his high standards for Yquem. (Other Sauternes estates do the same.) Yquem rejected 100 percent of the crop in 1972, '74 and '92. Yields remain low--reportedly averaging 7 hectoliters per hectare, although Sauternes regulations allow 25 hectoliters per hectare--and, as the château boasts, "each vine yields just one glass of Yquem."
After triple-pressing--the last pressing yields the highest sugar content--the must is barrel-fermented in new oak from France or Slovenia, then aged for three years. Yquem today remains in peak form, as shown by its two latest releases: 1990 (97, $225, 18,750 cases) and 1989 (97, $200, 12,500 cases.) --P.M.
Château d'Yquem Sauternes Vertical Tasting
Vintage / Score / Price
1989 / 97 / $192
1987 / 88 / $109
1986 / 83 / $198
1985 / 94 / $116
1984 / 84 / $106
1982 / 85 / $220
1981 / 80 / $82
1980 / 86 / $105
1979 / 93 / $119
1978 / 83 / $75
1977 / 80 / $276
1976 / 96 / $244
1975 / 95 / $389
1973 / 75 / $124
1971 / 93 / $227
1970 / 84 / $288
1969 / 85 / $206
1968 / 79 / $225
1967 / 100 / $466
1966 / 84 / $239
1965 / 92 / $137
1963 / 83 / $210
1962 / 75 / $483
1961 / 65 / $268
1959 / 97 / $840
1958 / 87 / $445
1957 / 90 / $345
1956 / 90 / $405
1955 / 88 / $513
1954 / 90 / $452
1953 / 78 / $599
1950 / 93 / $498
1949 / 94 / $959
1948 / 88 / $904
1947 / 97 / $873
1946 / 80 / $599
1945 / 95 / $1,133
1944 / 79 / $862
1943 / 88 / $348
1942 / 82 / $477
1941 / 91 / $665
1940 / 88 / $451
1939 / 89 / $560
1938 / 95 / $451
1937 / 94 / $1,153
1936 / 84 / $517
1935 / 81 / $352
1934 / 83 / $541
1933 / 72 / $690
1932 / 85 / $592
1931 / 74 / $440
1929 / 80 / $816
1929 / 97 / $816
1928 / 60 / $739
1928 / 89 / $739
1927 / 85 / $488
1926 / 72 / $605
1925 / 86 / $413
1924 / 74 / $516
1923 / 70 / $691
1922 / 83 / $722
1921 / 74 / $3,599
1920 / 86 / $649
1919 / 55 / $667
1918 / 90 / $920
1917 / 74 / $488
1916 / 60 / $862
1914 / 83 / $721
1913 / 86 / $562
1912 / 82 / $420
1911 / 81 / $530
1909 / 70 / $1,152
1908 / 75 / $840
1907 / 55 / $673
1906 / 90 / $1,008
1905 / 89 / $1,101
1904 / 79 / $1,201
1903 / 89 / $930
1902 / 77 / $937
1901 / 84 / $1,183
1900 / 83 / $3,464
1899 / 91 / $1,814
1896 / 95 / $1,336
1895 / 65 / $2,747
1894 / 70 / $1,513
1893 / 83 / $1,643
1892 / 55 / $1,150
1891 / 55 / $1,263
1890 / 90 / $2,339
1888 / 77 / $4,009
1887 / 75 / $2,386
1886 / 87 / $2,864
1876 / 88 / $3,049
1875 / 96 / $2,291
1874 / 93 / $2,291
1870 / 89 / $2,004
1869 / 96 / $4,009
1868 / 83 / $1,623
1865 / 83 / $7,498
1864 / 76 / $5,624
1861 / 95 / $1,100
1859 / 100 / $7,254
1858 / 92 / $10,500
1851 / 90 / $2,864
1848 / 65 / $10,500
1847 / 99 / $15,272
1846 / 80 / $15,272
1841 / 87 / $NA
1840 / 99 / $NA
1838 / 83 / $15,272
1834 / 100 / $NA
1831 / 98 / $18,136
1828 / 84 / $NA
1825 / 80 / $19,090
1822 / 74 / $19,090
1818 / 91 / $NA
1814 / 98 / $NA
1811 / 100 / $30,544
1802 / 80 / $NA
1787 / 81 / $NA
1784 / 93 / $NA
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Sweet Wine 105: Inside Wine: When Rot Is Noble [Source: Wine Spectator]
Botrytis is crucial to producing some of the greatest sweet wines in the world
Daniel Sogg
Issue: October 15, 2007
For red-wine makers, Botrytis cinerea is simply rot, a nasty fungal infestation with potentially disastrous consequences. But for estates making dessert wines in regions such as Germany and France's Sauternes and Loire Valley, Botrytis cinerea goes by the sobriquet "noble rot." Given the proper conditions, noble rot supercharges flavor, sweetness and concentration, yielding some of the world's richest and most ageworthy dessert wines.
Botrytis cinerea is "noble," rather than nasty, when it occurs in the right place at the right time. The right place is a vineyard relatively close to water, typically a river, in a region with foggy fall mornings. These conditions spark the development of botrytis, and afternoon winds and sun keep moisture levels in check. A balance of these variables ensures steady development of noble rot and also inhibits the growth of unwanted fungi.
Timing is equally crucial: To be beneficial, botrytis must occur after grapes have achieved physiological ripeness. Otherwise the fruit can develop "sour rot" (a condition that makes grapes smell of vinegar), as was the case for some German producers in the 2000 vintage.
Additionally, noble rot benefits only certain grape varieties. The classic examples are Sémillon, the mainstay of Sauternes; Chenin Blanc, the source of Vouvray and other late-harvest Loire whites; and Riesling, the expressive grape of the finest German vineyards. These varieties tend to have tight clusters that limit air flow and retain moisture, conditions conducive to botrytis growth. Other white varieties sometimes used for late-harvest wines include Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Muscat and Chardonnay.
However, excessive moisture may lead to the development of "gray rot," a potentially devastating form of botrytis bunch rot that taints grapes with rotten flavors.
It should be noted that red grapes are not suitable candidates for making botrytized wines because red wines rely on maceration for color and flavor extraction; botrytis-affected red-grape skins become drained of color and tend to impart unwanted flavors to wine.
Winemaker Olivier Humbrecht of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace makes botrytized wines almost every vintage. Humbrecht focuses on Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. Depending on the weather, botrytis takes from five days to a month to spread through the Zind-Humbrecht vineyards. Since Humbrecht assumed production responsibilities at his family estate in 1989, only twice has he been unable to make late-harvest bottlings (1992 was too cold and rainy for noble rot; 2003 was too hot and dry).
As botrytis develops, grapes become sweeter and exhibit different spectrums of flavors. In Germany's Mosel region, for example, ripe, unbotrytized Riesling often features lime, peach and slate nuances, sometimes with an herbaceous or a scallion undertone. Botrytized Riesling, on the other hand, offers a richer palette that includes honey, dried and roasted fruit character and spice notes such as clove, nutmeg and pepper. The wines also have higher viscosity, primarily because of higher levels of sugar and glycerol. Botrytis also increases the proportion of natural acidity, thereby providing necessary balance to the extra sugar.
Regardless of the grape variety or the region, the successful development of noble rot follows a fairly predictable pattern. First, the grapes achieve ripeness. Then, in the presence of adequate moisture, fungus spores grow, producing enzymes that break down the grape skins and turn them a mauve color. Botrytis mycelia breach the skins, allowing the fungus to consume water, natural sugars and acids. The skins do not rupture but become permeable, leading to desiccation. When conditions permit advanced noble rot, berries resemble deflated, ash-caked balloons.
Botrytis develops unevenly in grape clusters. At Château d'Yquem in Sauternes, noble rot (pourriture noble in French) usually takes about six weeks to spread through the 250-acre vineyard. Like other producers striving for extremely concentrated wines, Yquem requires its harvesters to make multiple passes, or tries, through the vineyards, picking only the most botrytized berries.
In difficult harvests, pickers may make as many as 10 passes. But Xavier Planty, owner and winemaker of Château Guiraud in Sauternes, achieves the best results when noble rot advances more quickly through the clusters, as was the case in 1989 and 2001. "If you allow the botrytis to stay on the grapes too long, you get unpleasant flavors," Planty says.
Much as a virus makes its host more susceptible to other infections, Botrytis cinerea weakens the defenses of grapes. If conditions are less than ideal for noble rot to achieve dominance, unwanted microbes might sneak in and introduce undesirable flavors. That's especially likely if it rains on botrytized grapes. Rich fruit and spice flavors can quickly turn medicinal, and if grapes remain wet, they will soon taste rotten.
"There are so many kinds of mold [in vineyards] that it can explode. It's really a fungal zoo out there," says Greg Allen, winemaker at Sauternes-style Napa producer Dolce, which lost its entire 1996 crop to fall storms.
Most winemakers try to prevent the growth of fungi in their vineyards. Late-harvest estates need to encourage it. Planty emphasizes the importance of eschewing chemicals or soil treatments that kill or inhibit botrytis. Depending on the region and vineyard, producers sometimes need to break with standard viticultural practices. At Dolce, for example, which lies in a relatively dry region, Allen wants the canopy to be thick to trap humidity and reduce the desiccating effects of air flow: "You have to grow the vineyard in a manner that promotes the development of the mold," he says.
Botrytized grapes also present challenges in the cellar. The first is that desiccated grapes are difficult to press, and they yield minute quantities of juice (yields at the finest Sauternes estates, for example, rarely exceed 700 bottles per acre, perhaps one-third the standard crop of a top-tier red Bordeaux producer). The fungus consumes nutrients necessary for fermentation, so vintners often need to add nutrients to the must, such as the vitamin thiamine or some source of nitrogen. Botrytis also produces a natural antibiotic called botryticine, which kills and inhibits other microbes, including yeast. This can result in slower, more labored fermentations. "The effect is that you have fewer active yeasts in conditions that make it more difficult for yeasts to multiply," says Humbrecht.
Therefore, wineries that make late-harvest styles shouldn't be over-sterilized, Humbrecht says; if the cellar lacks a healthy yeast population, fermentations can be difficult. But even under the best circumstances, the fermentation of botrytized grapes presents difficulties. Grapes intended for dry wines typically contain enough sugar at harvest to yield 12 percent to 16 percent alcohol. Desiccation from noble rot frequently ups that figure to more than 20 degrees potential alcohol. Yeasts can struggle in the presence of so much sugar, so the fermentation of botrytized grapes can sometimes take months.
Once vintners decide that the alcohol and residual sugar level is appropriate, they stop the fermentation, typically by cooling the vat and adding sulfites, which inhibit yeasts. German vintners might bottle a trockenbeerenauslese with 6 percent alcohol, whereas a Sauternes usually contains about 14 percent. To ensure that fermentation does not recommence in the bottle, however, practically all late-harvest wines are filtered to remove yeasts and other microbes that might feed upon the residual sugar.
That residual-sugar sweetness is, of course, what most distinguishes late-harvest wines. But the sugar has another benefit: It helps make this type of wine remarkably ageworthy. Sugar protects wine from the gradual exposure to air that is often part of extended cellaring (that's why late-harvest bottlings lose sweetness with age). So in addition to concentrating flavor and boosting richness, noble rot allows vintners to make wines than can last for decades, perhaps even for generations.
Nik Weis of St.-Urbans-Hof, who has tasted late-harvest German Riesling dating back to 1911, has been amazed by the longevity of these wines. "It all works together," he says. "It's mostly the high sugar concentration, but there's also the antibiotic compounds produced by the botrytis, which protect the wine and the concentration of acids, minerals and flavor. The wines are incredible."
Sweet Wine 104: Doubly Sweet [Source: Wine Spectator]
The 2009 Sauternes deliver quantity and quality, while dry whites also succeed
James Molesworth
Issue: March 31, 2012
It's a rare double in Bordeaux's 2009 vintage: The reds offer classic quality (see "Bordeaux Roars Back") and the sweet wines keep pace, checking in with their best vintage since 2001. The dry whites are also solid, though not up to the level of the racy '07s.
The 2009 vintage in Barsac and Sauternes keeps to the pattern this decade for the sweet wines to excel in years ending in an odd number. Of the 58 sweet wines from the 2009 vintage tasted for this report-primarily from the appellations of Barsac and Sauternes, along with a few Cérons, Loupiacs and other bottlings-33, more than half, earned outstanding ratings of 90 points or better on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale.
Following the warm, dry growing season, grapes in the southern sweet-wine appellations were fully ripe and the vineyards were carrying ample crop loads. The key to finishing off the superlative growing season was to get a well-timed rain and good development of Botrytis cinerea ("noble rot"). From Sept. 18 through 20, the rains came, and they were soon followed by foggy mornings and warm afternoons that kicked off a rapid spread of the fungus, which shrivels the grapes and concentrates their natural sugar.
"The 2009 harvest is really an exciting one," says Bérénice Lurton of Château Climens. "What is really striking is the exuberance of the wines, with real fireworks of aromas."
Combined with the ripeness brought during the growing season, the sweet '09s are powerful, loaded with spice and a wide range of exotic tropical fruit flavors offset by mouthwatering acidity and excellent precision. Overall, the sweet wines of 2009 earn a 96-point rating for the vintage, second only to the stunning '01s in this past decade.
Leading the way are four classic-rated wines. The powerful and intense Château Guiraud Sauternes 2009 (96, $60) is matched in depth and range of exotic flavors by the Château Suduiraut Sauternes 2009 (96, $100). From the neighboring appellation of Barsac, the Château Climens Barsac 2009 (95, $113) will require long cellaring to fully knit together, while Château Coutet Barsac 2009 (95, $77) shows a lovely floral edge and buried minerality that should develop slowly over the next two decades.
"The grapes were so botrytised that they reached exceptionally high levels of concentration for such a large harvest," says Denis Dubourdieu, whose Château Doisy Daëne Barsac 2009 (94, $50) is among the best wines of the vintage.
Other high-scoring sweet wines came from Château Doisy-Védrines (94, $36), Château de Myrat (94, $45), Château de Rayne Vigneau (93, $50), Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (93, $55), Château Raymond-Lafon (93, $40) and Clos Haut-Peyraguey (93, $55). (Two perennial top producers, Château d'Yquem and Château de Fargues, have not yet released their '09s, and the '09 from standout Château Rieussec was not bottled in time for this report.)
The vintage is so solid that an additional 17 wines earned ratings of 88 to 89 points, making 2009 the perfect vintage for consumers to stock up on for their cellars. Among those in this very good range are Château Bastor-Lamontagne, Château Le Juge, Château Tuyttens and Château Closiot, among others.
Furthermore, many châteaus' second wines are also very good to outstanding. The Château Guiraud Sauternes Petit Guiraud 2009 (91, $30) is the top second wine, shadowing that estate's stunning grand vin. Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Château de Rayne Vigneau, Château Suduiraut and Château La Tour Blanche also produced second wines at outstanding scores. The Château Suduiraut Sauternes Lions de Suduiraut 2009 (88, $35) debuted in the vintage; this third wine is made in a more forward and less powerfully sweet style, as an introduction to the region's wines.
The best sweet wines of Bordeaux are world-class, with the ability to age for decades when from vintages such as 2009. And though not considered by most wine lovers as candidates for everyday drinking, they also match well with a range of foods; foie gras or Roquefort are classic pairings, but lobster, veal or chicken in cream sauces can also make for memorable matches.
Dry Whites
The dry whites are solid in 2009, though with less vibrancy and cut than those from 2007, which remains Bordeaux's top white wine vintage of the past decade.
"The 2009 vintage was so ripe for the reds, the difficulty was to find the balance for the whites," says Fabien Teitgen, maitre de chai at Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, whose Pessac-Léognan White 2009 (93, $95) is one of the top bottlings in the vintage. "I decided to pick some lots early for fresh acidity to blend with lots harvested later for body and complexity."
One hundred and twenty dry whites were tasted for this report, including 80 from the 2009 vintage. Of the 2009s, 36 earn outstanding ratings of 90 points or better on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale, with the Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan White 2009 (95, $1,080) the single classic-rated wine among them. Also of note is the Château Margaux Bordeaux Pavillon Blanc 2009 (94, $200), the best vintage yet for this pure Sauvignon Blanc bottling, which shows laserlike focus and a long, stony finish that belies the generally riper profile of the year's whites.
Other top dry whites from the Left Bank include those from Château La Mission Haut-Brion and Château Pape Clément. For values in Pessac, arguably Bordeaux's best white wine area, look for the Château Brown Pessac-Léognan White 2009 (92, $39) and Château Haut-Bergey Pessac-Léognan White 2009 (92, $37), as well as the '09s from Château de Cruzeau, Château Bouscaut, Château Latour-Martillac and others.
Bordeaux was long primarily a white-wine producing region-it was only starting in the 1970s that red wine production exceeded that of whites, and white wines can still be found throughout the region. From the town of Béguey, Denis Dubourdieu's Château Reynon Bordeaux White 2009 (89, $19) is a hard-to-beat value, delivering bracing tarragon, chive and floral notes. The Right Bank contributes as well. From Château Valandraud owner Jean-Luc Thunevin, the Ets Thunevin Bordeaux Blanc de Valandraud No. 1 2009 (92, $120) is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris that offers beautiful, toasted macadamia nut and brioche notes that highlight the more typically rich profile of the white '09s. "The 2009 whites are like the reds-rich, smooth and opulent," says Thunevin.
As it does with reds, 2010 promises whites of more definition and freshness. Among the early releases are the dry white from Château d'Yquem: Its Bordeaux White Y 2010 (94, $NA) displays lovely kaffir lime, chartreuse and clementine notes with a creamy mouthfeel. The Château Le Thil Pessac-Léognan White Comte Clary 2010 (90, $20) blends a majority of Sémillon with some Sauvignon Blanc to deliver blanched almond and shortbread notes that should mellow nicely with a few years of bottle age. Look for additional reviews as more whites are released over the coming months.
Sweet Wine 103: Good as Gold: great sweet wines of Sauternes [Source: Wine Spectator]
Good as Gold
With three outstanding vintages for sale, it's time to discover (or rediscover) the great sweet wines of Sauternes
By James Suckling and Per-Henrik Mansson
Bordeaux cognoscenti know something that many wine lovers have forgotten or completely overlooked: an abundance of great sweet wines from Sauternes is waiting for them in wine shops. Never in the history of the region has so much thick, rich and elegantly sweet white wine been available.
This glut of delightful nectar comes primarily from an unprecedented trio of vintages--1990, 1989 and 1988--when Sauternes and Barsac producers celebrated some of the best growing conditions this century. Not only was the weather perfect to nurture the growth of Botrytis cinerea , the noble rot that concentrates the sugar in grapes, mother nature also allowed Sauternes estates to produce bucketfuls of the stuff.
Take these three recent vintages with the other outstanding years for sweet Bordeaux in the '80s--1986 and 1983--and you have an incredible selection of Sauternes (pronounced soh-TAIRN) to spoil even the most demanding of sweet tooths. Thousands of cases of great vintage Sauternes are still available in wine shops, auction rooms and in cellars of négociants and châteaux. It's a rare moment to buy some of the rarest wines ever produced.
In order to get a handle on what to buy and drink from recent Sauternes vintages, Wine Spectator conducted blind tastings in Bordeaux in December and January. We reviewed 140 sweet wines from nearly three dozen Sauternes and Barsac estates over several vintages: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Many of these wines are outstanding or classic. Overall and across all the vintages, 55 wines are rated 90 or higher on the 100-point scale. These high ratings indicate that Sauternes and its sub-appellation, Barsac, both located in the southernmost part of Bordeaux, are treasure troves of wonderful wines. For the overall ratings of the vintages, classic scores go to 1983 (95), 1989 (98) and 1990 (99). This is only the second time we have given a Bordeaux vintage a 99 rating; the first was for the reds of 1961, one of the greatest years of all time.
We also rated outstanding the 1988 (93) and 1986 (90) while the ratings for other vintages are 79 for 1987 and 1985, 77 for the 1991 and 72 for the 1992. We tasted too few wines from the 1993 vintage to make a definitive judgment, but it might score a "good" rating. We will review more 1993s after they are released. The '89 and '90 vintages clearly deserve their near-perfect ratings. For the '89s, we rated 14 out of 25 wines (56 percent) outstanding or classic. For the '90s, we rated 17 out of 27 wines (63 percent) either outstanding or classic. The châteaux never had a better opportunity to make classic wines than in these two vintages. Those who didn't simply didn't make the effort.
An added excitement with '90 is their availability, which comes as somewhat of a surprise. We thought they were sold out long ago, but after checking with dozens of châteaux and négociants in Bordeaux, they all reported good quantities of 1990 Sauternes available. This must make the '90 one of the last great collectible young vintages available from Europe at the moment. We advise buying some if you ever thought about laying down a case or two of a great vintage of Sauternes. Or it would be good to have simply for drinking in the near future.
The weather in 1990 offered ideal conditions from start to finish, with average temperatures well above normal. Early flowering was followed by heat waves in July and August, then higher-than-usual temperatures in September and October, which created conditions for a relatively early and unproblematic harvest. It started around the second week of September for several key estates, such as the premiers crus Guiraud and La Tour Blanche. Two perfectly timed rains--in the middle and at the end of August--set the stage for the development of botrytis. And light rain in September combined with unusually hot eastern winds explain why the grapes matured extremely well in 1990.
"I have never seen better picking conditions," said Xavier Plantey, manager of Château Guiraud. "The grapes were in such perfect condition that we could pick everything all at one time instead of making numerous passes through the vineyards, picking berry by berry."
It's suprising that there's been very little interest in '90 Sauternes in the world market. Sauternes producers have already sold part of their '90 production but apparently they have done so mostly to the die-hard sweet-wine lover--dwindling in number in the global market. Other wine buyers, from merchants to consumers, reportedly didn't buy the glorious '90s because their appetite for Sauternes was lost after the '89 vintage. Sauternes producers apparently killed the market for their sweet wines when many châteaux hiked up prices with their '89s.
"The market never came back after the '89 vintage," says Dominique Renard of Bordeaux Millésimes, a major buyer of Sauternes, especially the great Château d'Yquem. "The wines from '89 were just too expensive and there was very little interest in them."
To generate any sort of interest in their 1990s, châteaux lowered prices--sometimes by as much as 25 percent lower than their 1989s. Still, Bordeaux négociants didn't buy much of the vintage, and the châteaux are sitting on substantial stocks. They could be shipped quickly, though, as soon as consumers begin to ask for these wines.
Sauternes and most other sweet wines also seem to have fallen out of fashion with consumers--perhaps with the exception of Port. "When was the last time you bought and drank some Sauternes or how much Sauternes do you have in your cellar?" asks Pierre Lawton of Bordeaux wine merchants Alias. "People just aren't interested in Sauternes, and those who are, already have cellars full of the wine."
Such an argument sounds persuasive, but may not be completely accurate. It could all change if people only knew what they were missing. One glass of young Sauternes from any of these new, great vintages will make just about anyone a believer. The intense aromas of honey, spice, pear and tropical fruit are captivating enough, but combine that with fabulous flavors and your palate is taken to new heights with the nectarlike sweetness and caressing viscosity of these wines. They are perfect as dessert, just served on their own, although they also go well with fresh fruits, tarts and anything else that has fresh acidity and medium sweetness. In Bordeaux, some prefer Sauternes as an apéritif while others say it is perfect with foie gras or Roquefort cheese.
When you have such greatness in the glass, you're never too worried about what to serve. We once heard about a man who preferred his Sauternes with blood red steaks, and if he liked it, why not? However, we would prefer to have a great Sauternes at the end of the meal, considering its sweetness. The sweetness does lessen as Sauternes age, and any of the top wines from the '80s and 1990 will certainly age for many decades. For example, most of the '83s we tasted are perfect to drink now, although they have plenty of life left in them. We have little doubt that the '88, '89 and '90 will improve with age for another 20 to 30 years--probably even longer.
The only drawback is that the best Sauternes won't come cheap. Top '89s and '90s cost up to $200 a bottle. Compared with first-growth claret, grand cru Burgundy or top California Cabernet, however, many Sauternes (except for Château d'Yquem) cost less, and in great vintages they offer equally stunning quality.
Moreover, you seldom get a chance to buy such a group of legendary vintages. The last series of great years in Sauternes was 1976 and 1975 and perhaps 1971 and 1970. Before that, you have to go back to the '40s and '20s. "In the history of Sauternes, there's never been three such years in a row, and I don't think I'll ever see it again in my lifetime," said Xavier Du Pontact, president of the Syndicats des Crus Classés in Sauternes, the château owners association.
With so many great vintages, it is difficult to decide what to buy, but it's best to go for power and richness in a young Sauternes. This should help assure longevity. Both the '89 and '90 have this, although the '90 is slightly better balanced. When tasting these young wines, we couldn't help but think back to the great Sauternes from '59, '47, '45, '29, '28 and '21 we have had over the years. Although it takes an educated guess at this stage, we believe that the '90 and '89 will equal the quality of such classic years as they evolve in cellars.
The '88s may also end up on the same quality level in the long run. Besides, some people might enjoy them more if they seek pure elegance instead of power in a Sauternes. For our part, we look for balance, to be sure, but we also appreciate heavily botrytized wines that deliver the sort of spice and dried apricot character you find often in Germany's nectarlike trockenbeerenauslese Rieslings. Most of the '88s didn't have this character compared to the '89s and '90s.
"I have a small preference for our 1989," says Marie-Françoise Meslier of Château Raymond-Lafon in Sauternes. "The 1988 has finesse and the 1990 power. The 1989 is rounder, more unctuous; it has a lot of sensuality. The 1990 explodes. It seems to have the muscle to knock down doors,. It is very young and has a lot of potential."
One of our great regrets of the tasting was that we were unable to taste the '90 Château d'Yquem (pronounced ee-KEM). The wine will not be released until later this year and the château has a strict policy barring journalists from tasting it before release. But by all rights it should be out of this world. We can unequivocally say that the legendary estate's reputation as the standard-bearer of Sauternes is richly deserved. We can think of no other wine-growing region in the world where a winery stands above the quality of its neighbors with such authority.
In our blind tastings, Yquem was No. 1 in each vintage reviewed. Its class and the intensity of flavor underlined why this château is the only premier cru supérieur in the Sauternes and Barsac area. It is the benchmark for a region where 5,000 acres are planted to Sémillon (80 percent), Sauvignon Blanc (15 percent) and Muscadelle (5 percent). Some 240 producers are in the Sauternes-Barsac region, including 26 classified growths led by Yquem, and they average in a normal year about 500,000 cases.
While Yquem produces wines in its own distinctive style, we still found that each year the fabulous estate managed to make Sauternes that typified the vintage. The Yquem 1983 was the highest-scoring wine of our tasting, rating 98 on Wine Spectator 's 100-point scale. It was a super-intense, full-throttle Sauternes, richly complex and stylish. Compared with the blockbuster 1983, the 1986 (95) charmed us with its almost perfect harmony and long, intense finish. The 1987 (a year with very little botrytis) was the weakest in the group, but it's still a very good wine (88), with seductive texture and medium body. The 1988 (94) was big and showy, rich and ripe, but less powerful than the 1983 or even the 1986. It's not difficult to imagine drinking this wine now, although it will improve for years. Our second-favorite Yquem was the 1989 (97), a majestic wine with a solid backbone, massive fruit flavors accented by spice and a long aftertaste. In the long term, it may prove even better than the '83.
Below the royal Yquem, it's hard to designate a crown prince. A handful of châteaux vie for the second spot, and deliver top quality with great consistency. In Sauternes and Barsac, estates are classified in three ranks: one premier cru supérieur, 11 premiers crus , and 14 deuxièmes crus
Perhaps the most consistent of the premiers crus in our tastings was Château Climens, the Barsac estate owned by Lucien Lurton. In all top vintages, we scored the estate outstanding. In every vintage, this winery produced Sauternes of textbook elegance. The 1989 (93), for instance, offered seductively creamy texture and a beam of lemon, honey, spice, pear and melon flavors that ended with a fresh, long finish.
Our other favorites included: for 1983, the second growth Château Lamothe-Guignard (92); for 1986, Château de Malle (94) and Château d'Arche (93), both second growths, and first growth Guiraud (93); for 1988, Rabaud-Promis (93) and Doisy-Védrines (93); for 1989, Suduiraut with a seductive crème de tête that we rated a classic 96 and Lafaurie-Peyraguey (94); and for 1990, two classic wines from Guiraud (96) and Malle (95), along with five other wines, all rated 93, from Suduiraut, Arche, Climens and two surprise showings by crus bourgeois châteaux Piada in Barsac and Haut-Bergeron in Preignac.
With so many outstanding Sauternes to choose from, it makes you wonder why there hasn't been more interest in such great vintages such as '90 and '89, especially in the United States. It's time to discover Europe's best kept secret in fine, collectible wine before it's too late.
Top-Scoring Sauternes
Wine / Score / Price
CHATEAU D'YQUEM Sauternes 1983 / 98 / $285
Superintense and full-throttled, elegant and stylish. Dark amber in color and rich, this coats your mouth with butterscotch, dried apricot, fig and spice flavors. Made to age for decades.
CHATEAU D'YQUEM Sauternes 1989 / 97 / $200
A majestic Yquem, exhibiting a solid backbone and masses of toasted coconut, honey, spice, and dried apricot character. Sweet, with a long aftertaste. The new oak dominates now.
CHATEAU GUIRAUD Sauternes 1990 / 96 / $56
Stunning. Great balance and a smooth, creamy texture. Rich and ripe, it oozes with dried apricot, almond, acacia, honey and spice flavors leading to a long, vibrant finish.
CHATEAU DE SUDUIRAUT Sauternes Crème de Tête 1989 / 96 / $160
Amazing, full-bodied, with the texture of double cream, cascading its exotic blend of orange-peel, thyme, dried herb and honey flavors to a long finish.
CHATEAU DE MALLE Sauternes 1990 / 95 / $30
Electrifying spice, tropical fruit and dried apricot flavors deliver lots of pleasure. Very sweet, but with a fresh finish.
CHATEAU D'YQUEM Sauternes 1986 / 95 / $250
A beauty that's in nearly perfect harmony. Full-bodied, exhibiting wet earth, honey, floral and ginger flavors that burn with intensity on the long, sweet finish.
CHATEAU CLIMENS Barsac 1986 / 94 / $54
Gorgeous, ripe and rich, oozing with tropical fruit, honey and mineral flavors that take off on the finish.
CHATEAU LAFAURIE-PEYRAGUEY Sauternes 1989 / 94 / $50
Unforgettable. Packs it in and doesn't pull its punches, displaying chewy, bold toasted oak character and honey, spice, dried apricot and pineapple flavors that end in a fresh finish.
CHATEAU DE MALLE Sauternes 1986 / 94 / $43
Electrifying, seductive and focused; ripe, rich, focused and luscious. Creams your mouth with honey, apricot, cedar and spice flavors. Racy and balanced.
CHATEAU D'YQUEM Sauternes 1988 / 94 / $250
Big and showy, rich and ripe, featuring sweet mango, pineapple and lime character. Full in body, with a long finish that reins in the honey, dried apricot and toasted vanilla flavors.
Rating Sauternes Vintages 1992-1980
Vintage / Score / Description / Drinkability
1992 / 72 / Light, straightforward, diluted and medium-sweet / Drink
1991 / 77 / Moderately sweet, attractive apéritif wines / Drink
1990 / 99 / Fabulous balance; rich and racy, with power and elegance / Hold
1989 / 98 / Incredibly rich, with lots of botrytis; built for aging / Hold
1988 / 93 / Extremely fine and firm, well balanced and concentrated / Hold
1987 / 79 / Clean, appealing, with little botrytis / Drink
1986 / 90 / Harmonious, charming, focused and honeyed; lively acidity / Hold
1985 / 85 / Little botrytis character; clean and sweet / Drink
1984 / 68 / A few good wines; a wet, difficult harvest / Drink
1983 / 95 / Intense, complex and stylish; abundant botrytis character / Drink or Hold
1982 / 77 / Mostly fat, alcoholic and sweet / Drink or hold
1981 / 83 / Medium richness; finely balanced wines / Drink
1980 / 82 / Good year; balanced, lightly botrytized wines / Drink
Vintage Ratings: 95-100, classic; 90-94, outstanding; 80-89, good to very good; 70-79, average; 60-69, below average; 50-59, poor.
Drinkability: "Drink" means most of the wines of the vintage are ready to drink; "hold" means most of the age-worthy wines have not fully matured.