ch rayne vigneau

Impressive Europeans from one dinner (all served blind)

~ Richard ~ Leave a comment

2010 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese AP#8 7.5%
Mosel, Germany
Gold colour, still a touch of reduction, apple, cinnamon, and the palate is lush, delicate and balanced. This is an absolute delight, with poised sweetness (sweet for spätlese too) and acidity. A very high-acid year in Germany, and Zilliken achieved marvellous high sweetness levels.

Drink to 2035 (but irresistible now) and 95 points

2014 Ch Rayne Vigneau Sauternes 13.5%
Medium gold colour, then all sorts of tropical fruits – pineapple rind, dried paw-paw, crème brulee, almond; palate is stylish, with marzipan, citrus, pear, freshness and balance. Some other tasters thought this was fully mature and ready, but I see no need for haste. Serious wine!

Drink to 2033, 93 points

2015 ch Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes 13.5%
Lighter gold colour; light apricots, and mealiness. Straightforward, easy (and ready) to drink,

Drink to 2028, 90 points

2017 Taylor’s Vintage Port 20%
Portugal

Vivid, astonishingly youthful black/purple colour – ultra fragrant – camphor, blueberry, cocoa, mulberry. Palate is supple, with drive, enormous concentration, strong defined tannins that the fruit power defies. Portuguese varieties for sure, and the savouriness is definitively Portugal. Then the liqueur cherry flavours meld with the blueberry and mulberry; the spirit is supportive. Drive and persistence. What a wine! And yet with a long, long way to go, this is insanely good.

Drink to 2045 (or more), 97 points – and will deserve more in time.

Three masked Euro wines from a dinner

~ Richard ~ Leave a comment

2015 Ch Suduiraut 14%
Sauternes – 94% semillon, 6% sav blanc. Picked in 5 batches, matured for eighteen months in 50% new and 50% one-year old oak, 138g/l residual sugar.

Bright yellow colour, vivid tropical fruits – pineapple, mango, cumquat. Slinky texture with oak sunk into the background, and spices. Fresh, and welcoming, but more pleasure awaits

Drink to 2035, 94 points

2015 Ch Rayne Vigneau 13.5%
Sauternes – 74% semillon, 24% sav blanc, 2% muscadelle

Deep yellow/gold colour; dark honey and citrus, and botrytis dustiness; viscous, intense palate – ripe, rich and ready with a touch of orange/tangelo. I can’t recall trying a wine from this producer before.

Drink to 2030, 91 points

2001 Fonseca quinta do Panascal Vintage Port 20%
Portugal.

Not a generally declared vintage, but this is a very good site – and single quinta wines can often offer exceptional QPR. Deep red colour, showing blueberry, blackberry, “putty”, mocha and nuttiness. Vibrant and rich mouthfeel. Clearly Portuguese, and around 15-20 years old, I wavered between VP and LBVP. My notes thankfully very similar to my previous tasting on June 2021.

Drink to 2033, and 92 points