sauternes

Two sweet and one strong from Europe

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2015 DV by Ch Doisy Vedrines
Sauternes (second label) and not a wine I have tried before.

Pale gold colour with green tints- cumquat, vanilla, pure, fresh; light peach and apple on the palate, but there is not much persistence. Authentic but not  thrilling (served blind, from half- bottle)

Drink now, 88 points

2013 Ch Raymond Lafon 13%
Sauternes (80% semillon, 20% sav blanc)

Sauternes. Deeper gold colour, wax and honey; supple with much more texture – orange citrus and tropical notes. Apricots and light nuts – this is a serious wine, with vibrancy and conpelcoity (served blind, from half- bottle)

Drink to 2032, 92 points

2005 quinta do noval silval vintage port 19.5%
Portugal

Single Quinta wines from – generally – undeclared years can combine huge pleasure with VFM. Anyway, this shows delicious juicy blueberry and red cherry, there’s some “putty” in the spirit, a touch of almond meal. There’s substance and texture, but tannins are fully resolved and “diffuse”. Clear Portuguese style, but lacking the presence and intensity of a generally declared year. No complaints, buts it’s a drink soon proposition.

Drink to 2030, and 90 points

Two with same vintage and many differences

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2010 Felton road Riesling Block 1, 9%
Central Otago, New Zealand

Screwcap. Light gold colour, red apple, sweet spices, marzipan, honey and citrus; the palate adds some exotic tropical notes, and has the drive and acidity to support the 64 g/l residual sugar. I suspect it’s drying out a bit with development, so drink up – and what an enthralling match for a tea cake or fruit platter. (Notes are similar to those I made in 2020)

Drink nowish, and 91 points

2010 Ch Suduiraut 14%
Sauternes

Clear bright light gold colour, viscous and rich but the acidity can’t hide the richness bursting through; white peach, honey, almond meal and vanilla bean; palate is syrupy with just enough acid to keep the orange marmalade singing. Marvellous, rewarding drinking. (90% Semillon, 10% sav blanc, 145 g/l rs)

Drink to 2032 (but its ready for me) and 94 points

Impressive Europeans from one dinner (all served blind)

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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 blind beauties

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2011 sauternes pair

2011 Chateau Suduiraut 13.5%
2011 Chateau Raymond-Lafon 13.5%

This pair was served blind; and I was called on to describe and assess (towards the end of a terrific EOY dinner). Both were a healthy bright gold colour, and the apricot and vanilla notes instantly took me to Sauternes.

The first wine (Suduiraut) displayed just-ripe apricot, quince, dusty botrytis with terrific presence and drama; and a touch of floor polish. Lots of vanilla on the palate, honey, ginger, and abundant fruit power from a ripe year. Very sweet (138 g/l), but balanced. (93% semillon,  7% sav blanc).
Drink to 2035, 93 points.

The second wine (Raymond-lafon) had a slightly less developed colour, with greater tropical and pineapple notes. This wine had the magic combo of florals, citrus and balance (149 g/l rs); delightfully fresh and authentic. Pressed, I went for Barsac on this one – likely Ch Coutet – I was wrong but what a nice surprise!
Drink to 2038, 94 points

2007 quinta do vale meao

2007 Quinta do Vale meao 19.5%
Portugal. Also served blind, this was a vivid deep color. Blueberry, violets, dark cherry, elegant and with vivacity. Plus a producer I don’t recall trying. Portuguese for sure, early 2000s. But hard to concentrate at the end of a long night! Quality with aplomb.
Drink to 2034 . 92 points.

Catch-up on recent drinks

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2007 knebel spatlese

2007 Knebel winninger Rottgen Riesling Spatlese 11%
Mosel; 47 g/l residual sugar; gold colour honey.

Wax, apple and the surprising blackcurrant. Palate is still lively with sweetness ameliorated by acidy; palate is all about mixed apple and stonefruit (yellow peach and apricot); chewy, varietal and authentic.

Has seen better days however; drink up 90 points

2015 sauternes pair

2015 Ch Doisy-vedrines 13%
Sauternes 80% semillon, 15% sav blanc, 5% muscadelle

Light bright colour, light-weight aromatics of slightly green pineapple, vanilla bean icing sugar and preserved lemon. Palate shows almond meal, citrus nectarine. Ligher style than the next wine, but balanced and authentic. Ready for business, and will be consumed with great pleasure.

Drink to 2030, 92 points

2015 Ch Suduiraut 14%
Sauternes; 94% semillon, 6% sav blanc; 18 months in oak (50% new, 50% one year old) 138 g/l residual.

Served masked- I last tasted this wine around a year ago, and my notes are thankfully similar. Sauternes with a deeper colour than the wine above; crème brulee, quality oak, ginger spices, botrytis dustiness, light floor-polish VA present but under control; great density and integration. Cumquat and vanilla, liveliness, texture and persistence. Very decadent and pleasurable. Around ten years old?

Drink to 2037, 95 points

2007 croft vp

2007 Crofts Vintage Port 20%
Portugal

Served masked – Deep red colour with camphor, cherry and blackberry plus floral headsy spirit. Dense, with dark fruits, small berries and cocoa. Portuguese varieties for sure; and the spirit leans me to Portugal, BUT there;s not the drive, complexity or tannin for its suspected age (my guess was early 2000s). So, Australian. When revealed, this was quite a disappointing result for a  respectable VP vintage (and the other bottle I tried was similar).

Drink to 2030, 89 points

NV Morris Old premium “rare” Muscat 17%
Rutherglen.

Served masked. Luminnous dark, and very dense colour. Raisin, orange peel, roses, toffee, bitter chocolate. High-quality neutral spirit, It’s a meal in a half a glass if you are greedy. Concentrated raisins, and dried fruits with spices. It sits on the palate and the flavours dwell for ages. Not just about using old material, as the style needs the masterful touch of freshness too. Around 350 g/l residual sugar, but the acidity absolutely obliterates any cloying.

This wine is world class, and continues to be a bargain (a meagre $120 for a 500ml bottle, that will last for weeks if – unlike me – you have the will power to resist).

Drink now, 96 points

Recent hasty tastings

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2015 sauternes aug 2024

2015 Ch Rieussec 14%
Sauternes. Light gold colour, vanilla dust, just- ripe quince; some tropical notes, a swathe of assorted citrus, plus a bucket of spices. It’s medium bodied, but so seductive, so balanced, so textured, so fresh. Honey, stonefruit, spices.  It’s a wine to contemplate over a few glasses, seeking its nuances.

To 2034, 95 points (I awarded 97 points in February 2024, but today I was probably in a meaner mood – it’s terrific, and wish I had a few)

2015 Ch Guiraud 13.5%
Sauternes. Floor polish; orange marmalade; power, rich and ripe. Drink soonish, 90 points

2005 Croft Quinta da Roeda Vintage Port
Bright colour, Blueberry, red cherry, ripe with delicious spirit, spices firm tannins. Portuguese, early 2000s?
Smart wine

Drink to 2030, 91 points

1980 baileys vp

1980 Baileys Vintage Port
Glenrowan, Victoria

The cork was absolutely saturated, but no harm as the wine was also under screwcap! A bricky but very deep red colour; raspberry jam and syrup, plus blackberry and high-quality spirit; the palate is extremely sweet, extremely concentrated, with chalky and entirely resolved tannins; soft and persistent. This is a wine where the fruit power is monumental, admirable and deserves celebration – though nothing at all like the classical Portuguese style.

Drink to 2030, 94 points

1994 quinta vesuvio

1994 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port 20%
Part of the Symington family group

Meagre cork, but it had performed its duty. Very deep colour, with some signs of maturity; orange peel, blueberry, dark cherry, fig. Very persistent and winning. Sweet for Portuguese, but very elegant and engaging. Hard to resist.

To 2035, and 94 points

Two local, two not

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2003 Ch La Tour Blanche 13%
Sauternes.
Deep gold colour; then citrus, minerals, quince, marmalade, apricot and stonefruit. Palate shows all this, plus some frangipani and balanced bitterness. Oak becomes more prominent with time, and a little more acidity would be welcome, but given its age and monster VFM, this was a damn enjoyable drink (and an insane 178 g/l rs).

Drink to 2028; 92 points

Seppelt Show Vintage Port GR151/153 20%
Barossa/McLaren Vale (tasted blind)
Bricky mature colour; VP style with high for style alcohol. Mellow, mocha, brown spices and nutmeg, liquorice and yet still with crispness and plenty of tannin to hold interest. Reasonably sweet, but lots of savouriness too. Hmm, first thought was Oz, but the ripeness, spirit quality, tannin and alcohol wrongly diverted me to Portugal. I punted on around 1990. The reveal proved it to be 45 years old, and a label covered in bling. Excellent wine (and I was fortunate to taste the slightly better bottle).

Drink to 2030 – 93 points

1949 saltram white port

1949 Saltram Show White Port 19.5%
Barossa Valley, Bottle #0934 (tasted blind)
Bricky, lots of raisin, and a spice-bucket with rancio, and plentiful vanilla, so a Tawny style. High quality spirit. My guess was 20 years in oak. The reveal was that this wine spent 30 years in small oak,  released in the 1980s and unusually was a blend of Pedro, Grenache, Takay and Verdelho, so based on white grapes. A curio for sure, The back label contained a lot of information about aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, but further wine detail was scanty (plus the cork was very ordinary).

Drink now, 90 points (more if you like the style)

2000 cockburn canais

2000 Cockburn Quinta dos canais Vintage Port 20%
Portugal, and another producer I can’t recall tasting before (a 1955 tried in 2015 was faulty).

Dense colour, then fig, plum, dark cherry plus voluminous spices. Concentrated, fruit-driven with moderate tannins, blueberry, Sweeter than most Portuguese, but with the power to thrive. Just some “burnt” characters for me that didn’t bother the other tasters one jot. Plenty of time ahead.

Drink to 2035, 92 points

One dinner – four masked wines

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2013 sauternes pair

2013 Ch Raymond-lafon 13.5%
Sauternes (from half bottles) 80% semillon, 20% Sauv blanc.

Bright gold colour, showing pineapple rind and guava, vanilla icing, with slight volatility that usually accompanies the style. Pear and orange blossom are evident on the fresh and creamy palate, with some attractive bitterness, and some green herbs. Oak is present but balanced. Unmistakeably Sauternes, and guessed around ten years old. Pretty similar description to that from late last year but a slightly better bottle- but I didn’t pick the producer, alas. Always good VFM.

Drink to 2030, 93 points

2013 Ch Suduiraut “Castelnau de Suduiraut” 13.5%
Sauternes (from half bottles), and the second label of Suduiraut (96% semillon, 4% Sauv Blanc, 148 g/l residual sugar).

Darker gold than the other wine. Certainly, more volatility and floor with more warmth, viscosity, melon, coconutty oak and bitterness. Attractive alpine herbs too.

Under diam, which is another big plus. Another ten y/o Sauternes? Yep. A bit blousy and plain. Others liked it more than me, maybe less critical of the bouquet.

Drink to 2027, 88 points.

2000 vp pair

2000 Stanton and Killeen vintage fortified 17.7%
Rutherglen 38% Touriga, 24% tinta cao, 18% tinta barocca, 14% Shiraz, 6% Durif.

Vintage rated 8/10 by the winemakers.

Morello cherry, redcurrant, wild raspberry fruitcake spices and some almond. VP style for sure. Palate has red and dried fruits, red fruits, milk chocolate and excellent spirit. The wine is fresh, and light on its feet. Sweetish, and around twenty years old, Australian. Touriga makes a contribution – maybe Stanton and Killeen? Very good wine!

Drink to 2035, and 93 points

2000 Dow’s Vintage Port 20%
Portugal

Drier style. Youthful dense colour. Almond, pecan, plum, violets. Power and grace. A complete, fascinating wine with many years ahead. Portuguese, vintage, maybe 2000? Or is it a single quinta?

Drink to 2040, 94 points

Two 2015 Sauternes

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Two masked wines were presented, and for readability, I have placed my notes under the wines’ names after they were revealed. Both wines presented as surprisingly enjoyable at such a tender age, and provides enormous encouragement to drink this style earlier rather than wait decades!

two 2015 sauternes

2015 Ch Guiraud 13.5%
Sauternes. (65% semillon, 35% sav blanc, 18 months in new barrels).
Medium gold colour, and bursting with vibrant tropical notes – cumquat, pineapple rind, with vanilla bean and ginger; very good mouthfeel with some smokiness joining the ripe fruit characters. It was just a tad straightforward, and was unfairly compared to  the outrageous charms of the next wine.

Drink to 2035, and 91 points

2015 Ch Rieussec 14%
Sauternes (86% semillon, 14% sav blanc) 148 g/l residual sugar
Medium gold colour, with mixed citrus, just-ripe apricot, marzipan. There is more of everything; oak impact, fruit density, honeyed viscosity, texture, breeziness, freshness and mingled spices with rampant layers of assorted citrus and stonefruit. The balance is superb, and this a super, special, serious wine. I sat in wonder, with time suspended, revelling and fumbling for explanation, description and superlatives. Go hunting!

Drink to 2040, 97 points

Three masked Euro wines from a dinner

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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