Château Rieussec
R Bordeaux Blanc Sec Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
Bordeaux, France
New year's eve cocktail wine with charcuterie and cheeses.
Pale yellow w green rim. Nose of pale or hard fruits as apples/pears, hint of yellow tones, floral pollen, fennel sweetness. On the palate richly textured but just med+ body. This has the mouth feel of something serious. These subtly scented wines w viscosity seem nearly ageless to me and this can definitely take more time.
New year's eve cocktail wine with charcuterie and cheeses.
Pale yellow w green rim. Nose of pale or hard fruits as apples/pears, hint of yellow tones, floral pollen, fennel sweetness. On the palate richly textured but just med+ body. This has the mouth feel of something serious. These subtly scented wines w viscosity seem nearly ageless to me and this can definitely take more time.
Rieussec is a name tied to world-class Sauternes. Domaine Barons de Rothschild's (nicknamed DBR) answer to Chateau d'Yquem. So what's up with this Bordeaux Blanc Sec?
Well, if it is made in Sauternes and less than 45 g/l residual sugar, then it defaults to Bordeaux Blanc Sec or Bordeaux Superior Blanc Sec.
There's a distinct splitting pomelo scent, withgolden apple, beeswax, chamomile, lemon curd, rehydrated mushrooms, black tea leaves, and dry grass. On the palate, there's definitely some barrel fermentation here, round mouth feel, mushrooms, mild raw nuttiness, bitter almonds, kind of a gin and tonic like botanical quality, with some quinine bringing it back in. Lime oil and green seed-chewy bitterness dominate the finish.
I would give this a 9.0 for educational purposes, and that it is pretty much exactly what a dry white from Sauternes should taste like. But wines need to be delicious, and this is a spectacular example of why Sauternes need sweetness, as there is very little balance of flavors here. It's all bitter phenolic, acidic and needless weight, with no sweetness to pull it back up. An interesting, downright intriguing wine, but after taking what you need of it with the first glass, I would not crave a second for pure enjoyment.
Rieussec is a name tied to world-class Sauternes. Domaine Barons de Rothschild's (nicknamed DBR) answer to Chateau d'Yquem. So what's up with this Bordeaux Blanc Sec?
Well, if it is made in Sauternes and less than 45 g/l residual sugar, then it defaults to Bordeaux Blanc Sec or Bordeaux Superior Blanc Sec.
There's a distinct splitting pomelo scent, withgolden apple, beeswax, chamomile, lemon curd, rehydrated mushrooms, black tea leaves, and dry grass. On the palate, there's definitely some barrel fermentation here, round mouth feel, mushrooms, mild raw nuttiness, bitter almonds, kind of a gin and tonic like botanical quality, with some quinine bringing it back in. Lime oil and green seed-chewy bitterness dominate the finish.
I would give this a 9.0 for educational purposes, and that it is pretty much exactly what a dry white from Sauternes should taste like. But wines need to be delicious, and this is a spectacular example of why Sauternes need sweetness, as there is very little balance of flavors here. It's all bitter phenolic, acidic and needless weight, with no sweetness to pull it back up. An interesting, downright intriguing wine, but after taking what you need of it with the first glass, I would not crave a second for pure enjoyment.
Young. Very taut. It should be great in a couple of years.
Young. Very taut. It should be great in a couple of years.
Nov 27th, 2014
