Château Rieussec, 1er Cru Classé, Sauternes, 2009
ABV 13.5%
Tasting NotesA blend of 85% Semillon, 11% Sauvignon and 4% Muscadelle. The first wine represents 25% of the whole crop. Harvest finished by the 4th October, earlier than many other Sauternes, but this is probably one of the ripest and most explosive wines in the vintage. The residual sugar is 160g/l, well above the region’s average for the year, but there is a lot more to this than just sugar. Intense, multi-layered, powerful but very compact, a true vin de garde, deeply concentrated notes of wild honey, nectarine, peach, apricot and salts, very dense but not heavy or cloying, a long bright and very clear fruit finish. Very impressive.