Dunnuck: “An extraordinary Sauternes that has everything.”
- 98 pts Jeb Dunnuck98 pts Jeb Dunnuck
- 98 pts James Suckling98 pts JS
- 97 pts Wine Advocate97 pts RPWA
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2017 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux (375 mL) Half-Bottle
| $50 | per bottle (375ml) | |
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Perfect for the Cellar: Dual 98-Point Sauternes
Château Rieussec Sauternes may be the most stupefyingly underpriced dessert wine on Earth.
Crafted by the same family behind First Growth icon Château Lafite Rothschild, the Premier Grand Cru Classé 2017 Rieussec is a triumph of winemaking, commanding TWO 98-point reviews. Its price is absurdly low, considering that it’s vying for “wine of the vintage'' status with the $250 Château d’Yquem.
Jeb Dunnuck wrote, “The 2017 Château Rieussec is an extraordinary Sauternes that has everything,” calling it “a brilliant, brilliant wine that can be enjoyed today or cellared for two decades or more."
It's said that yields of Sauternes should be low enough that a single vine produces one bottle of wine. On Rieussec’s vineyard—bordering that of the legendary Château d’Yquem—yields are closer to a single glass per vine! The grapes’ concentration, born of a late, damp summer followed by a dry autumn with cooling nights, is balanced by fresh-fruit snap from some of the highest elevations in the appellation, second only to d’Yquem.
Aged up to 26 months in oak barrels mostly produced from Lafite’s own cooperage, this wine’s luscious richness and density make it an incomparable aperitif. If you want to drink it as they do at Lafite, pour it with a dozen Arcachon oysters—a gourmet pairing made in heaven.
In 2017, elite Bordeaux talent took the vintage’s extremely low yields and achieved a honey-hued delirium of full-bodied flavor and intensity that has to be tasted to be believed.
It’s hard to think of another example in fine wine where a paragon of its category is available for such an affordable price.