2005 Chateau Bastor Lamontagne Sauternes

Simply of a lower quality than anything else tasted, this Semillon-based bottling delivers an overwhelming citrusy quality from the outset with hints of the floral perfume that is part and parcel of the 2005 vintage. Its early matchsticky aromas, somewhat thin mid-palate and vaguely bitter edge as it finishes combine to limit this wine's pleasures now and make it one of the few here that seem unlikely to age into something remarkably better. Still, there is no doubt that a few years of bottle age will allow it to smooth out.