Chateau Rieussec Premier Cru Classe, Sauternes

Opulent and intense. Barley sugar on nose and palate, with enough acidity to provide balance. Not quite as fine as the 1997 Rieussec tasted alongside, but absolutely hedonistic. This will continue to drink beautifully for the foreseeable future, but I wonder how much it will improve.

2003 vintage

Burgundy, Barbaresco & Barolo in Bath (La Terra, Bath) : Butterscotch, pistachio, basil oil, spearmint and a touch of banana. Sweet and savoury. Palate has tart charred spun sugar character with mango peeling greenness. Papaya and mango flesh too. Rich mid palate, lovely acids. Texturally gorgeous. So broad and long. Best Sauternes in ages

2001 vintage

Chateau Haut Brion Vertical 1992-2015 (Salum, Dallas, TX) : Medium golden color. Drank a small glass over 30 minutes. I wasn't taking notes at this point, but I have plenty of them on this wine. This may well have been the best bottle to date, which says something. Very long, totally beguilling with impeccable balance. great way to cap off an amazing evening - loved it. 96+ to 97pts.

2001 vintage

Orange, honey, saffron and butterscotch; viscous and oily, sweet and rich, though without a huge amount of energy or verve. 91-2

2003 vintage

This is as good a vintage of Rieussec as I've ever tasted. There's actually a red glow to the wine and it's loaded with sweet red and orange fruits with good underlying acidity and excellent tension for a Sauternes. Deep and complex with good richness and power that leads to a stunningly complex finish. I've underrated this wine in the past or this is just a perfect bottle drunk at the perfect time.

2001 vintage

Delicious. A great sauternes. Saffron, apricots, honey, marmalade. Sweetness wasn't cloying, and there was a certain lightness to it. Quite delicious. However, I did get a slight hint of a note I associate with oxidation from the bottle.

2001 vintage

Crisp, beautiful honey and citrus, multi-dimensional and with an acidic spine that screams structure. Developing to a very light and pretty amber brown color at this point outside the bottle. Gorgeous. What's there to say about this wine other than enjoy.!

2001 vintage

Lovely wine. Matured over a couple of days. Will last many years.

2005 vintage

Bu au resto AVV Comme chez soi de Orford ce weekend. Jeune et fringant encore. Sur les fruits exotiques, les ananas, le Marzipan et les dattes. Le sucre est bien contrebalancé par l'acidité. Finale super longue et franche. On en redemande. EXCELLENT!

2014 vintage

Medium amber color. Intoxicating aromas of apricots and tangerine peels with pleasant acidity and light honey on the palate. This is an elegant, lovely wine at this point in its evolution.

2005 vintage

Terpentin-like stell, potentially flawed. A shake because the underlying material seemed to be a real pleasure… no rating :-(

2001 vintage

Twixmas 2025 (My house) : In most respects a pretty standard mature Sauternes - all honey, apricot and marmalade - but had a beautiful lightness to it, and a tempting floral side. Lots of substance but not vastly sweet, and certainly not spicy or cloying.

2001 vintage

Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN) : Small pour. Always a winner. See my 10,000 notes on this.

2005 vintage

Wonderful mature sauterns, perfect opening for Xmas lunch with the liver crostini and provided the grand finale as well. From a half bottle.

2005 vintage

Great wine!

2003 vintage

Orange, caramel, honey, apricot, brown sugar. Dense but not cloying - good orange acidity giving lots of balance. No detailed note but v enjoyable with Christmas sticky date and raisin pudding.

2001 vintage

Drank from 375ml at the end of Christmas Eve. What a way to end the night. Creme brulee, orange peel, caramel - this had all the stuffing. Rich but light and not clawing. Great balance and acidity which gave it the tension of beautiful Sauternes. Yum.

2005 vintage

Rich gold in colour. Intense nose of barley sugar, apricots and marmalade. Full, rounded palate with good acidity. Perhaps lacking the structure of the 2001s, but still very attractive to drink.

2003 vintage

Caramel, tangerine, saffron combine with high acidity and a nice salinity. Mouth coating and luscious. A great Sauternes that has plenty of runway ahead.

2001 vintage

Ruud his 70th birthday. Only superb wines. (By Ruud) : Second time within a few weeks (lucky me :)) A friend opened this bottle for his 70th birthday beside d’Yquem of the same vintage. Caramel, butterscotch and botrytis and good freshness and complexity.

2001 vintage

Tasted blind. Beautiful amber color that lead me to believe this was easily a decade older than it was. Plenty of signature saffron with fruit of lemon cake and orange peel, candid apricot, forest honey and fine Cognac and nutty features. A highly appealing bouquet overall – although once revealed I couldn’t quite ignore the “signature” cardboard-like notes that Rieussec often displays. Finely layered, precise and intense palate.

2001 vintage

Light, honey, orange blossom. A little apricot after it opens a bit.

2019 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group HWS December 2025 Rieussec (By JZ) : Botrytis, complexity, apricots and honey etc. in the bouquet. Same on the palate, very juicy sweetness and great freshness on the palate. Not any sign of ageing. This can easily last another two decades.

2001 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group HWS December 2025 Rieussec (By JZ) : Concentrated bouquet with botrytis, pineapple, botrytis, honey etc. Full bodied, tangerine, some impressions of polishing wax, firm sweetness , good acidity and some bitterness in the finish.

2016 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group HWS December 2025 Rieussec (By JZ) : Honey and well dosed oak in the bouquet. Elegant sweetness, mild acidity, orange zest, tangerine and a good length.

2019 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group HWS December 2025 Rieussec (By JZ) : Amber color, in the bouquet caramel, orange zest, straw and apricots. On the palate concentrated and still not fully open at first. Apricots, honey, marmalade, botrytis, good acidity and an enormous length.

2006 vintage

Monthly Tasting Group HWS December 2025 Rieussec (By JZ) : Caramel, honey and impressions of polishing wax in the bouquet. Same on the palate, complex, botrytis, apple syrup and a lovely balance between sweetness and acidity. Great length.

2003 vintage

Complex aromatics of dried apricot, honey, citrus blossom and marmalade. Rich, sweet and heady in the mouth. Great presence and power. Layers of flavour. Super intense with a finish that drives on and leaves the palate fresh and wanting more.

2001 vintage

Honeyed and unctuous, yet saline and incredible fresh despite its age. There were the classic flavours of apricot and barley sugar. Tongue-coating and mouth filling, it never cloyed. Complex, multi-layered, it was elegant and understated. The finish was simply heavenly. A simply fantastic Sauternes. CHP 97 pts

2001 vintage

Luis does Bordeaux: 2000 & Older (Tilia, Mpls) : Dark gold color. Small glass over 30 minutes. This was singing; creme brulee, honey, intense nose and palate, intense botrytis spice notes, strong tangerine peel, orange, honeysuckle, pear, vanilla bean, ultra creamy. Wow, this rarely disappoints.

2005 vintage

Had with foie gras. Rieussec never disappoints.

2005 vintage

I brought this bottle to open at the end of a Bordeaux tasting a friend had won at a charity auction. When he served foie gras as an appetizer, I ended up opening it early to pair with that. Fortunately, no one I know drinks much sweet wine in one sitting, so there was plenty left for dessert. I am really taken with this vintage of sweet Bordeaux. Every bottle I’ve opened from several producers has been excellent. I’ve tried …

2001 vintage

Slightly tropical, peach, caramel, creme brulee crust; as prior, I find this good but not great.

2001 vintage

Glorious; the lemon curd, honeysuckle, and clover honey are joined by bergamot, jasmine, and lavender. Light yet intense, delicately sweet (despite what I'm sure is actually a robust sugar content). 96% recycled glass - one more reason to feel good about this. 95-96(+?)

2019 vintage

this was lovely, quite a lightweight for Ch Rieussec, but a delicious and delicate balance of sweetness and acidity - excellent!

2005 vintage

Quick notes here - opened up a 375 on a random Wednesday night. Weekday Sauternes? Why not! On the nose - burnt sugar, marzipan, honey paired with plenty of fresh/ripe tropical fruit - mango, pineapple. Candied fruit/marmalade notes of the aforementioned. Decadent scents, had more nuttiness than expected at less than a decade old. On the palate - a fantastic balance of sweetness & acidity that bodes well for its longevity. Very much fruit forward in flavor, with no notable …

2016 vintage

3rd and 4th (on 1/11).half of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, again superb, massive viscosity, complexity, drive and a finish that seems endless, upside yet, 20+ years. VF (18.5).

2001 vintage

I was deeply impressed with this wine about 8 years ago. On this occasion, I found it too sweet and treacly. Most others liked it considerably more than me. I preferred the Climens and certainly Yquem from this vintage from this tasting.

2001 vintage

Open that bottle XIV - Dan chooses 1997 Bryant (My house) : My 10th time trying this, the previous 9 have been sensational, and this one is over the hill. Way darker than it should be, bitter almonds. Its still drinkable but its not a 2001 Rieussec. And shoot, this is my first 375ml out of 6 that I purchased from Flickinger in 2020. :(

2001 vintage

Beautiful copper amber colour. Lemon, orange, peel, rose, honey, cigar leaf hint (?) on nose. Palate toasted caramel and molasses with mandarin orange peel, burnt orange, apricot, honey, with a citrus lemon and lime acidic streak balancing the concentrated sweetness. A mixed peel and marmalade note on the finish.

2001 vintage

22nd anniversary dinner catered at home with friends (Austin) : This bottle seemed on the downswing relative to others several years ago. Lacking in its youthful zest and not yet demonstrating the full power of age. Certainly nowhere close to d'Yquem 2001.

2001 vintage

Nose: 10/10. Sweet. Citrusy with hints of vanilla. Palate: 9/10. Rustic sweetness with kicks of spices, baked fruits, almonds. Marzipan. Finish: 9/10. Price: 8/10 ($91, 375 ml, 2025). Enjoyment: 10/10. Would buy again: maybe.

2001 vintage

very nice btl 94+

2014 vintage

Excellent level bottle. Amber colour, orange peel nose, some complexity. Excellent balance of sweetness and acidity. Good length of finish. Seems much younger than its 50 years and I'm sure it's much better than most equivalent or higher ranked red Bordeaux of this vintage. Genuinely enjoyable rather than the interesting curiosity.

1975 vintage

We had this for dessert with Tres Leches Cake and Ube Ice Cream following a catered Philippines feast at our house with 8 people. It is lovely at this point of its evolution. Lovely botrytis. You could really taste the impact of the mold on the sweet fruit. My wife, who is not a big wine drinker, had 3 glasses of this, and alas, woke up with a nice little hangover, which is very rare for her. A lovely finish …

2005 vintage

2nd half of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, superb and as noted in Dec 24, upside, 20+ years. VF (18.5).

2001 vintage

Very tasty and a nice dessert wine with lots of character. We liked it a lot and drank it down after two meals. As ever, be careful because thes wines are so tempting just drink it down instead of pondering what is in the glass.

2005 vintage

Sweet, balanced, very nice. Served for dessert for a group meal and very popular.

2003 vintage

Perfectly mature, lovely sweet honeyed fruit.

2005 vintage

Clear light amber color. Hedonistic notes of orange blossom honey, apricot preserves, candied tangerine peel, allspice. Unctuous, generous, structured, pure and precise without being overtly acidic. Delicious with JulieD's banana pudding.

2001 vintage

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Chateau Rieussec Premier Cru Classe, Sauternes

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