Sauternes 1er Grand Cru Classé Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend

2022 vintage. Lots of changes in 2022, as Xavier Planty sold his shares to Matthieu Gufflet. Xavier's son, Luc Planty took care of a smooth transition ( check him out for his ambitious project at Château de Malle!) when Sandrine Garbay (Château Yquem's maître de chai for more than 2 decades) was nominated as a general manager. Her first vintage is excellent, with beautiful aromatics (roasted pineapple, vanilla, mango, honey, and flowers). Layered and intense with lots of botrytis, but also an amazingly refreshing acidity which reminds me of the 2014 Sauternes vintage. Exquisite balance, layered, and with a very long, fresh finish with a subtle almond bitterness. Excellent, and still very affordable for this quality. A pleasure to taste now, but I expect true magic in a decade or more. Ab. 13,5%.

Poached sugared apricot and plum. With the kernel. Long, deep and vinous. Liquid and syrupy. Somewhat brandied, astringent even.

#AgedWineTuesday

Deep golden in color.

Strong nose of honeydew, citrus, lemons, honey, spices, melons, oranges, tangerines, tropical fruits and pineapples. A really beautiful nose.

Full bodied and buttery with high acidity.

Sweet on the palate with melons, red apples, honey, tropical fruits, spices, light earth, honeysuckle and white pepper.

Long finish with oranges and spices.

This is a fabulous dessert wine from Bordeaux, France.

Very complex with a great mouthfeel. Well balanced with enough acidity to balance the sugars.

Delicious right out of the bottle, good by itself, and even better after an hour of airtime.

Thanks Scott for sharing this with me.

This 19 year old is smooth and generous. Rich and extracted. Sweet and well balanced.

I've had the 2009 vintage not too long ago, and this is showing so much better. What a wonderful surprise.

Paired very nicely with the blue cheese. Drank from a 375ml bottle.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$40.

Fancy lunch with some dear friends.
No formal notes.

Drinking fantastic, with years ahead still.

Rich and creamy notes of bruised apricot, honeysuckle and orange peel

One of the absolute best made. Drank from a mag.

Fresh, bright, exactly what a beautiful dessert wine should be. The anti-Yquem

Still young. Pretty sweet but balanced by solid acidity. Apricots.

Fantastic Sauternes. Paired with foie and at dessert with San Sebastian cheesecake.

Sweet and tender like a mother’s hug. would go great with fruits and a maple dessert bar.