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Château Rieussec 2022

1er cru classe -

Bordeaux

Sauternes

- White - See details

Parker | 95+

The Wine Independent | 94-96

Vinous Neal Martin | 94

€93.50 Incl. VAT

(

€93.50 / Unit

)

Packaging : 1 Bottle (75cl)

1 x 75CL

€93.50

4 x 75CL

€366.00

In-Stock

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ALL VINTAGES OF THIS WINE

All Château Rieussec wines

Marks and reviews

/100

Decanter

Bright lemon, floral orange blossom and fleshy peach – juicy, with caramelised edges and soft touches of salty minerality that provide a nice contrast. Unctuous and rich, lacking a touch more vibrancy and zing at this stage, but smooth, focused, with great density and overall sweetness.

/100

Vinous

Neal Martin

The 2022 Rieussec has a well defined bouquet with wild honey, pine, light peach and honeyed scents, more orange pith with time. The palate is well balanced with a patina of oak, a fine bead of acidity, quite linear with admirable purity on the finish. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

/100

Jane Anson

Intense and concentrated, orange blossom, truffle, citrus confit, marmalade, a luscious Rieussec from a vintage where Sauternes had to be patient for the noble rot to arrive. Estate director Jean de Roquefeuille has left Rieussec, and is now at Domaine d'Aussières (also DBR Lafite) in the Languedoc, with the Sauternes property now headed up by Mathieu Crosnier. New bottle shape also since the (excellent quality) 2019 vintage.

/100

Yves Beck

Exuberance is not really Rieussec’s priority, and this 2022 emphatically reminds us of that. It focuses on finesse and detail, while highlighting the vintage’s complexity and generosity on both the nose and the palate. The bouquet reveals subtle, deep nuances where freshness leads the wine. Notes of acacia blossom, orange zest, mandarin and lemongrass intertwined with candied nuances underscore both freshness and ripeness. On the palate, Rieussec reasserts its focus on precision, integrated sweetness and temperament. All of this is linked to an austerity that crystallizes freshness, salinity and vibrancy. A wine of character that shows long-term ambition, yet does not exclude epicureans attuned to the present moment. In short, it is contemporary but does not deny its traditional style.

/100

Jean-Marc Quarin

An already coppery colour. A moderately intense, fruity nose. Broad on the attack, flavourful on the mid-palate, rich and aromatic, the wine develops with a touch of bitterness and toasted wood on the finish.

/20

Jancis Robinson

Natural cork closure. Tasted blind. Lighter body and less sweet than most, but good and interesting balance. (JR)

Description

Characteristics and tasting tips for Château Rieussec 2022

Tasting

Nose
Powerful aromas of dried apricots and candied fruit mingle with delicate notes of acacia blossom and honeysuckle.

Palate
The attack is balanced, combining richness, intensity and freshness. Notes of exotic fruit and spicy nuances bring lovely complexity, extended by a gentle bitterness on the finish that suggests considerable ageing potential.

The complexity and precision of a Sauternes wine

The estate

Owned by Domaines de Barons Rothschild Lafite since 1984, Château Rieussec has ranked alongside the Premiers Crus Classés of Sauternes since 1855. The château is renowned for the quality of its sweet wines, which have beautiful texture and are both fresh and powerful, and only grow more magnificent with time. Respect for the environment lies at the heart of the estate's philosophy. The grapes are harvested by hand, so that the vineyard's finest fruit can be picked almost berry by berry and allowed to express itself in truly authentic wines.

The vineyard

Château Rieussec is a Sauternes wine produced from an 85-hectare vineyard located in the heart of the appellation on sandy-clay gravel soils. Here, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle ripen slowly until they reach a truly exceptional level of maturity, giving rise to the noble rot for which the appellation is so famous.

The vintage

The growing season got off to a two-week late start owing to cool weather, followed by April frosts that spared the most vulnerable areas thanks to late pruning. Dry, sunny weather then allowed the vines to make up for lost time, leading to early harvests for the dry whites and later ones for the sweet wines. Botrytis developed gradually, yielding grapes of great purity despite low yields, with the final picking pass taking place at the end of October.

Vinification and ageing

Grapes harvested by hand into small crates. Pressing, then, after settling, transfer to barrels (new for the Sémillon, once-used for the Sauvignon) for fermentation. Plot-by-plot pressing and vinification. After fermentation, the wines are kept on their lees until mid-December, with regular bâtonnage. Racking and blending before the wines are returned to barrel for approximately 18 months of ageing.

Blend

Sémillon (91%)
Sauvignon Blanc (9%).