The product image is for illustrative purposes only and may not exactly reflect the actual characteristics of the wine.
The wine
- Colour
- Dolce
- Alcohol
- 12.5% vol
Critics' scores
- Robert Parker / Wine Advocate 96+
A blend of 86% Sémillon and 14% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2015 Rieussec reveals a bright, pale straw-gold color and is a little closed at this youthful stage, yet it offers wonderful purity and depth, featuring notes of lemon marmalade, orange blossoms, beeswax and acacia honey with hints of preserved kumquats and peach compote. Very elegant and fine in the medium to full-bodied mouth, it features a racy backbone cutting through the earthy and citrus layers, finishing long and spicy.
- Wine Spectator 94
Intense, with warm peach cobbler, toasted coconut, orange curd and apricot aromas and flavors. Honeyed feel through the finish, but with a racy streak of bitter almond too. Drink now through 2040. 6,000 cases made. — JM
- James Suckling 99
OMG. This is amazing. This is the new 2001. Incredible purity of botrytis and ripeness. Full-on. So driven and precise. Full-bodied, very sweet and electrified. Pineapple jam and mangoes — endless tropical fruits. This ends very clean and is almost tannic on the finish. A truly great Sauternes. Energy. Drink or hold.
- René Gabriel 18
Mitteldunkles Gelb, somit recht intensiv, leuchtender Rand. Intensives Bouquet, Kamille, Honig, kalter Aprikosengelée und einen Hauch von reifen Quitten zeigend, alles vermischt mit einer deutlichen Botrytisnote. Dicklicher, fast öliger Fluss, zeigt einen grossen Reichtum, die Säure hat noch etwas Mühe, diese Opulenz auszugleichen, fast Finale wirkt dann fast etwas übersüss, also fehlt (noch?) die Balance. Potentialwertung: 18/20 2025 – 2048
- Vinous 94
The 2015 Rieussec has a fragrant and quite floral bouquet, scents of yellow flower and earthy aromas filtering through the honeyed fruit. The palate is well balanced with a tang of marmalade and quince on the entry. This is pure and creamy in texture with shades of coconut and crème brûlée toward the punter, friendly finish. Lovely. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.
The producer: Château Rieussec
Under the same ownership as Lafite-Rothschild, the Château Rieussec vineyard is one of the largest properties in Sauternes and Barsac. The 93-hectare estate stretches from the border of Fargues and Sauternes, neighboring the vines of rival Château d’Yquem. Since 1984, Rieussec has belonged to Domaines Barons de Rothschild. They have made large investments in the cellar, as well as in the vineyards. This increase in quality-conscious procedures, including grape selection has led to smaller production numbers - here a single vine produces about a glass of wine. Fermentation is carried out in new-oak barriques, made by their very own cooper. The resulting wines are consistently powerful but classically structured, showing the opulence of Sauternes in an age-worthy Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend. This First Growth estate is undoubtedly a reference-point for sweet wine producers around the world.