TN Chateau Rieussec 1975

This bottle of Chateau Rieussec 1975 has been properly stored since shortly after release. The color is a very intense old gold, and others also have noted the deep color. The wine is extremely rich and sweet with good fruit with some dry fruit character. It could use a bit more acid to balance the great honey-like sweetness. This is not at all a typical Sauternes, and it reminded me of a cross between a Sauternes and a very rich BA or TBA from the area around Rust in Austria. In fact, in a blind tasting, I am not certain that I would identify it as a Sauternes at all. Although not typical, this is a quite good wine. However it is a bit heavy and not quite as well balanced as a top 75 such as Yquem. There is no point in keeping this wine, but it could hold well for a few more years.

Thanks, that is helpful information about the balance. We actually were checking out a bottle of this last night, after finishing a bottle of the 71 at a dinner.

The 75 was near in its orange, partly caramelized color to the 71's. Yesterday's 71 showed the acid (and motor-oil Botrytis aromas) for which many fine late-harvest wines are known, and did agree beautifully with blue cheese. A big Stilton, actually not quite ideally tart -- a Roquefort or something else was [Atherton Fleming wrote in 1933] "indicated." (If the info above on 1975s is typical, that will call for different pairing "next year" when its opening is promised.)

One thing about early-1970s Sauternes and Barsacs is that they could be cheap. Historically cheap. An unusual glut on the market created a situation where ordinary wine consumers got quantities of them for the order of USD $4 at the time. Many people did so, and of course these wines are durable -- unusually durable. Consequently private inventories exist among people who happened to know what they were doing -- they did not need much money -- who paid $4, 30 or 32 years ago and held the wines, and the wines drink amazingly well now. With the right blue cheeses if possible, don't forget.

Cheers -- Max