at our wine clubs ladies night, we ended up with Coutet 83.
Pale bright straw, muted restrained nose, no botrytis, a flabby wine lacking in fruit and no complexity at all.
tried another bottle, better nose with barley sugar, but again a bland sugary drink...very disappointing
any one else had some of late?
John T
I have not tasted Coutet 83, but Michael Broadbent has. In 1998 he described it as fully mature. He mentioned a grassy style. He described it as soft and rich with a touch of caramel on the end-taste which was better than the Gripfix he had noted in an earlier tasting. He rated it only 3 star out of 5 star. In contrast, he found 83 Climens outstanding in 2001, rated it 5 star out of 5 star, and thought it might be good for another quarter of a century. It seems
1983 was not the best year for Coutet despite several outstanding Sauternes made in that year. I would guess your bottle may have faded a bit from what it was in 1998 at peak.Interestingly, I have a note from Clive Coates ( The Vine ) on the Coutet
1983.This note was written in September 1991
" Light golden colour, just a little suplhur but quite good concentration, yet a bit coarse. On the palate this is rather insipid. medium body. Lacks a bit of grip and fat. Uninspiring & now finishing a bit short. Drink soon !
13/20 marks. "He calls the 1983 Sauternes - " a great but flawed vintage "
Best wines were Climens, Rieussec ( always reliable ) Lafaurie-Peyraguey and of course, d'Yquem.
All a bit academic as, at 25yrs on, I doubt many of us have any 83's left.
Peter
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