Description
The vineyard of Château Rieussec extends to the junction of Fargues and Sauternes, it is contiguous to Château d’Yquem. Rieussec is one of the most important properties of Sauternes and Barsac, the vines cover 93 ha of gravelly sandy clay soil. The emblematic Sauternes grape variety, Sémillon dominates (90%), supplemented by Sauvignon (7%) and Muscadelle (3%). The techniques used are traditional in Sauternes and the harvest is done in several successive sorts according to the state of maturation of the grapes and the evolution of botrytis cinerea (noble rot). They are spread over 6 to 8 weeks, from September to November. Production is low and variable at the whim of Mother Nature, the traditional reference of a vine stock producing a bottle of wine in the Médoc is here rather a vine stock producing a glass of wine!
Tasting Notes
The 2007 Rieussec is a blend of 87% Semillon, 4.5% Muscadelle and 8.5% Sauvignon Blanc picked between 13 September and 31 October. It has an almost Barsac-like bouquet with barley sugar joining the ginger and honeyed notes, quite powerful although I feel this is just going through a sullen patch at the moment. The palate is very pure and balanced with a wonderful seam of acidity that slices through the viscous botrytis fruit, quite spicy on the finish, although it does not possess the persistence of the 2005 or 2009, just cutting away swiftly. Tasted April 2016. [92 Points, Neal Martin – January 2017, robertparker.com]
