2011 Chateau Rieussec

97 POINTS

Peter Moser - Falstaff

Bright golden yellow, silver reflections. Fine blossom honey, ripe pineapple and peach fruit, a hint of lanolin, incredibly seductive bouquet, delicately underlain with ripe kumquats. Juicy, powerful, yet balanced, yellow tropical fruit, a hint of caramel, very good freshness, brilliant acidity, a hint of oak, mineral and long-lasting, with enormous certain ageing potential for further maturation.

97 POINTS

Bob Campbell MW - The Real Review

A top wine from a very good vintage. A wonderfully seductive Sauternes with a creamy texture and intense, but not overpowering, flavours that are classic Sauternes suggesting honey, nut, vanilla, dried fruit and Christmas cake. Beautifully balanced and showing great power and subtlety. A bargain at this price

96 POINTS

Wine Spectator

Intense, with ginger, yellow apple chutney, dried pineapple and papaya flavors coursing through a finish that brims with singed almond and lemon chiffon flavors. This retains a touch of youthful rawness, featuring a bitter orange note that's yet to be absorbed. No need to rush or worry here.

96 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

95-97. Barrel sample. This wine shows sheer opulence; it's beautifully rich and ripe, powered by complex flavors of orange zest and superripe mango. It's fresh, showing this vintage's character.

96 POINTS

James Suckling

This shows incredible freshness and power, with dried pineapples, mangoes and papayas. Full body, medium-sweet with electrifying acidity. Vibrates your palate. Barrel sample still. Points: 96-97

96 POINTS

James Suckling

This is a fabulous Sauternes with dried peaches, pineapples and mango. Apricots and hints of spices. Even jam. Full-bodied, medium sweet with intense and powerful palate. This wine has 147 grams of residual sugar. So balanced and long. We will see what is better -- Rieussec or Yquem? Points: 96-97

96 POINTS

Falstaff

Medium yellow, silver reflections. An attractive bouquet with yellow tropical fruit, underlaid with candied grapefruit, a subtle lanolin savouriness and a mineral touch. Elegant, powerful and tight-knit with subtle notes of passion fruit, very harmonious with oak savouriness and a nutty touch on the long finish. Definite ageing potential.

95 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

Layers of complex botrytis give this wine an immensely aromatic character. It is sumptuous and generous, ripe and full-bodied. The essential acidity comes through the dry structure of botrytis and sweet honey. The fruit is only just beginning to show and the wine is obviously very young. Drink from 2022.