VINO FINO TASTERS
1997 SAUTERNES
July 18, 2001
Taking a break from the "usual" tasting featuring Cabernets and
Chardonnays, host Mark Naismith opted for something "completely
different" as the Vino Fino tasters sampled a set of Sauternes from the
very fine 1997 vintage.
The 1997 growing season started early and held great promise for the Cabernet
and Merlot-based red wines. A cool summer and tropical conditions in
August caused some problems in the vineyards.
The producers in Sauternes and Barsac view 1997 as a very fine vintage, close to
1990 and 1989 in quality. The wines from estates which sorted rigorously
are excellent, big, rich and intense.
Here's what we found:
| The Wines |
Gerald's Rank |
GROUP
RANK |
TOTAL POINTS |
1sts/2nds/
Lasts |
Chteau
CLIMENS
Barsac
$75 |
3 |
6 |
71 |
0/1/2 |
Chteau
COUTET
Barsac
$42 |
4 |
2 |
47 |
2/2/1 |
Castelnau
de SUDUIRAUT
2nd
label of Chteau Suduiraut
Sauternes
$26 |
7 |
8 |
77 |
0/0/3 |
Chteau
DOISY-VDRINES
Sauternes
$48 |
2 |
4 |
48 |
3/1/1 |
Chteau
NAIRAC
Barsac
$54 |
1 |
1 |
44 |
4/3/1 |
Chteau
RABAUD-PROMIS
Sauternes
$33 |
5 |
7 |
74 |
0/2/3 |
Chteau
RIEUSSEC
Sauternes
$67 |
8 |
5 |
59 |
1/2/1 |
Chteau
SUDUIRAUT
Sauternes
$45 |
6 |
3 |
48 |
3/2/1 |
The
results show the wines in the "upper division" were rather closely
grouped. Three wines did not fare particularly well in the statistics, one
was in the middle of the pack and the first four wines were separated by a mere
4 points. One taster could have changed the results significantly!
8th Place: CASTELNAU de SUDUIRAUT
Showing a waxy, figgy, mildly-honeyed fragrance at first, as this warmed I
was reminded more of apples or an apple brandy fragrance. It's a bit
coarse on the palate, fairly sweet with no defects, but not a great deal of
excitement given the other wines in this tasting.
7th Place: CHATEAU RABAUD-PROMIS
With lots of honeyed notes to the aroma, this showed great promise (pardon
the pun) on the nose. It's nicely proportioned on the palate, but not as
sweet or unctuous as some others. I gave it a one star rating (on a three
star scale).
6th Place: CHATEAU CLIMENS
Climens is a highly-regarded estate, but its wines these days are more
refined and elegant when young. As a result, some tasters dropped this in
their rankings. I found it very aromatic and a bit floral with hints of
Darjeeling tea on the nose. It's honeyed and rich on the palate, but not
as "fat" as some others. One-and-a-half stars.
Sauternes Taster Gary Peer
5th Place: CHATEAU RIEUSSEC
The nose shows some botrytis cinerea (the "noble rot" that
contributes some honeyed notes to the fruit), but I felt there was some
less-than-noble rot to the fragrance and dropped this down to my last place
ranking. The flavors are honeyed and significantly finer than the notes
shown on the nose. One star.
4th Place: CHATEAU DOISY-VDRINES
Many Sauternes have a rather high level of volatile acidity as part of their
make-up. This one had the most noticeable level of this "sharp"
character in its aroma and yet there was enough honey to the fragrance to
overcome this flaw at the present time. The wine, with aging, may not fare
well. The 97 Doisy-Vdrines has lots of sweet honey and vanillin
flavors...very rich on the palate. Two stars.
Tax expert Tim Zainer Assesses the Sauternes.
3rd Place: CHATEAU SUDUIRAUT
I downgraded this because of its "nutty" aromas which I
interpreted as oxidation. It is big and rich, though, showing honey and
lots of fat, ripe notes. One star.
2nd Place: CHATEAU COUTET
The aromas not only displayed a honeyed character, but there was a
"creamy" fragrance to this as well. It is exceptional on the
palate, big, rich, honeyed, oily and has a very long, fine finish. Two
stars.
1st Place: CHATEAU NAIRAC
Nairac
stood out from the rest of the wines showing a woodsy, vanillin character, most
likely due to its aging in oak. The flavors are big, deep and oily.
Vanillin, orange peel and ginger are components of this exceptional wine.
Some tasters downgraded it because of its lack of structure and acidity.
It was more forward and "ready to drink" compared to most. That
may be a flaw if you're looking for something to set aside for drinking in 2030.
Two stars +.
VINO FINO TASTING ARCHIVE
2007 RUSSIAN RIVER PINOT NOIRS February 2010
A
RANGE OF FRENCH CHABLIS WINES January 2010
HOLIDAY DINNER
& WINE MARATHON December 2009
ROSÉ
SPARKLING WINES November 2009
ARGENTINEAN
MALBECS October 2009
WEST
COAST CHARDONNAYS September 2009
GREEK
RED WINES August 2009
2005
BUDGET BORDEAUX July 2009
CAMPANIAN
WHITE WINES June 2009
MIXED
BAG OF CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIRS April 2009
RIOJA
WINES, MOSTLY FROM THE 2004 VINTAGE March 2009
NORTH
COAST PETITE SIRAHS February 2009
SYRAH
& PETITE SIRAH COMPARISON January 2009
A
VINO FINO CHRISTMAS December 2008
MOSTLY
2005s: NAPA CABERNETS November 2008
SONOMA
COUNTY PINOT NOIRS October 2008
SANTA
RITA HILLS -2006 VINTAGE- PINOT NOIRS SEPTEMBER 2008
NEWLY
RELEASED ZINFANDELS August 2008
WHITE
RHÔNE VALLEY WINES JULY 2008
LOIRE
VALLEY SAUVIGNONS JUNE 2008
FRENCH
CHABLIS 2005-2006 MAY 2008
NORTHERN
RHÔNE SYRAHS APRIL 2008
SANTA
CRUZ MOUNTAINS PINOT NOIRS January 2008
ANNUAL
HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS DINNER December 2007
WEST
COAST CHARDONNAYS November 2007
AUSTRALIAN
SHIRAZ October 2007
SPANISH
TEMPRANILLO WINES September 2007
SONOMA'S
2005 VINTAGE ZINFANDELS August 2007
CURRENT
RELEASE (2004-2005) ZINFANDELS July 2007
ROS
WINES FROM ALL OVER June 2007
ITALIAN
LAGREIN WINES May 2007
ARGENTINEAN
MALBECS April 2007
SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE PINOT NOIRS March 2007
MOSTLY
2004 CABERNETS February 2007
CRU
BEAUJOLAIS January 2007
A VINO
FINO CHRISTMAS December 2006
CALIFORNIA
ZINFANDELS November 2006
PINOT
NOIRS of VALUE-PRICING October 2006
WORLD
OF SYRAHS TASTING September 2006
AUSSIE
CABERNET-SHIRAZ BLENDS August 2006
ALEXANDER
VALLEY (California) and MARGARET RIVER (Australia) CABERNETS July
2006
CALIFORNIA
PETITE SIRAHS June 2006
2004
NORTH COAST PINOTS and a FRENCH INTRUDER May 2006
AGLIANICO
: BASILICATA & CAMPANIA'S MAJOR RED WINE April 2006
NERO
D'AVOLA - A TASTE OF SICILIA March 2006
UNDER THE
VINO FINO RADAR ZINFANDELS January 2006
HOLIDAY WINE
TASTING & DINNER December 2005
BUBBLIES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD November 2005
NORTH
COAST PINOT NOIRS October 2005
STATE
OF CONFUSION CABERNETS September 2005
TIM
ZAINER'S SIDEWAYS LOOK AT MERLOTS August 2005
LOIRE VALLEY CABERNET
FRANCS June 2005
CALIFORNIA
SYRAHS March 2005
2002
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS February 2005
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY WINE MARATHON December 2004
CHARDONNAYS
OF MODEST PRICE November 2004
SPANISH
TEMPRANILLO October 2004
2002
CENTRAL COAST PINOT NOIRS September 2004
AUSSIE
SHIRAZ-CABERNET BLENDS August 2004
GEWRZTRAMINERS
FROM ALSACE July 2004
2001
SOUTHERN RHNES (7 Chteauneufs & a Vacqueyras) June 2004
AGLIANICO
WINES FROM CAMPANIA & BASILICATA May 2004
MONTEPULCIANO
WINES FROM THE ABRUZZO & MARCHE REGIONS April 2004
SONOMA
ZINFANDELS February 2004
1997
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO January 2004
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA 2003
2001
CTES du RHNES September 17, 2003
2000
OREGON PINOT NOIRS August 20, 2003
WEST
COAST SYRAHS July 16, 2003
2000
Bordeaux June 18, 2003
2000
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS May 21, 2003
OFF
THE BEATEN PATH SYRAHS APRIL 16, 2003
2002 NEW ZEALAND
SAUVIGNON BLANCS March 19, 2003
1999
California CABERNETS February 19, 2003
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA December 4, 2002
AUSTRALIAN
SHIRAZ August 21, 2002
CHAMPAGNES
& SPARKLERS July 17, 2002
Interesting
Paired CHARDONNAYS
May 15, 2002
2001
Southern Hemisphere SAUVIGNON BLANCS Feb. 20, 2002
1999 ZINFANDELS January 16, 2002
HOLIDAY
SEASON BACCHANALIA
December 5, 2001
1999-2000
New PINOT NOIRS November 14, 2001
1999
CALIFORNIA ZINFANDELS October 17, 2001
1998
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS September 19, 2001
1999
LANGUEDOC REDS August 15, 2001
1997
SAUTERNES July 18, 2001
Mostly
1998 NEBBIOLO June 20, 2001
1999 PINOT NOIRS May
16, 2001
1996
SAINT-MILION Tasting April 18, 2001
CARNEROS
CHARDONNAYS March 21, 2001
1984-1985
NAPA CABERNETS/John Vignau Memorial Tasting October 20, 2000
1997
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS September 20, 2000
1998 CALIFORNIA
CHARDONNAYS August 16, 2000
WINES
FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE: CLARETS June 21, 2000
WINES
FROM UNDER THE TUSCAN (and Umbrian) SUN Aprile 19, 2000
1997 BORDEAUX: MEDOC May 17,
2000
