In the rush for all things red, the great whites of Bordeaux have been somewhat overlooked in this year’s en primeur campaign. The most recent vintage of Rieussec in particular looks to be one of the vintage’s greatest bargains. The Sauternes belongs to the same stable as favoured First Growth Lafite Rothschild, and countless cases were acquired this year as merchants raced to secure allocations of the grand vin. Many are now trying to unbundle their stock, pushing prices to under £300 per 12x75cl case on the Liv-ex exchange – well below the wine’s London release (£620).
Rieussec 2009 scores an impressive 95-97 points from Neal Martin, with the critic dubbing the most recent vintage “Probably the best Rieussec since the astounding 2001.” He describes it as “very well balanced with superb acidity, real tension, steely with great precision with notes of apricot, white peach and honey on the beautifully defined finish.”
With the 2001 (NM 99) fetching around £900 per case, the 2009 certainly looks spectacularly cheap. A case anyone?
