1989 Rieussec, Sauternes

Dense and amazing with a thick mouthfeel and so much dried apple, apricot, and lemon character. It's long, sweet and intense. So much going on here. Love it. Love the 1989 vintage for Sauternes. (12/2012)

The 1989 Rieussec is drinking very well indeed at age twenty-seven, but it is already well into its plateau and is not likely to be one of the more long-distance vintages from this era at the estate. The nose is quite honeyed in its blend of apricot, orange, chalky soil tones, butterscotch, toasted coconut, incipient notes of walnuts and plenty of the aforementioned honey. On the palate the wine is deep. full-bodied, complex and already getting quite tertiary in profile, with crisp framing acids and very good length and grip on the fully mature, but still vibrant finish. This is a very good time to be drinking this vintage of Rieussec. (1/2018)

Lively, complex, fresh aromas of tropical fruit, honey and spicy oak. Sweet and viscous in the middle palate; kept fresh by apple and pear notes and harmonious acidity. Very concentrated and deep. Very long on the aftertaste; has the sheer material to buffer its alcohol. Rieussec switched to later bottling with this vintage: 30 rather than 24 months after the harvest. (ST) (7/1998)

The 1989 is a lovely Rieussec that seems to show a little better each time we meet. Here it has a slightly more precocious bouquet than previous examples with a lifted botrytized element. Scents of marmalade and quince mingle with honey and peach, whilst the palate demonstrates good weight - viscous on the entry and a little more conviction towards the finish that had hitherto been missing. I remain cautious about the 1989 Rieussec, but it is one to watch carefully over the next decade. (NM) (11/2012)

First bottle: Hint of copper in the gold. Note of wet wool on the nose. Too much sulfur? Second bottle: Big and bold and still a little sulfidey. Round and blows its own trumpet extremely loudly though it certainly doesn’t belong to the squeaky clean school of winemaking. Burnt notes on the finish and quite burly – and not especially sweet. Good acidity. A very valid style – and distinctive. 17/20 points (JR) (7/2011)

92 points Robert Parker: "After a period of prolonged disjointedness, this wine has pulled itself together. The color is deep straw, and the wine displays an intense perfume of creme brulee custard, baked apple pie, and sweet, ripe pineapples and pears. Full-bodied, rich, alcoholic, and fat, with low acidity and considerable sweetness, this is a luxuriously rich, unctuously-textured, heavyweight Sauternes that should become more civilized with age." (12/1997)