Shay A

9.4

My second set of wines to provide as part of a co-host event.

I picked these up during a visit to Morlet in the fall of ‘21. Sadly, these are the last of my initial stash. 58 semillon/36 SB/6 Muscat.

Poured blind for a group of 20 people at the end of a wine event, I was shocked that not one single person called this Cali. Many Sauternes, Barsac, and a few South African dessert wine guesses. It’s undeniably sporting botrytis flavors, but the richness has a wonderful spine of acidity. Honeyed mango, white peach and chock-full of orange blossom on the nose, there’s added candied spice and honeycomb on the palate. Didn’t pick up any nutty flavors (which I enjoy in Sauternes), but this was also fairly young. Extremely “fresh” for a dessert wine, if that makes sense. Best Cali dessert wine I’ve had, I think. — 2 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.3

One of the best aged sauternes I’ve had in a long time! Candied Orange marmalade, chanterelle, honeycomb. Delicious. — 4 years ago

Willie Carter

9.0

100% dry Semillon from Barsac. Coming from one of the great Sauternes houses, this has to be magnificent right? Of course it is. Pale lemon in the glass with a floral perfumed nose. Lemon zest, lychee, and green apple get the party started with pears and honeysuckle coming to play. The honey, the straw, the brioche bread, all so lovely and so deep. Such an exciting, ethereal nose.

Lovely is the word of the day here. This is a mood invoking wine. Soft but rich. Evocative yet subtle. The acidity is crisp and the mouthfeel silky. The palate displays nice orchard fruits and a touch of stone minerality. Very saline, very correct, and magnificently pure. Spring in a bottle. A very unique, fun wine and I cannot get enough. — 5 years ago

Milos

9.0

Sings on the palate, sweet but not cloying, retains a subtle acidity, lovely nutty, retained its character, lovely and light, delicious dessert wine, very satisfying — 9 years ago

Joe DAscoli

8.9

Nice Muscat. Not quite living up to Sauternes style dessert wine but dark fig flavor was still good — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.2

Cypress de Climens Sauternes 2007
Coravin allows access to these style of wines rarely opened if not with a dinner party or holidays.
(from 375ml)
Color, aroma and palate have started to move into secondary tertiary. Texturally thick, creme brulee, roasted cashews, candied orange, and honeysuckle. Good complexity but the freshness of the last bottle is buried by the deeper flavors and texture. — 10 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Alexander Vineyards has a great selection of wines, all at great values. This is their only dessert wine, and it has been delicious every time I’ve had it.

Last bottle of mine. This is from the Barsac region. Richly colored gold in the glass. Viscous, but not overly so. If comparing to a Climens, I’d say this doesn’t have as much of the orange-honey roasted cashew type note, but lots of orange marmalade, honeyed tropical fruits and honeysuckle. This showed a more powerful core than a 2009 LaTour Blanche I had a few weeks ago (which I enjoyed how bright it was). Paired with truffle salted popcorn at the end of the night, and it was great. — 3 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.3

Oh, so good. Elegant, fresh, complex, more Barsac than Sauternes. Very exotic too with flowers and spices.
If you are into Sauternes or Barsac buy a case or two, it does not get much better than this. Fantastic now but no rush. — 5 years ago

with Adriana

Stefan Dolhain

9.1

2015 vintage. A project started in 2011 by Olivier Bernard (of Domaine de Chevalier fame) in Sauternes from vineyards in 3 different terroirs (Sauternes, Barsac and Bommes). Contrary to classic white Bordeaux, Sémillon is king here, reflecting in this 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon blanc blend, aged in French oak. Lune d'Argent is the middle range of the estate and the heart of the production. It stands for amazing value. Drinking beautifully now, but I suspect this will age gracefully for at least another 5 years. Light brilliant yellow. Very attractive nose combining exotic fruit with minerality, flowers and brioche. Juicy fresh pineapple and grapefruit, balanced mouth-watering acidity and perfectly integrated oak. This shows the potential of great dry white wines in the Sauternes region, where the famous sweet wines are sadly suffering from low demand in lethal combination with high production costs. Grab this one by the case at only 17,90 euros. Abv. 13%. — 6 years ago

Erik Nordman

9.2

Awesome Sauternes. Definitely on the lighter and slightly less sweet side, I think this is Barsac even though it's labeled Sauternes on the front. (the cork and back label say Barsac). Orange marmalade, ginger, honey, poached peaches and pears, and a bit of baking spice. Very rich but not too cloying as far as Sauternes goes. Medium to medium + body, medium + acid, plenty sweet as you'd expect. Wonderful soft texture. Amazing alongside the post-dinner cheese plate. — 9 years ago

with Cassie

Chris Langstaff

9.6

1975. Amazing Sauternes. Like living in a bee hive full of honey. — 10 years ago

laszlo czegledi

9.0

nice alcohol. Good Barsac. — 10 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.4

1983 vintage. A beauty at 40 years old in this excellent Sauternes vintage. Amber colour. Intense perfume with dried figs, roasted hazelnuts, coffee and caramel and a fresh lemony touch. In the mouth it features a juicy acidity balancing the delicate sweetness. Complexity and balance. Long nutty finish. — 3 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

8.9

Great entry level sauternes for younger drinking. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.0

Served double-blind. The wine appears as a deep golden color. Medium+ viscosity. The nose is a fascinating combination of intense honey suckle, orange blossom, coriander, candied oranges, and candied nuts. The palate follows suit with more honey suckle, citrus blossom and a slight nutty characteristic. There is definitely some residual sugar here. There is really good acid keeping everything afloat. The finish is long and short of cloying. Really impressive texture. Based on the color and the somewhat oxidative notes, I figured this had at least 10-15 years of age on it. I vacillated between Sauternes and Riesling…ultimately calling Sauternes from Barsac (feeling as though this was more Semillon than Sauvignon Blanc). I chose, poorly. But the wine is good and it positively begs for spicy Asian food. — 5 years ago

Bill Bishop

9.5

Perfectly aged 1961 Coutet. Nice apricot and honey in nose and on the palate. Sweet finish. Couldn't get much better. Yummy! — 7 years ago

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9.6

The 1988 d'Yquem is almost identical to the bottle I tasted in 2016. This is almost Barsac-like in style on the nose with scents of barley sugar, complemented by marmalade and mandarin, fresh and vibrant with a palpable sense of energy. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous texture but it is not, and has never been, as unctuous as either the 1989 or 1990. However, what the 1988 does possess is a surfeit of vitality and tension. There are layers of blood orange, quince and marmalade towards the finish that as the aromatics suggest, comes across as quite Barsac in style. Superb. Tasted at Château Batailley. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2018) — 8 years ago

Wendy Narby

9.5

Extraordinarily fresh, quince, caramelised orange peel - delightful — 10 years ago

John Zuzek

9.3

Wine #16: Okay, it's not d'Yquem. But it's the next best thing. Wonderful Sauternes paired with the white wine poached pear and Stilton. Beautiful finish. — 10 years ago

Aline Baly

10

Not a rose... that's just the color of old Sauternes and Barsacs. (Rating : yes, I am totally bias). — 10 years ago