Thursday, June 24th, 2004
1998 Savigny-Les-Beaune (Vieilles Vignes/Old Vines), Domaine C. Maréchal, Burgundy
Appearance: light red purple, slight tinge of age.
Nose: beautiful Pinot nose featuring red cherry and strawberries (rather than raspberries), French oak, slight oxidation but not very vegetal just yet.
Palate: good fruit, excellent medium-high acid and balanced alcohol, soft and silky tannins although with enough structure for further ageing.
Conclusion: Maréchal is a decent producer situated in Bligny-Les-Beaune, only a few minutes south of Beaune itself in the heart of the Côte de Beaune. This was a lovely example of Burgundian Pinot Noir at this level. Very good.
Rating: 17.5/20
Friday, June 11th, 2004
This wine was tasted at Château Lafite during the 2004 Vingt sur Vin competition, organized by Jean Michel-Cazes of Château Lynch-Bages and hosted by the Commanderie du Bontemps for the Medoc, Graves and Sauternes regions.
We are grateful to the Commanderie and to Jean Michel-Cazes, Baron Eric Rothschild and Francois Guillot de Suduiraut personally.
1967 Château Rieussec, Sauternes
Appearance: medium amber-gold.
Nose: beautiful nose of candied dried fruits (orange, peach, apricot) with great botrytis and some other savoury aromas that are hard to describe.
Palate: fantastic fruit, excellent balance of very fine high acidity and mellowed but marked residual sugar. Outstanding length.
Conclusion: we weren’t really aware that Sauternes of this age, even from such great vintages, could possess such development and refreshing acidity (none of the ‘over-marmalade’ nose that some older wines can show). Served from magnums it had aged gracefully. Stupendous. The best Sauternes we’ve ever drunk and one of the greatest wines we’ve ever been fortunate to taste.
Rating: 19.5/20
