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Producers
Alter Ego de Palmer Carillon d’Angelus Carruades de Lafite Château Angélus Château Ausone Château Belgrave Château Calon-Ségur Château Cantemerle Château Cantenac Brown Château Climens Château Clinet Château Cos Labory Château Cos d’Estournel Château Coutet Château de Camensac Château de Ferrand Château de Fieuzal Château d’Yquem Château Ducru Beaucaillou Château-Figeac Château Fleur Cardinale Château Fombrauge Château Giscours Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Château Gruaud-Larose Château Haut Bages Libéral Château Haut Batailley Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Marbuzet Château Kirwan Château La Fleur Petrus Château Lagrange Château La Gurgue Château La Mission Haut Brion Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lanessan Château Langoa Barton Château Larrivet Haut Brion Château Latour Château La Tour Carnet Château Latour Martillac Château Léoville Las Cases Château Léoville Barton Château Léoville-Poyferré Château L'Evangile Château Les Grands Chênes Château Lynch-Bages Château Malescasse Château Margaux Château Marquis d’Alesme Château Maucaillou Château Monbousquet Château Montrose Château Mouton Rothschild Château Palmer Château Pape Clément Château Pavie Château Pédesclaux Château Pétrus Château Phélan Ségur Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Château Pontet-Canet Château Pouget Château Poujeaux Château Rauzan-Ségla Château Rieussec Château Sigalas-Rabaud Château Taillefer Château Talbot Cheval Blanc Echo Lynch Bages Le Petit Mouton Marquis de Calon Pagodes de Cos Petit Haut Lafitte Vieux Château Certan
Producers
Château Rieussec
It would be impossible to miss Château Rieussec when driving through the Sauternes region; at a grand 78 metres altitude, the vineyard and its surroundings preside over all but one of its neighbours. Which neighbour? Only the exceptional Chateaux d’Yquem. So it only follows suit that the excellent wines of Rieussec should, in our opinion, share the best Sauternes title with Yquem.
As good as Yquem?
It goes without saying that Yquem is the undisputed king of all Sauternes. However, at five times the price of Rieussec, investors would be wise to consider this not as an inferior Yquem, but as a wine that stands alone in its category. From a drinking perspective, the experience is very similar to Yquem, but at a much more affordable rate - the average price for a bottle of 2017 being around €58, against Yquem’s €291. This is still, however, a 4% increase on 2016s prices, a fact that could be put down to Brexit uncertainty and a week pound. Investors should note that in 2010 Rieussec was sold through Liv ex via a linkage system - thus distorting the market for that year. These lucky investors are now sitting a liquid gold mine, with some of the best returns the vintage has to offer.
A Premier Cru at fourth growth prices
Exportation to North America of all Sauternes has been traditionally difficult, but this has been largely compensated by the upsurge in demand from Asia, notably Hong Kong which makes up a whopping 14% of the Bordeaux white wine export market. This is largely due to the Chinese government lifting its ban on dessert wines in 2010. Interestingly, the biggest importers of Rieussec, is Germany, perhaps due to its value for money, considering its Premier Cru status. The wine is highly suited to ageing, meaning high ROI for a very affordable outlay.
Notable facts and vintages
  • 2001 Château Rieussec declared Wine of the Year (2004) by Wine Spectator magazine, received 99 points from Robert Parker Wine Advocate, and in June 2019 a 20 half-bottle lot of this prized vintage fetched more than €1,000 at Sotheby’s London auction, well above the €550-800 estimate.
  • 2003 Château Rieussec scored 96 points from Robert Parker Wine Advocate - one point higher than Château Yquem, but 20% of the release price for this particular vintage.
  • 2015 Château Rieussec received a generous 18/20 from Jancis Robinson, while James Suckling exclaimed “OMG. This is amazing. This is the new 2001,” of this “truly great Sauternes” to which he awarded 99 points.
  • 2017 Château Rieussec received Lisa Perrotti-Brown’s 96-98 score, noting “It might eclipse all other Rieussecs”.