Editors notes
Another rocking sweet wine is the 2017 Château Coutet. This big, full-bodied, opulent beauty has serious notes of orange blossom, buttered citrus, and honey, yet also shows the more pure, precise, and elegant style of the vintage on the palate. The cool, overcast summer allowed good ripeness while preserving the purity of fruit and the whites (and dessert wines) from this vintage are beautiful.
Details
-
Wine Type
-
Vintage
-
Variety
-
Brand
-
Location
-
Cellaring
-
Closure
-
Alcohol Percentage
-
Bottle Size
-
Oak Type
Tasting Profile
-
Light (Light)Full (Full)
-
Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
-
Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
-
Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
-
Aroma
- Lemon
- Mineral
- White Flowers
-
Palate
- Lemon Zest
- Slate
- Stonefruit
Food Pairings
-
Asian -
Fish -
Shellfish
Critic Scores & reviews
-
Wine Spectator
95"Offers a bright inner core of honeysuckle, pineapple, star fruit and white peach flavors, coated for now with heather honey, marzipan and mango notes. Fresh and racy through the finish, this is an elegant beauty, showing terrific cut and precision. Best from 2015 through 2030."
-
Wine Enthusiast
94"This is a very spicy wine with weight, great depth of flavor and concentration. Fine acidity cuts through the core, balancing sweetness and adding freshness to flavors of wild thyme-honey and orange marmalade. Drink the wine from 2017."
-
The Wine Advocate
94"The 2010 Chateau Coutet has 154-gms/litre residual sugar, one of the highest in Sauternes/Barsac. It is endowed with a delightful bouquet of freshly sliced mango, Tropicana and a touch of honey, with good definition and minerality. The palate is medium-bodied with very impressive balance and poise, and is slightly viscous in the mouth, with almond, lemon curd and a touch of orange peel. The finish is composed and long. The 2010 Coutet is very impressive for the vintage..."
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
-
- Variety Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon
- Vintage 2013
- Brand Chateau Coutet
- Cellaring 5-10 Years
- Wine Type Dessert
- Alcohol Percentage 12.0% Alcohol
Chateau Coutet Sauternes-Barsac 2013 375ml-
Wine Spectator96 points
-
James Suckling96 points
$128.00
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux has a rich history of winemaking, dating back to the Roman times. Today, it is known as one of the most significant wine regions in the world, with a reputation for producing complex, full-bodied red wines. The region is home to a diverse range of terroirs, each with its own unique microclimate, soil composition, and grape varieties.
The left bank of Bordeaux is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, which thrives in the region's gravelly soils. These wines tend to be bold, tannic, and complex, with notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and tobacco. On the right bank, Merlot is king, producing wines that are softer and fruitier, with notes of plum, cherry, and chocolate.
Aside from the red blends, Bordeaux is also renowned for its sweet wines, particularly from the Sauternes and Barsac appellations. These wines are made using a unique process that involves botrytis, or "noble rot," which concentrates the sugars in the grapes, resulting in a lusciously sweet and complex wine.
Bordeaux's classification system has evolved over time, with some estates moving up or down the ranks depending on the quality of their wines. Today, the system includes five growths, with Premier Cru being the highest and Deuxièmes Crus being the second-highest. There is also a separate classification for the sweet wines of Sauternes and Barsac, with Chateau d’Yquem holding the highest rank.
Overall, Bordeaux is a region that continues to captivate wine enthusiasts around the world with its rich history, diverse terroirs, and exceptional wines.
Sauternes
Home of the greatest dessert wines in the world. 65km south of Bordeaux city lies Sauternes, the most revered sweet wine region in the world. The entire appellation has just over 2000 hectares of vineyards, divided into five communes - of these five, Barsac is the only one with a label of its own.
The region is noteworthy thanks to its unique microclimate. The heavy evening mists often persist long into the morning, allowing the Botrytis cinerea fungus (the trademark of Sauternes, often called noble rot) to take hold of the grapes, and the warm midday sun dries the fruit out and prevents the fungus from progressing and ruining the crop.
Noble rot reduces the water content of each grape and concentrates their naturally occurring sugars, creating an incredibly sweet, intense juice for winemaking. Because of the delicate balance of meteorological conditions required for successful noble rot, entire vintages often fail. However, a good vintage, aged appropriately, cannot be beaten by any other sweet wine in the world.
Recommended For You
Life is short … so you should savour every sip. That’s why we’ve specifically curated these wines and spirits, especially for you based on your profile, preferences, and past purchases. Enjoy!
Pairs Well With
Whether it's a decadent cheese, mouth-watering red meat, perfectly cooked poultry, succulent seafood, or a vegetarian feast, for every wine or spirit you choose from us, we provide you with a number of helpful suggestions for what will pair deliciously with your purchase.
Frequently Bought With
About the brand Chateau Coutet
The best Sauternes from Barsac, as rated by US President Thomas Jefferson in 1787, Chateau Coutet has a long-standing record of excellence. The winery's exceptional terroir benefits from old vines with exceptionally deep roots that concentrate the flavours of the fruit. The signature misty microclimate and noble rot of the Sauternes region thrives at Chateau Coutet.
Chateau Coutet has a rich architectural and regional history. The winery itself is an English fortress built in the 13th Century, and has been a winemaking estate in 1643. Rated as 1er Cru since 1855, this is the oldest and largest estate in the Barsac region.
Typically, a Chateau Coutet wine offers generous notes of honey, flowers, citrus and vanilla, with warm notes of spice, nuts and candied fruits developing over time.
You May Also Like
Customer Reviews
Write Your Own Review