2023 Rayne Vigneau
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Tasting notes
A blend of 79% Sémillon and 21% Sauvignon Blanc aged 12 months in 40% new French oak, the 2023 Château De Rayne Vigneau offers exotic tropical fruits, honeyed orange, minty herbs, and citrus pith-like aromatics. It's medium-bodied, fresh, focused, and impeccably balanced, with integrated acidity and outstanding length. Drink this over the coming two decades. Drink 2026-2046.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Neal Martin, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A blend of 72% Sémillon, 26% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle, the 2023 Château de Rayne Vigneau is superb, revealing aromas of quince, spices, saffron and exotic fruits intertwined with pineapple. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it is harmonious and seamless, built around a fleshy core of fruit and marked by a beautiful note of rôti, concluding with a long, saline finish shaped by refined gastronomic bitterness. Produced at a yield of eight hectoliters per hectare, this ranks among the finest renditions the estate has produced to date.
The 2023 Rayne-Vigneau seems to have closed up since I tasted it from barrel, scents of yellow plum, honey and beeswax reluctantly opening with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a mellifluous opening, quite effervescent toward the finish with honey, orange zest and subtle ginger notes. Very fine. A second bottle was more expressive.
Round and generous, showing spiced lemons, fine toast and hints of minerals and ripe guavas. Quite supple, with medium to full body and a broad finish of good length. Drink now through 2032.
About the producer
The 1855 classification placed Ch. de Rayne Vigneau just behind Ch. d’Yquem – also a nearby neighbour. Its 84-hectare vineyard sits in a single block on gravel mounds, overlooking the Ciron in Sauternes, and producing impressive sweet wines.