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BWI's WINE BLOG
"Taking you to the heart of great wine, May 9, 2012 
Coutet is playing a coy game, rather shyly expressing fruit aromas reminiscent of pineapple. The palate explains itself with great clarity, however, in its dense, cool, peariness. This is highly persistent; a real step up from virtually all the other sweet wines I tasted this year. Mineral, with spice winding itself boldly around the finish. Fabulous, rivetting Coutet.(...)"Read More

ASHLEY H KERR - SOMMELIERE, WINE ENTHUSIAST
"Château Coutet Tasting , May 5, 2012 
On Tuesday I attended a Sommeliers Australia event at which I had the opportunity to taste four Château Coutet wines, ranging from three decades. The event was held at Glass Brasserie & Wine Bar in Sydney, and was hosted by Aline Baly, a third generation Château Coutet proprietor."Read More

BOWES WINE
"Doisy-Daëne and Coutet, April 30, 2012 
Coutet is playing a coy game, rather shyly expressing fruit aromas reminiscent of pineapple. The palate explains itself with great clarity, however, in its dense, cool, peariness. This is highly persistent; a real step up from virtually all the other sweet wines I tasted this year. Mineral, with spice winding itself boldly around the finish. Fabulous, rivetting Coutet.(...)"Read More

EATING ADELAIDE
"Château Coutet Tasting, April 27, 2012 
A week or two ago, Sommeliers Australia played host to Aline Baly, third generation owner of the first growth Sauternes house, Château Coutet. The tasting was held at Press* Food & Wine and we were treated to a vertical tasting of four Château Coutet vintages along with some food from Press. Read More

WINE WORDS AND VIDEOTAPE
"Bordeaux 2011 - Sauternes & Barsac, April 27, 2012 
Chateau Coutet
Brilliant pale gold; full and substantial; botrytis, cream and honey; citrus notes too; concentrated and very creamy in texture; quite fat and sweet; very rich vintage. Lovely wine. 93-95+."Read More

FINE WINE CLUB
"Château Coutet, April 24, 2012 
I had the pleasure of sitting down to dinner with Aline Baly from Chateau Coutet whilst tasting through a number of vintages back to 1986. It was fantastic to see how the wines evolved over time and also how the different vintage conditions influences the style of a particular wine."Read More

BORDEAUX UNDISCOVERED
"En Primeur – Day 3 – Haut Brion, Haut Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier, Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte, Brane Cantenac, Coutet, de Fargues, April 5th, 2012 
As many of you who follow me know I always try to find a WOW factor from each vintage that I taste and with the 2011 vintage I found it today – not from one wine but from an appellation. Well, two appellations to be exact: Sauternes and Barsac. (...) The wines were real eye openers and I found my WOW factor here. Many of them had the opulence, the depth, the balance and the fruit that I look for in a good wine and they had truly good structure. (...) Coutet showed exceptionally well – a beautiful wine. Congratulations are due to both the chateau who should be proud of their offerings for 2011.(...)"Read More

A WINE STORY
"En Primeur: Tasting Sauternes Vintage 2011, April 3rd, 2012 
"Gorgeous weather for tasting Sauternes!" Of course, a bright blue sky and a warm yellow sun is precisely the message needed to spread the word that Sauternes ... the delicious golden sweet wine of Bordeaux ... is just the way to celebrate a warm summer day. Among sophisticated people in France, you can often find Sauternes served from an ice-filled glass container. It is just the thing to quench the heat and get the party going as a sweet alternative to champagne ... ... and compare the price of a 1st cru Sauternes to a Grand Cru Champagne and you will see which makes more financial sense. In any event, thanks Chateau Coutet for the weather (fabulous) and for also sponsoring the tasting of the region's 2011 vintage, which was excellent nearly across the board. (...)"Read More

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER
"2009 Sauternes, Sweet Bordeaux Wine in Bottle Tasting Notes, January 25, 2012 
2009 Coutet – This is the best example of a young Chateau Coutet I have ever tasted. Intense notes of honey drenched pineapple, orange, apricot, nectarine, nuts and minerality focus your attention. Rich, pure, sweet, powerful and refined, there is the perfect amount of lift and balance to keep you interested in tasting the wine. Bravo Aline! 96 Pts(...)"Read More

NEAL MARTIN'S WINE JOURNAL 
“The Memorable Wines of 2011, December 26, 2011
I always finish the year with a roundup of the last twelve months looking through the wine bottle...
These Were The Dreams:
1952 Château Coutet
1989 Château Coutet Cuvée Madame (…)”Read More

EL ALMA DEL VINO
“Château Coutet 1998 & 2008, November 29, 2011
Algo poco frecuente y todo un honor al mismo tiempo es catar dos añadas de un gran vino en compañía de una de las propietarias de la bodega. Aline Baly, miembro de la familia que dirige Château Coutet; tuvo a bien enseñarnos las características especiales de los años 1998 y 2008 de su buque insignia, un vino blanco dulce de la apelación Barsac Sauternes(...)" Read More

HUFF POST
“10 Wines for thanksgiving -- No Pinot or Chardonnay Allowed, November 17, 2011
Chateau Coutet 2006 Sauternes ($75). A dessert wine for turkey and all the fixings? Yes please. Chateau Coutet Sauternes wines are made with botrytised Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that develop the botrytis mold, which makes the juice much more concentrated and sweet(...)"Read More

CELLARBLOG
“Thanksgiving with Château Coutet, November 17, 2011
Once again I received a Thanksgiving Card from Chateau Coutet and once again it was filled with great ideas for Thanksgiving recipes that can be paired with Chateau Coutet wines.(...)" Read More

WINEDOCTOR
"Bordeaux 2009: Sauternes & Barsac, October 2011
Chateau Coutet 2009: A lovely freshness on the nose, with just a little hint of baked apple sweetness but above all a honeyed, beeswax-tinged vigour to it. The palate has all the delicious weight of the vintage, perhaps slightly more restrained than some, or at least it feels that way, balanced by a citrusy acidity and lovely touches of grip. There is a lovely harmony here, elegant and fresh at the same time. Overall, this is delicious, and promises greatness if given the appropriate time in the cellar. 19/20 Read More

SWEET BORDEAUX
“New York Wine Experience with Château Coutet, October 26, 2011
This week wa had a chance to meet up with the head of stategic marketing and communications for Château Coutet: Aline Baly. We met at the Wine Spectator's annual New York Wine Experience at the Marriot Marquis, right in Times Square(...)" Read More

THE WINE HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO
“Bastille Day 2011 : Château Coutet Dinner at Range Restaurant, August 23, 2011
On July 14, all the cosmic tumblers aligned themselves as 55+ dinners packed themselves into Range Restaurant for a very special evening. The concept was unusual; can you enjoy Bordeaux's Gold wines (Barsac/Sauternes) throughout an entire dinner (...)" Read More

WRO WINE BLOG (WINE REVIEW ONLINE)
“China in Bordeaux, July 28, 2011
The just-starting-to-show-maturity 2004 Château Coutet went perfectly with the subtly spiced caramelized Tchasui pork because of the wine’s bracing acidity (...)" Read More

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER
“Château Coutet Perfect Sweet Wines for the Dinner Table, July 25, 2011
The origin of Château Coutet, Sauternes, Bordeaux which takes its name from the Gascon's word for knife, dates all the way back to the 13th century when it was originally constructed as a fort by the British (...)" Read More

BOR - VILAG - (WINE WORLD)
“Crème de la crème : Sauternes-Barsac & Tokaji Wines, June 21, 2011
Château Coutet 2004
A 38-ha property in Barsac on limestone soil resultant in higher acids, a characteristic of Barsac wines in general. They are also lighter in colour. A 1er Cru property, the other such in Barsac is Château Climens(...)" Read More

A WINE STORY
“Bordeaux 2010, May 13,2011
"And more praise to American born Aline Baly, who with her uncle runs Château Coutet. Mr. Molesworth praised the Château Coutet Barsac 2010, giving it 93 - 95 points and calling it "ripe and fleshy, with peach, apricot, and honey, orange blossom, and fig(...)" Read More

90210 WINE + SPIRITS
“Château Coutet Barsac-Sauternes 2006, May 11, 2011
Winemaker's Notes:The wine has a fine golden color with deeper highlights and a nose of tropical fruit (passion fruit), a touch of lemon, then pineapple. Delicate on white blossom (acacia, lily), airing releases marshmallow, honey and beeswax. The attack to the palate, full and smoothly rich on ripe fruit, heralds a fine structure. Surprisingly dense, it has great freshness and a finish that lingers on vanilla, almond and elegant oak. The mineral cast, typical of a classic Barsac, is barely perceptible at present but will emerge later as the wine matures (...)"Read more

CELLARBLOG
“Château Coutet 2010 Vintage Notes, April 21, 2011
The great Aline Baly from Château Coutet provided us with notes from the 2010 harvest:
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
The year 2010 was drier and cooler than experienced previously. With the exception of the end of March, which was particularly warm and rainy, the beginning of the year was relatively dry and cold. Despite these circumstances, budbreak was not delayed and began on April 3rd. A mild and dry April regularized plant growth. After a return to cooler temperatures and a lack of rain in May, flowering took place during the warmer conditions of early June. However, a few rain showers occurred mid-month that prevented some fruitset. The climate was hot and dry through the end of July. The relatively cool temperatures recorded in August extended veraison. After an overall drier summer than usual, a few rainfalls occurred mid-September that enabled a rapid onset of the Botrytis cinerea fungus throughout the vineyard; the result was the presence of Noble Rot on beautifully ripe berries (…)" Read more


CALVERT WOODLEY - Blog from Bordeaux
"Day Seven (Apr. 17) Tasting, April 18, 2011
(...) We left Guiraud after our tasting and headed to Château Coutet in Barsac. We were met by Aline Baly (pictured), the niece of owner Philippe Baly. Having met her at trade tastings in the past, we actually thought she was American. She has lived and gone to school in the US but was born in France. Seriously, her "American accent" is better than most Americans we know. She's a really intelligent, passionate, hard-working woman and we appreciated her taking time out of her weekend to receive us at Coutet. She gave us a nice tour of the property and told us about the history of Coutet that dates back to the 13th century! Wine production began in 1643. Yes, 1643. Many, many years ago Coutet was owned by the Lur-Saluces family (former owners of Yquem) so we heard rumors of an underground tunnel between the two properties. That would be quite a long tunnel as the two properties are about a ten minute drive apart, but it made for an interesting story. We tasted the 2009 and 2010 Coutet, both excellent, and left Aline to enjoy the rest of her Sunday (...) " Read more

ELITISTREVIEW
“I am celebratingwith sugary wine –  April 18, 2011
(...) I like the nose, but it is a burning fireball of explosive power. It is very sweet, with impressive acidity and rich fruitiness. A biggie, that is for sure. Clearly has what it needs where it needs it in order to age for a serious amount of time.(...)" Read more

BORDEAUX GOLD - Sauternes & Barsac Specialists
"2010 Château Coutet Tasting, April 15, 2011
Videos of 2010 Château Coutet tasting. " Read more


BORDEAUX UNDISCOVERED
“En Primeur – Day 5, April 8, 2011
(...) Next I travelled on to taste the Sauternes and Barsac wines at Château Desmirail. As my regular readers know I do not think I am a good judge of sweet wines. However the quality seemed to be consistent throughout these two appellations and the wines have a fresher and lighter feel to this year as compared to last. Two chateaux stood out for me from the rest: Château Coutet and Château Rieussec. Both had more depth and more power behind them than the rest with blossoms and honey on the nose (...)" Read more


BONJOUR PARIS
“A Woman, a Wine, and a Wonderful Château, February 2011
Aline Baly is a vivacious 31-year-old Frenchwoman who fell head-over-heels in 2005. But this is not a conventional love story. Her passion is for Château Coutet--both the prized “gold” wine and the winery she runs with her uncle, Philippe Baly.
Until six years ago, Baly had no thought of going into the family business, not even when her uncle asked. She also hadn’t spent much time at the château in Barsac, one of the five communes in Bordeaux where Sauternes is made. Although she was born in Paris and occasionally visited her grandparents on the estate as a child, when she was eight her father Dominique’s job for a multinational company took the family to Boston (...)" Read more


PALATE PRESS - The Only Wine Magazine
“2008 Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Chicago, February 6, 2011
Honeyed pears and apricots waft up from the glass. The palate opens with honey, sweet sesame paste and pears in syrup, followed by tarter Meyer Lemon, first candied, then pure. A hint of herbal flavors appear on the finish, starting with leafy herbs and ending with spearmint. There is marvelous complexity, with years to mature and knot together. On a second taste, more for overall impression than specific flavors: so bright! A golden, honeyed droplet rolling on the tongue, sweet yet not even a little cloying, amazing, feminine, and lovely. Very highly recommended (...)" Read more.


THE GRAY MARKET REPORT
“A whole meal with Sauternes: Can life be too sweet?, January 24, 2011
Most people think of Sauternes as a dessert wine, with the famous exception that it's great with foie gras.
But can one drink Sauternes through an entire meal? Obviously you can, because plenty of Americans drink Coke with dinner. A better question is, what's it like to drink Sauternes with an entire meal, with no foie gras or dessert?
Aline Baly, whose family owns Château Coutet, invited me to Benu in San Francisco to find out. Why? Because Sauternes producers face a challenge getting their wine off the separate-but-unequal dessert wine list. Baly wants to call it "gold wine," rather than sweet wine, and she'd like to see "gold wines" get their own portion of the main wine list alongside the, er, not-so-sweet wines (…)" Read more.


STIRRING THE LEES WITH JAMES MOLESWORTH
“On to Bordeaux's Sweet Wines (Specifically, Barsac) - The freshness and precision of Barsac's Château Coutet, January 7, 2011
When it comes to Bordeaux, I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I love Sauternes. There are really two parts to Sauternes as a whole—Sauternes the appellation itself, and its neighbor, Barsac. People use Sauternes as a catch-all for the wines from both AOCs, and Barsac producers can even put Sauternes on their labels. While I understand the marketing need, it’s a shame if they do, because there are major differences between the two. And for me, no winery epitomizes Barsac’s freshness and precision more than Château Coutet (…)" Read more

WINE PAGES
“Visitors' wines of 2010, January 6, 2011
Charles Mutter, UK selected his wines of the year 2010:
Sweet: Château Coutet (Barsac, Bordeaux, France) 2004 (…)" Read more

NEAL MARTIN’S WINE JOURNAL
“Wine-Journal’s Wines of 2010, December 22, 2010
Well, another twelve pages of the calendar have passed, during which a tidal wave of fermented grape juice in all its kaleidoscopic manifestations (white, red, rosé and corked) has broken over the breakwater of my grateful, and occasionally insulted, palate. Some 150 articles have embraced everything from amphora-aged Croatian sweet wines to 18th century Madeira via German dry Riesling and prima donna First Growths (…)" Read more

CELLARBLOG
“Château Coutet and Thanksgiving, November 17, 2010
I was traveling for most of last week. When I returned home my mailbox, as per usual, was stuffed. As I went through the bills and early Christmas catalogues a card caught my eye. It was a Thanksgiving card from Château Coutet (…)" Read more

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER
“2010 Bordeaux Wine Harvest at Coutet Brings Botrytis, November 15, 2010
In Barsac, in the Sauternes appellation at Château Coutet , the 2010 Bordeaux wine harvest started September 13th and did not finish until November 3rd. Over those weeks, according to Aline Baly, the property went through the vineyards on six different occasions over that period seeking berries that were had become infected with much sought after botrytis (…)" Read more

SHOP EAT DRINK
"Sweet wine for Thanksgiving… Seriously! November 11, 2010
Thanksgiving is a time for tradition. The traditional turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce and yams with that marshmallow topping. A safe, time-honored wine, Pinot Noir. Yawn.
This year I’m gonna shake things up a bit. I’ll be pouring a sweet wine for the main event and not just for dessert. I’m inspired by Aline Baly, a champion of drinking what most of us consider to be dessert wines, from the beginning to the end of the meal. Aline’s family is the proprietor of Château Coutet in Barsac, a sub-district of the Sauternes region in the southern part of Bordeaux. Château Coutet is a Premier Cru Classé Sauternes. That’s all they make (…)" Read more

BORDEAUX GOLD - Sauternes & Barsac Specialists
"2010 Sauternes Harvest News, November 8, 2010
Lots of videos and news below on the 2010 Sauternes harvest. I start with Château Coutet and an interview with their talented new young winemaker, Laurier Girardot (...)" Read more

BORDEAUX GOLD - Sauternes & Barsac Specialists
"2010 Sauternes Harvest – Chateau Coutet Reports, October 6, 2010
I’m still in Florida but the good news from Sauternes is that the harvest is now well under way in good conditions. Aline Baly at Château Coutet just sent us some photos and this bang-up-to-date report on the harvest progression (...)" Read more

THE WINE HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO
"2007 Sauternes: Chateau Coutet In Stock! , August 30, 2010
If you’ve been by our shop recently, you most likely noticed we were making space. Making space for what? More wine, of course. We’re 33% complete with another trio of incoming containers bringing us all sorts of goodies from overseas. This last one was chock full of Bordeaux. Red and white; sticky white, that is. Yes, I mean Sauternes. Most of our 2007 Sauternes selections are now in stock, including my favorite, Château Coutet! (...)" Read more

THE WINE DOCTOR
"An Update on Château Coutet, August 12, 2010
This year's trip to the Bordeaux primeurs was marked by a new experience, an evening spent in the company of proprietors, winemakers, journalists and buyers at the Soirée Ban du Millésime. This celebratory slap-up meal at the Musée d'Art Contemporain in Bordeaux is an annual event, and this year our dinner was accompanied by a plethora of wines, including Ducru-Beaucaillou 1995, Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2003 and Lynch-Bages 1998, to name just three. Not a bad way to mark the passing of yet another week of primeurs tasting! (…)” Read more

SWEET SOLUTIONS BLOG
"Oh, Sweet Bordeaux............................. , July 22, 2010
In late spring, I attended Vinoble, www.vinoble.org an international sweet and fortified wine event held in Jerez, Spain every two years. It is a gathering of attendees from all over the world with master classes, seminars and tastings of Tokaji, Icewine/Eiswein, Madeira, Blended Sherries- just to name a few, along with winemakers participating in discussions and showcasing their noble wines. A vertical tasting of Château d'Yquem: 2007, 2000, 1996 and 1990 was the highlight of the four day exhibition for me (…)” Read more

CELLARBLOG
“Château Coutet Master Class, March 2010
I talk a lot here about red Bordeaux wines, but there are other types of wines produced in the Bordeaux region. One of the most well-known is Sauternes, and one of the best known of those is Château Coutet (…)” Read more

NEAL MARTIN’S WINE JOURNAL
“Tuesday 2nd March , March 6, 2010
I work like a demon today, finishing off Willi Schaefer and then making in-roads into Weingut Dönnhoff, with Helmut’s son Cornelius imparting useful information by e-mail. In between all this I am organizing my horrendously busy, spaghetti-like Bordeaux itinerary. It is not the visits that take up so much time: it is the logistics of the whole thing, booking the hotels, working out how to get from A to B via G, Z and Q within minus 5 seconds. The two weeks I am down there has no days off, frighteningly early morning starts and midnight finishes, countless chateau visits, Union de Grand Cru tastings, negociant tastings, private tastings, blind tastings, verticals tastings, dinners and lunches. I am always offered invitations to stay at this or that chateau, but I politely refuse to maintain my impartiality and book the cheapest shack that Bordeaux has to offer. In fact, I should just attach an old caravan to the back of the car and camp in the lay-by overnight (…)” Read more

CHOCOLATE CHILLI CUPCAKES KATRINA ALLOWAY'S FRIDAY WEBLOG
"Gold Wine, February 21, 2010
A wine by any other name would still taste as sweet.
I hope the Shakespearian purists will forgive this misquote. Here’s why…
A couple of days ago I had a lovely ladies lunch at The Greenhouse Restaurant, London, with Aline Baly from Château Coutet in Bordeaux. We tried a couple of vintages of her wine: 2001 (truly luscious) and 2002 (fresher and more floral) along with the daily menu, (sweet onion tart followed by wood pigeon for me and sardines and coley fish for Aline) (...)" Read more

VINECDOTE
"Sweet Dream, Part Deux , February 4, 2010
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, perhaps it’s only appropriate that I seem to be on a sweet wine kick. After recently visiting Dolce, I had the opportunity to meet with another dessert wine producer, Aline Baly of Château Coutet in Bordeaux, who was visiting California to promote her family’s wine. Château Coutet’s Sauternes-Barsac wine is classified as “premier cru,” or “first growth,” which is Bordeaux wine-talk for the top dogs of wine quality (…)” Read more

TONY ASPLER, THE WINE GUY
“A Wine Lover's Diary, part 276, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 24: Vintages is holding a Discover Bordeaux tasting with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux at The Four Seasons. Seventy-two wineries set out by commune (15 altogether) (…)" Read more

GOOD FOOD BLOG
“Sauternes with Lunch, January, 2010
Say the word Sauternes and you think of apres-dinner dessert wine. But this was not the case at a recent lunch I had with Aline Baly proprietor of Château Coutet, Bordeaux’s Premier Cru Classé. We had the honeyed-amber tinted Sauternes with the meal and not after the meal.
With a meal, it’s very verstaile, says Aline. “In France we drink it is an aperitif and with foie gras.” And, yes, it’s enjoyed after dinner too, she informs, not with dessert, but with cheeses such as parmigiano or blue cheese.
Aline arrived well before lunch at Campanille to plan out the menu. Her gastronomique concept is to pair the wine with salty and spicy foods to bring out the contrast, and taste the sweetness and freshness of the wine (…)" Read more

BEEN THERE TASTED THAT
“The Friday Lineup, January 8, 2010
2004 Château Coutet (about $60). Rich honey and honeycomb tastes, very nice acidity and quite clean and fresh for its fullness and age. Buy (…)” Read more