The Wine Doctor – Bordeaux 2023 at Two Years: Sauternes & Barsac

Château Coutet (Barsac) 2023: 96/100
The blend of Coutet is 95% Semillon, wth 4% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Muscadelle. A glorious Barsac nose combining sweet white peach, confit orange peel and apricots, with seams of crushed chalk and a fresh matchstick minerality which shows more on the first sample than the second. The palate is charming, fresh and pure, with a lively acid profile which counters the controlled sweetness very competently. Polished, correct and quite charming, with a delicately bitter and mineral-infused finish, this lead to a long, sweet, bitter, fresh, acid-rich and lightly grained length. Gloriously fresh and citric in style, I can see this developing into a magically complex old Barsac. Very good indeed. Tasted twice. The alcohol is 13.5% on the label. (December 2025)

Chris Kissack