Vieux Chateau Certan 1973
Apparently this is considered a very weak vintage. The first time I had this, it was in a half-blind tasting and no one picked it out - rather it was by far the favourite of the evening for everyone present (other wines: de Pez '66, Certan de May '66, GPL '78, Batailley '79).
This time, fully open it performed just as well. The colour was very light and was the only clue to it being an off-vintage: no brown but certainly on the orange end of the spectrum. The nose was lovely: savoury, mineral, earthy, with lots of cassis - indeed it seemed more like a Pauillac than a Pomerol, but it was maybe a touch fleshier than Pauillacs should be. The palate had lovely, sweet fruit, it was a touch light - but light is never a bad word for me as long as it isn't watery, and this wasn't - but it did have lovely acidity and persistent length. This gave so much more pleasure than I expected of a wine from an off-vintage with a mid-shoulder level and at a relatively cheap price. Off-vintages can rock!
Chateau Rieussec 2000
2000 doesn't get much notice for Sauternes, but this is a very fair example. The nose has all the sea shell and glue aromas I expect to find and a touch of botrytis and it is very Sauternesy. It doesn't have the masculine build and oak I usually find in better vintages of Rieussec, but it seems a very well balanced wine that isn't hampered by the vintage. Sweet but nicely acidic - it stays refreshing. Very nice.
-Otto-