Recommended by the New York Times, Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, and Many More. Check out our recent press.

Award-winning SF wine shop – free local delivery & fast nationwide shipping. Learn more

Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 2003 (375ml)

$6499

Sweet wines aren't in fashion, which means for wine lovers willing to buck a trend it is an opportunity. Rieussec is a Premier Cru Classé of the 1855 Sauternes classification, sitting on clay-gravel terroir just over the river from Château d'Yquem, and it has been steered by the Rothschilds of Lafite since the 1980s. 2003 was the heat-wave vintage in Bordeaux: intense, unusual, and for Sauternes a year of remarkably concentrated, almost exotic botrytis. Now mature, in the half-bottle format that suits a single meal, this is the easy way to put a great old Sauternes on the table.

Shipping

Every step of the journey is managed to uphold the integrity of each bottle.

  • Nationwide Access: Flat-rate shipping available to most U.S. states with delivery in 3-5 business days.
  • Temperature-Monitored Shipping: We closely monitor weather conditions and make informed decisions to ensure shipments travel safely, with insulated packaging and refrigerated transport available when required.
  • Wine-Specific Protective Packaging: Specialized materials designed to maintain label integrity and prevent breakage during transit.
  • Provenance Assured: All wines are maintained in climate-controlled conditions at our shop until the moment of dispatch.

Returns & Exchanges

We stand behind every bottle we sell.

  • If the wine is less than 10 years old and it is corked, you may return it to us for a full refund or exchange within 60 days of purchase. You must show us proof of purchase. We understand that you may not live near a shop and that it is difficult to ship open bottles of wine to us, so if there's any problem feel free to Contact Us and we'll work it out.
  • For wines older than 10 years, the consumer bears the risk of a faulty cork, but we accept returns of older bottles if the wine is faulty as a result of improper storage. Please come by the store or Contact Us if there is a problem.
  • We may, at our discretion and to the extent permitted by law, accept returns of unopened wines within 30 days of purchase if they were properly stored by the purchaser, subject to a 15% re-stocking fee.

View our complete return policy →

Have Questions?

Our team is here to help.

Hours

Monday - Friday: 11am - 8pm

Saturday: 12pm - 5pm

CLOSED SUNDAYS

Email: help@flatiron-wines.com
Phone: (415) 780-1405


Add your content here

Antonio Galloni

93 points

"Medium yellow-gold. Reticent but pure aromas of fruit salad, spices and vanilla, lifted by floral and mineral nuances. Wonderfully honeyed, fat fruit flavors are complemented by cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. The sexy oak treatment gives lift to the wine. A bit youthfully aggressive but very long on the back end, showing vanillin oak and a bit of warmth. But this one offers superb potential." —Stephen Tanzer

Robert Parker

87 points

"The 2003 Rieussec is a blend of 91% Semillon, 6% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle picked between 17 September and 1 October. Much deeper in color than other vintages, it has a mature, almost tropical mango and passion fruit nose that feels a little one-dimensional. The palate is medium-bodied and smooth on the entry, a little waxy in texture with nutmeg and dried honey notes on the mature, Tokaji-like finish. Given my previous remarks, I wonder if this Rieussec is in decline, especially as vintages of similar age appear to be prospering. Approach with caution. Tasted April 2016." —Neal Martin

Wine Spectator

95 points

"Big, rich and juicy. Voluptuous, with aromas of caramel, apple and light tropical fruit. Full-bodied, round and very sweet, with loads of ripe fruit and a long butterscotch and piecrust aftertaste. Viscous texture. Hard not to drink it now. A wonderful sticky."

More about Chateau Rieussec

Sweet wines aren’t in fashion. That’s just a fact. That could be a tragedy for the growers who are keeping alive centuries-old traditions — like Sauternes — and making some of the most delicious, most complex, most age-worthy wines in the world.

But for wine lovers willing to buck a trend, that fact is an opportunity. Or, more to the point, two opportunities rolled into one. The first opportunity is the obvious one: drink Sauternes! Unlike the wines that everyone is chasing, they are priced absurdly affordably for what they are.

Take the Château Rieussec we have for you today. Classified as a first growth since 1855, with some of the greatest terroir in France — right next to Château d’Yquem — and great old vines of Sémillon (with some Sauvignon Blanc). The climate is perfect for the “noble rot” (botrytis) which infects and shrivels the grapes, concentrating all their flavor, as well as contributing its own subtle notes of orange peel, pineapple, beeswax and even saffron. The clay and gravel soils bring minerality and elegance. The farming is absurdly intense (only perfect grapes are hand-picked one at a time), the winemaking painstakingly slow.

And at the end of it all, they make almost no wine; some people claim that it takes a whole vine to make a single glass of Sauternes!

Luckily for us, drinking Rieussec can be as unhurried an experience as making it. One of the great secrets of Sauternes is that the wine will keep in your fridge for at least three weeks after you open it. So go ahead and have a glass or two after dinner without worrying about not finishing the bottle: they even sell the wine with a special stopper to use after you’ve opened it.

But bigger changes are afoot at Rieussec than just new stoppers: they’ve also started making a dry wine from that same incredible terroir, the “R de Rieussec,” and it’s stunning. It has some of the freshness and brightness of a white Graves, with tropical notes and a refined texture. There are echoes of Burgundy (Corton, maybe) and the faintest hint of a Sancerre (Les Monts Damnes?). But really, it’s its own thing: a scintillating expression of Sauternes in a dry form.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Sauvignon Blanc , Semillon

  • Vintage

    2003

  • Size

    375ml

  • Farming Practice

    Sustainable

  • Sweetness

    Sweet

  • Body

    Full Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Roquefort with walnuts, foie gras terrine, or apricot tart.

Tasting Profile

Rich, mature and viscous. Apricot, candied orange, honey, saffron and toasted nuts, with vibrant acidity keeping it lifted.

More wines from Chateau Rieussec

View all