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Wine Description
The Story
The origin of la Cuvée Madame de Château Coutet dates back to Madame Rolland-Guy, owner and resident of Château Coutet between 1922 and 1977. During this period, the vineyard workers were in the habit of working unpaid for one day to pick the last remaining grapes from the property's two oldest parcels, whose berries were super-concentrated. The very small and exceptional cuvée was dedicated to Madame, Rolland-Guy. When produced during exceptional years, up to 1,200 bottles of the Cuvée Madame 1,200 are made.
The Cuvée Madame de Château Coutet is a marvel of concentration and complexity. Displaying a color between gold and amber, the wine first presents aromas of acacia, honey, apricot, quince jelly, pineapple and coconut. What follows are mineral notes; citrus and floral (white flowers). On the palate it allies density and elegance, all with a superb structure and aromatic finesse, with hints of candied figs, currants, peach, quince and spices. The fruit is lush, rich, velvety and dazzling. The finish is excellent, both fresh as well as persistent with a silky texture and a very nice balance.
The Baly family continues this tradition during the finest harvests. The superb Cuvée Madame de Château Coutet was made in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997 and 2001 to succeed the memorable 1943, 1947, 1959, 1971 and 1975 vintages.
AOC: Barsac
Grape varieties:
100% Sémillon (berries selected from the estate’s two oldest plots of this varietal; the average age of those vines is 55 years)
Soil: Clay with a limestone sub-soil
Planting density: 7,500 plants per hectare (3,000 plants per acre)
Vineyard management: “Taille à Cot” (traditional Sauternes pruning) and rational cultivation
Harvest: By hands (successive passes, called tries)
Ageing: 36 months in French oak, 100% new
Viticulture
To produce this rare wine, berries from the estate's two oldest plots of sémillon are selected. The average age of those vines is 55 years.
Winemaking
A painstaking selection, each grape is picked one-by-one by hand. Further sorting takes place at the wine press and damaged grapes are eliminated immediately. The unfermented grape juice is quite rich, with 22 to 24 degrees of potential alcohol. A single, light pressing (at less than 180 kg/cm2) produces a clear, limpid juice.
Wine Information
As during the last thirty years, the winter in Barsac was sunny, dry and cold. These conditions were favorable to ensure the good dormancy of the vine. The vegetation cycle began eight days in advance and bud break was observed on April 5th. April was cold and rainy but May brought temperatures well over 30°C, between the 17th and 25th of the month. This resulted in early flowering, amongst the earliest of the century. Fifteen days ahead of schedule, semi-flowering occurred on May 30th. July, June and August were hot and sunny with, fortunately, some precipitations in the form of thunderstorms that ensured a good water supply. Semi-ripening was reached on August 4th, 16 days ahead of schedule. September was comparable to the three previous months. The number of sunny days during the summer was only slightly lower than the record year of 1961.
| Harvest dates : | September 21 |
| Grapes varieties: | Sémillon 100% |
| Fermentation: | 100% barrel fermented, 100% new oak |
| Ageing: | 3 years in French oak barrels, 100% new |
| Estate bottled: | June 1992 |
Tasting notes:
The 1989 Cuvée Madame is deep, bright gold in color. This blockbuster sweet wine offers up aromas of coffee, custard, pain grillé, honeyed tropical fruits, and a note of coconut. Unctuously-textured, and oozing glycerin extract and richness, this full-bodied, yet extraordinarily well-delineated wine offers the rare combination of power and complexity. It is an amazingly thick Cuvée Madame that suffers only in comparison with its surrounding siblings. Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, September 1994, 96/100