A monumental effort, the 2001 Rieussec boasts a light to medium gold color in addition to a fabulous perfume of honeysuckle, smoky oak, caramelized tropical fruits, creme brulee, and Grand Marnier. The wine is massive and full-bodied yet neither over the top nor heavy because of good acidity. With intense botrytis as well as a 70-75-second finish, this amazing Sauternes will be its apogee between 2010-2035.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #153, Jun 2004)

A magical Sauternes that shows how good the 2001 vintage was for the region, the 2001 Château Rieussec offers a spectacular nose of caramelized quince, honeyed flowers, crème brulée, and exotic spices. Wonderfully pure and precise, with good acidity, it still brings a monster of a mid-palate and has boatloads of fruit and opulence, flawless balance, and a brilliant finish.

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Pale yellow-gold. An elixir of a nose: apricot, rose petal, minerals, nuts and spices. Crushed fruit flavors offer almost painful intensity, with penetrating limey acidity buffering the wine's great sweetness. Complicated by an intriguing carnal quality. This extremely young wine shows a slightly aggressive, almost tannic finish and extraordinary subtle persistence. Like a couple of the vintage's other standouts, this is almost painful today and really calls for a good 10 to 15 years of cellaring.

The Château Rieussec 2001 has a deep golden colour. The bouquet offers marmalade, quince jus and yellow flowers. It has fine definition, if not the killer precision of a top vintage, though the oak appears to have been assimilated since I last tasted it. There is something almost Germanic here, like a Beerenauselese! The palate is unctuous on the entry with kumquat, quince and barley sugar, almost Barsac-like in style leading to an unctuous finish that is long in the mouth, but does not quite have the detail and delineation of the 2005 tasted blind alongside.

– eRobertParker.com, Jun 2015

Full bottle 1,367 g. Brilliant orangey gold (much less brown than many Rieussecs). Really fine with obvious botrytis, savoury notes and a surprisingly dry finish. This should go very nicely with our Roquefort tonight. (JR)