R de Rieussec - Bordeaux 2022
R DE RIEUSSEC, the revival of an Affranchi.
Surprising those who associate Bordeaux with red wine and Sauternes with sweet wine, R will know how to make a place for itself. This unexpected wine is in fact a return to its origins, since Bordeaux has spent two centuries making mainly dry white wine.
R is the dry white Bordeaux produced by Rieussec. Demanding, it has a quiet strength and character. Elegant and discreet, it has a touch of impertinence. This sure value will seduce you with its finesse and nuances. R embodies the Rieussec's philosophy: precise and friendly, sharp, straightforward, fresh and lively.
In its quest for perfection and freedom, R is adorned with new packaging; it takes a step aside and frees itself from any Bordeaux code. The bottle, inspired by the Burgundian ones, is made of recycled glass. The opacity of this bottle, which makes it less polluting, serves as a protective screen for the wine inside. The new logo, at once sober, elegant, free and facetious, perfectly embodies the personality of this wine as well as that of Saskia de Rothschild and her team, who have achieved a great success with this wine.
"For two vintages now, we have been working on the vineyard destined for R de Rieussec in order to write the identity of this dry white wine. The objective: that the simplicity of the message should serve it, with a wine with a lively style free of all frills." Saskia de Rothschild
The 2022 vintage
Another vintage that stood out from its predecessors. We thought we were back to a normal vintage, with a fairly cool start to the year and vines 2 weeks later in comparison with previous years. Apart from a fairly low cumulated rainfall, we were off to a good start.
In April, early morning frosts at the very beginning of the month affected our early terroirs. Fortunately, the most affected areas had not started budding yet (late pruning). The rest was fairly straightforward: very little water and lots of sunshine until the harvest. In a very short space of time, the vines caught up their delay, needing very little intervention on the sanitary level. The team had to devote itself to watering the young vines for much of the summer to limit losses. The harvest was very early for our dry whites (17/08).
Tasting notes
On the nose, notes of thyme, lemon and green citrus fruit such as combava and lime with smoky and vanilla undertones and a fresh vegetal edge. The attack is lively and fresh, with a very mineral, chalky aspect. The palate is clean and lively, slightly toasted, with a saline finish prolonged by a gentle grapefruit bitterness.