Château Coutet 2004 Traditionnelle Brut and the critics lined up

and the critics lined up behind it — real claret with energy and stuffing at a fraction of classed-growth money

redcurrant and dried flower

and tugged by savory

it is very intense but mellow

roasted herbs

Château Coutet 2004 Traditionnelle Brut and the critics lined upFirst growth Barsac from the legendary 2004 vintage two full decades of bottle age, ready to pour now. Chteau Coutet is the largest and one of the most historic estates in Barsac, a Premier Cru Class in the 1855 classification. This is a mature 2004 with twenty years behind it the point at which great Barsac trades primary sweetness for the honeyed, marmalade complexity that only time delivers. Aged first growth Sauternes Barsac is one of the great