Cazes Rivesaltes 1931

96 points CellarTracker.com community score.

95 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 1931 Hors d’Age is again quite a dark amber in color and the wine is a bit deeper-pitched both aromatically and flavor-wise than the 1933 that was served alongside of it. This is another beautiful wine, offering up a stunning bouquet of orange, caramelized bananas, brown butter, smoke, salty soil tones, honey and just a whisper of celery seed somewhere in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and brilliantly complex, with a more evolved flavor profile than the timeless 1933 version, but still plenty of structural integrity, great focus and balance and a very long, complex finish that closes with impressive grip and precision. Another absolutely stunning old wine. 2013-2060. (May/Jun 2013)"

Domaine Cazes, founded in 1895, is one of the oldest and most famous producers of Rivesaltes wines from the eponymously named Rivesaltes AOC in Roussillon. Rivesaltes, officially a "vin doux naturel," is in fact a fortified dessert wine that can be made from any combination of Grenache Blanc, Noir, and Gris, Macabéo, and to a much lesser extent Torbato (here called Malvoisie du Roussillon), as well as Muscat. Rivesaltes may taste of raisins, coffee, chocolate, fruits, or nuts and the most concentrated can, like Banyuls, be some of the few wines that happily partner with chocolate. John Gilman writes that "Domaine Cazes is one of the greatest producers of sweet wines that I have ever had the pleasure to come across...these are utterly distinct and unique wines of brilliant complexity and character, and though they may not be as well known in the wine world at large as their superb quality deserves, they are truly some of the wine world's greatest treasures."

This selection comes directly from the domaine in June 2021. It was fortified on August 27, 1934, moved to age in a foudre on March 23rd 1935, and was bottled on January 6, 2012. 592 bottles produced. 17,5% alcohol. 100% Grenache Blanc. This Rivesaltes has a nose delicately smoked with leather aromas, honey, cinnamon, and beautiful notes of rancio. This is a complex wine, slightly floral, suave, powerful and very long in the mouth.