Moulin-Touchais Coteaux du Layon 1997

95 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 1997 and 1996 vintages were two very top, top years in Anjou, with the wines quite differently styled, but both years producing superb examples of Moulin Touchais. The 1997 is a nicely botrytized wine, delivering a deep and still quite youthful bouquet of fresh apricot, quince, a lovely base of chalky soil tones, honey, citrus peel and still a touch of adolescent wet wool in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful in personality for Moulin Touchais, with a rock solid core, superb complexity and a very, very long, well-balanced and promising finish. The 1997 is eminently drinkable today, but the wine is still very much climbing and I would try to keep my hands off of bottles of this great wine for at least another five years and really let it blossom fully. 2020-2075. (Sep/Oct 2015)"

95 points Rebecca Gibb, MW (Vinous): "Starting to take on a deep golden hue, the 1997 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is a sensuous sweet wine (92g/L of residual sugar) that offers ripe and concentrated flavors of apricot jam, cooked oranges botrytis-derived spices (60% of the fruit was affected by botrytis, a high proportion for this wine). It is intense, rich and honeyed, coating the palate with its sucrosity. There's just enough acidity here to keep things going but it does not have the vivacious refreshment of cooler years, providing a weightier, fully charged expression. The finish is lengthy and fragrant. Drink: 2021-2037. (Apr 2021)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "Shows the power and depth of this great vintage, with a core of still-youthful mango, guava and creamed peach flavors streaming along, backed by light heather, honeysuckle and quince notes. The long finish is creamy and pure, displaying a lovely lining of brioche and lemon curd. Drink now through 2037. 1,750 cases made, 25 cases imported. (11/15/16)"

95 points Chris Kissack (Winedoctor): "In the 1990s, this is one of the better vintages for sweet wines in the Loire Valley, probably the best in fact. It has a quite classic aromatic profile for the vintage, showing a desiccated and concentrated style, a smoky and chalky purity but with a roasted sweetness brooding behind it. There is a lot of rich botrytis character in evidence here, immediately apparent through the texture of the wine, which presents a slowly building and confident substance, with a harmonious texture. This is seared with a fine Chenin and botrytis bitterness, along with a super-fresh acidity. It is charming, full and fresh, with a charged acid and mineral freshness. A genuinely very impressive result here, one with decades ahead of it yet. This is very good indeed. (Feb 2018)"