Rauzan Gassies

2000

Wine Advocate 90: The finest wine I have tasted from this estate in over four decades, this dense purple-colored 2000 offers up a sweet perfume of black cherry liqueur intermixed with cassis, graphite, licorice, and incense. Full-bodied and concentrated, with high tannin and loads of extract, this is a serious, broodingly backward, high class offering for patient connoisseurs.

2010

Wine Advocate 90: The 2010 is a very strong effort from this estate, which is situated next to the other, better-known Rauzan, Rauzan Segla. Dense purple, its sweet notes of underbrush, forest floor, licorice, black currants and a hint of lead pencil shavings are followed by a lush, ripe, surprisingly fleshy and succulent wine that is much more evolved and forward at this stage than when tasted from barrel. I thought this wine would need more cellar time, but it is actually approachable in spite of its size, richness and density. Give it several years of cellaring and drink it over the following 20+ years.

James Suckling 93: Very floral with blueberry undertones that turn to raspberry sauce. Full body, with lovely depth of fruit and super velvety tannins. A beauty that needs five to six years to soften.

Wine Enthusiast 91: With the 2009 and 2010 vintages, Rauzan-Gassies has hit its stride after many years of disappointments. This 2010 is powerful, fruity, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon's black currant flavor. There is a touch of barnyard at the end, but this is likely a passing phase.

2018

Wine Advocate 93-95: Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Rauzan-Gassies rocks up with flamboyant notions of kirsch, blackberry preserves, warm cassis and Chinese five spice with touches of black tea, red roses and menthol plus a waft of molten chocolate. Medium to full-bodied with a firm frame of ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic freshness, it has a solid core of rich fruit, finishing long with perfumed red and black fruit layers.

James Suckling 93: A red with plenty of blackberry, blackcurrant and tile aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and compressed on the palate with firm, chewy tannins that are fine and very long. Needs three or four years to open, but will improve nicely going forward. Try after 2024.