CHÂTEAU COUTET
2020 1er Cru Classé Barsac
Pineapple, mangoes, honeysuckle and yellow flowers here, with acacia honey too. Sweet yet fresh, with pretty tropical fruit and floral notes and a bright finish. Drink now. Rating: 92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2020 Coutet is much more refined and light on its feet than it was from barrel. Tangerine peel, mint, passionfruit, white flowers and a hint of marzipan all grace this airy, wonderfully refined Barsac. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Dark gold in colour, this is concentrated from start to finish, lusciously sweet in texture, burnt toffee, mango and caramelised ginger, lifted by citrus, white flower and pink grapefruit notes. Harvest from September 16 through to October 26, with six successive passes through the rows. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2023)
The 2020 Coutet has an intense bouquet with dried honey, saffron, dandelion and light crushed stone aromas, nicely focused and fairly complex. Quintessential Coutet. The palate is very well balanced with a decent thread of acidity, taut and fresh, not as powerful as Doisy-Daëne yet with admirable tension on the ginger-tinged finish. Very fine. Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)
There is a lovely tangy, pineapple husk note here over the crème anglaise and lemon tart notes. The fruit is silky and effortless and while this is not a heavyweight it is certainly very persistent on the palate. This is a lovely effort from Coutet. Rating: 18 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)
The 2020 Coutet is wonderfully dense and creamy from start to finish. Dried pear, marzipan, white flowers, mint and tangerine oil build in this super-expressive, deep Barsac. The 2020 has so much to offer. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)
Aline Baly kindly furnished me with background information on the 2020 Coutet. "The first sorting occurred on September 16 and 17 to harvest the botrytis resulting from the thunderstorms of August 15," she told me. "The second and third passeage were organized quickly, as the climatic conditions were becoming unfavorable. The teams were ready to harvest within the hour, as soon as a weather window emerged. This second phase of harvest finally took place on September 23 before a thunderstorm that resulted in a cumulative rainfall of 38mm. Then the harvest continued September 29 and 30 before 77mm of precipitation. A new passeage was initiated, initially, on October 8 and 9, but 140mm of rain accumulated since the first sort strongly impacted concentration levels, encouraging us to be patient until October 12. We resumed the harvest under normal conditions until October 22 but with a very capricious forecast. A fifth and sixth sort followed one another, and the harvest ended on October 26.” Coutet has a very perfumed and more floral bouquet compared to, say, the de Fargues that happens to precede it, aromas of dandelion and apricot mingling with saffron and light chamomile. The palate is well balanced, very pure and lightly spiced, displaying a tang of marmalade and quince toward a finish that is marked by Coutet’s trademark acidic bite. Quintessentially Coutet, this should give 25–30 years of drinking pleasure. Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)
Bright, yellow gold colour, with citrus, apricot, pineapple and a ton of mango fruits on the palate. Silky texture with spikes of lime juice bringing pep and definition. Saffron and white pepper add even more lift through the finish, this is excellent and easy to recommend. Drinking range: 2022 - 2050 Rating: 94 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)
95% Sémillon, 4% Sauvignon Blanc, 1% Muscadelle. Cask sample. 18 months in oak envisaged. No information on yield. Greenish hint to the golden hue. Very classic with a botrytis note and some real freshness. Weight and integrity here with a savoury, even bacon-fat, finish. Not one of the sweetest wines, or what I probably mean is that the acidity is more pronounced than in many of its peers. Sleek and fresh. But probably for relatively early drinking. 13.5% Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 17+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)
Château Coutet
Barsac Premier Cru 1855 A square tower indicates the origins of Château Coutet as a 13th Century fortification. Indeed the château is a mixture of various styles added at various times in its long history. At the turn of the 19th Century, Château Coutet came into the possession of the Lur-Saluces family, owners of Château d'Yquem, and they owned it until 1923. Since 1977, Coutet has been owned by the Baly family, represented today by brothers Dominique and Philippe. Château Coutet is one of the two Premier Cru properties in Barsac (the other being Château Climens). There are 38.5ha of vineyard, given over 75% Semillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. Wines are fermented in wood (50% new) and aged for up to 18 months.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.