Stephen Brook | The nose is intense and citric, and so retaining its Barsac typicity. Rich, broad, and voluptuous on the palate, this seems heavier than the regular Doisy, with an excess of weight and opulence. It’s powerful and magnificent, but it doesn’t have the drinkability of the other top Sauternes. It’s a virtuoso exercise, more admirable than enjoyable, and the finish leaves one poleaxed by sugar. | 93

Andrew Jefford | Mid-gold. Very powerful fruit scents come steaming out of this wine in the glass: orange, lemon, and mango, but also pineapple, apple itself, honeycomb, cream and lanoline. Totally complete yet fresh withal. On the palate, it is super-sweet, the “extravagant” sugars are there, yet because it is Barsac (see my note to Coutet) the overall effect is fresh, bright, perfumed, tangy, and almost leafy. The richness balances out and exists in tension with the fruit, whereas in classic Sauternes from Sauternes itself richness is all and the tension is less consequential. This is very fine, and certainly needs a decade, maybe two, to come to full amplitude. It gets to top marks on a kind of “palate action” basis, yet readers should note that Rieussec, Raymond Lafon, and Suduiraut are not far adrift, and have such a different style and character to L’Extravagant that it’s hard to compare the two approaches/origins. | 97