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| Community Tasting Notes (average 95.9 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by christ80 on 11/19/2023 & rated 95 points: how to describe a Yquem more than 100 years old? nectar, toffee, vin santo, caramelised balsamic. incredible. with roquefort and then with pecan and pumpkin pies.
unforgettable (466 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/8/2022 & rated 100 points: Not all legendary wines live up to their lofty status. But this did! Right from the start, the amber, translucent, mahogany color in the hand-blown bottle is a thing of beauty. From there, the caramel, burnt sugar, molasses, roasted orange rind, clove, singed, overripe mango, butterscotch, and melted butter aromas created an unforgettable bouquet, which continued to add chocolate covered orange overtones as the wine remained in the glass. On the palate, the perfect balance between the interplay of sugar, honey, roasted, orange tropical fruit, butter, acidity, and melted caramel transfixes you. Tasted for more than 2 hours, the wine never degraded. Instead, it continued adding more shades of sugary, cooked honey, and buttery sweetness to the fruits that were kept fresh by the wines racy, acidities. When young, there are sweet wines that give d'Yquem a run for the money. But after the 50-year mark, there is no equal. And now, I can safely say, that gap is even wider as the wine crosses the century mark. (2735 views) | | | Tasted by MauriceE on 6/14/2018: Thienpont bottling. Absolutely stunning. TBA-like smell, still very fresh. Long and complex. Great wine. (4084 views) | | | Tasted by MauriceE on 4/27/2018: No label on this bottle. I bought two exactly identical bottles, with on one bottle still the lable (Beligan bottling). Yquem clearly visible on the cork, although it could also mean "contigu Yquem". But an excellent bottle all the same. (3990 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 5/13/2017 & rated 93 points: Very dark color on this bottle. Dry fruit, honey notes, lower energy. Faint metallic notes on the finish. 93- (4611 views) | | | Tasted by dream on 3/4/2016 & rated 93 points: A unique drink although lacked the intensity I had hoped for. So silky and soft it just seems to graze the tongue with notes of honey and marmalade. Slides over the tongue with further flavors of nutmeg and creme brulee. Finishes delicate and fine with a sense of softly fading into the night. At Latour, Crystal Springs. (6103 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 2/24/2016 & rated 95 points: A more subtle wine than even most old Yquems as the residual sugar was not at the forefront of the palate, this bottle showed great complexity with wild honey, dried mango, dried orange peel, saffron, tamarind, membrillo, creme brulee, and caramelized oranges. (5553 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 8/4/2014 flawed bottle: unfortunately fake bottle. (5961 views) | | | Tasted by The Gilded Sage on 7/14/2013: My dear friend, the Vicomte André de Toulouse, likes to celebrate Bastille day each year with the sort of feast that would surely have landed all participants in the guillotine.
This particular vintage of Yquem (which I have tasted on only one other occasion, after far too much Champagne to have formed a coherent note) was served at the end of this year's meal with a pan-seared foie gras of most singular provenance. The name and location of the farm from which it had been procured were kept steadfastly secret by my host and his butler. I was told only that it was not AOC classified, owing to the fact that its fowl had been raised exclusively on a diet of black truffles. One can imagine, but can scarcely describe, the richness and complexity such feed imparts. "Qu'ils mangent du foie gras!" bellowed the incorrigible Vicomte, and silver plates of this magnificent preparation were brought round with glasses of the amber Sauternes.
The wine: Well, it too was magnificent, caressing the palate as fine silk sheets do the body—deliciously, richly, and yet rather coolly. While mature, it remains taut—even severe. I was reminded of a stern, aging matron of French who used to come to the manor for my weekly lesson; age had softened her, but not very much; she wore scarves and smoked long and thin cigarettes; unused to nonsense she employed a firm touch. Well, you can imagine...
A final note: for all the whimsy of this particular feast, there was also admirable care taken in its preparation and design. The final dish, described here, brought full circle a progression of almost architectural intricacy, and echoed earlier courses of duck a l'orange (served with a '45 La Romanée) and a consommé of juvenile truffle hog.
I am most grateful to my host for arranging this event. He really is a most remarkable sybarite. What a happy miracle that his noble line should have escaped the proletariat's blade! (15626 views) | | | Tasted by alittle on 11/24/2012 & rated 96 points: Once in Lifetime...: The cork was rather stubborn on this one and had to be forced in to the bottle. Fully saturated, however, it had dried to a tight seal between the capsule and the bottle. This had a deep cola like colour in the glass. Still very much alive, with an exotic nose of molasses, burnt sugar, marmalade, orange bitters, dried fruit, dried flowers and tea leaves. On the palate, this was still very rich and round, with that molasses coming through again, accompanied by nice dried fruit and spice notes, with almost a touch of sarsaparilla. Still in great balance, with a very long, lingering finish. This improved for the first hour in the glass, but started to gracefully decline thereafter. (6399 views) | | | Tasted by Dave Canada on 11/24/2012 & rated 96 points: The Eleventh Annual Stonefields Dinner (Guelph, ON, Canada): This bottle certainly provided a lot of intrigue to the evening....
Very dark, looking almost like molasses it certainly had the look of a very old sauternes. The nose certainly confirmed this....it exploded with notes of orange rind, marmalade, nutmeg, burnt sugar, fig, dried flowers, and dried chinese tea. The palate was equally as precocious with flavours of burnt creme brulee, molasses, orange marmalade, dried orange rind, nutmeg, dried apple other exotic spices. These flavours were augmented by gorgeously fresh acid that really balanced the palate well. The finish was very long and complex with layers of flavours. Just amazing depth and intensity all around.....what a treat. (7791 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 11/19/2009 & rated 98 points: The Fine Wine Experience Classic Claret II (Restaurant The Square **, London): Colour like Bual vintage madeira. An immense wine. Nose with salted caramel, honeycomb, molasses, wax and still a touch of yellow Sémillon-fruit, unfathomable depth; semi-sweet, drying out slightly but incredibly concentrated, power similar to a truly great old TBA, candied fruits, lovely acidity and lively bitters; very, very long. Magnificent. (8326 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 2/15/2008 flawed bottle: Tasted February 15,2008 at Lake Louise Post Hotel Yquem tasting. Flawed bottle. 12.5% alcohol with 112 grams of sugar and 4.7 acidity. This one had an amber colour with a very messed up smell of mint, sour oranges and either soap or Averna. It was overly strong in the alcohol bouquet and the taste was right off. Almost had a slight Jagermeister taste. Very dark in colour (even more so than the 1893) (5665 views) | | | Tasted by Pavie Princess on 12/6/2000 & rated 97 points: This note must be taken in perspective. I drank this wine after drinking a full glass of 1900 Margaux and I think this may bias or taint this note on my laptop. I was effusive in my praise for the Margaux so this D'yquem may be suffering from its company. This wine came from a 1.5 Magnum and I was able to have 1.5 glasses total. The wine was in pristine condition and the color was burnt amber to brick tone. The meniscus had green yellow hue. The bouquet was apricot domination at first but after the first sip went down the gullet I sensed pear apple and vanilla. Later developing flavors were orange citrus and flowers with hints of honey and molasses. The wine is very complex and is dense on the palate from the midpalate to the end............the end is long and sweet. The wine is an excellent example of this chateau, and in classic D'yquem balance, but is not in my top ten for this chateau. I think the wine has much more life to give, but I have several other D'yquems I prefer. I think you can drink this one now. d'yquem alwasy gets better with age but I think this one maybe have topped out.
label added to CT database (7173 views) |
| Château d'Yquem Producer website - Read more about Chateau d’Yquem
Château d’Yquem had been in the hands of Lur Saluces family from 1785 to 1997. After several years of legal controversies, caused by disagreements within Lur Saluces family, mode giant LVMH (Louis Vutton, Moët Hennesy and Château Cheval Blanc) gained majority of shares in d’Yquem in 1997, when Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces sold his shares to LVMH. He did however continue as manager of d’Yquem, according to agreement with the new owner. This changed radically in May 2004, when he retired and was replaced him with Pierre Lurton, already manager at Cheval Blanc. The latest vintages of d'Yquem conform very convincing, that Pierre Lurton has greatly succeeded to maintain d'Yquem's fantastic quality.
This property is beautifully placed at hilltop in Sauternes commune, with its 103 ha big vineyard (clay and gravel on the surface and lime stones in the subsoil), planted with 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The average age of vines is 27 years and the yield does not exceed 10 hl/ha. The wine matures for 3.5 years in new barrels. Neither chaptalisation nor other techniques, which increase sugar content in grape must, are allowed. D’Yquem is one of the very few properties in the district, to use both semi-botrytised and fully botrytised grapes for the wine, in order to have enough acidity to balance sweetness.
D’Yquem is made without any compromises and consideration whatsoever about production costs - pickers are on constant alert for 1.5-2 months, and do many picking rounds in the vineyard. Often, the amount of these rounds is double or triple, compared to how many rounds other classified properties perform in the district. Here, we have the king of Sauternes & Barsac, world’s most expensive and most demanded dessert wine, which has an enormous keeping potential (50 years+). At its best, this wine possesses a purely exceptional botrytis, enormous concentration and such a nuance-richness, which makes you speechless.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanSauternes Le Grand Crus Classés de Sauternes et Barsac 1855 (Crus Classés de Sauternes et Barsac) - Read more about Sauternes, Barsac and its wines
– Read more about the 1855 Sauternes Barsac Classification
Forty kilometres south of Bordeaux, Sauternes is an AOC that includes together 5 communes, including Barsac. For centuries, humans have been patiently learning to master this region's climate, soils and grape varieties. But Mother Nature did a good job laying the foundation. The Sauternes terroir is distinguished by a geological predisposition to gravel and pebbles that cover limestone streaked with veins of clay. In the communes of Fargues and Sauternes, a layer of hardpan (iron-oxide cemented sand) in which vines flourish can be found. The vineyards at the highest elevations and farthest from the river have the best terroirs and produce the majority of the Crus Classés, including the monumental Château Yquem.Sauternes wines are made from Sémillon (80% of vines planted) and Sauvignon (15%) grapes. A bit of Muscadelle occasionally is used to give the wines an untamed touch. Sauternes have an "aged gold" colour that is denser and darker than other dessert wines. When they age, they develop a stunning amber colour. The nose has aromas of flowers and fruit that melt together to create a bouquet of remarkable complexity and balance. The primary aromas include almond, quince, mango, pineapple, stewed peach, dried apricot and passion fruit. There are also floral notes, with touches of linden, acacia, mimosa and honeysuckle. And as is typical with Sémillon, there are also notes of beeswax, almond and hazelnut. In the mouth, Sauternes wines have a powerful style that is viscous but extremely elegant. Its strong sweetness is captivating. Finally, its aromatic finish is something that simply must be experienced.
2013 Vintage Notes:
"the extractive ratios in th[is] year are in the phenomenal range and there's ripeness/botrytis to cover two treks around the globe [...] so appealing is the immediacy of the wines. Many can be enjoyed now for their sheer joy and delicious nature. [Some] should also age" - Jon Rimmerman
2014 Vintage Notes:
"a golden vintage for Sauternes. It may not have the depth or weight of 2010, but it has some of the richness. What has set 2014 apart is the intense lime and lemon flavors that cut into any overblown cloying character and allow both the fruit and the honeyed noble rot to sing." - Wine Enthusiast |
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