From a 375. Color is light golden, as expected for the 2001 Yquem but lighter than other '01s; nose is highly aromatic, plenty of botrytis spice, honey, some vanilla, some cinnamon, complex even beyond fruit and spice with some sandalwood coming out with air; palate is explosive, full bodied, sweet but balanced by high tingly acidity throughout, certainly has a presence, plenty of white fruit, apricot, and orange marmalade throughout the midpalate, honeyed complexity; finish is long, both palate coating and fresh, persists for minutes. I bought this to replace a corked half I tried in an '01 Sauternes horizontal, and I was really looking forward to this data point. Since my last taste in 2012, the nose has really opened up and is much more aromatic, complex but not pure youthful tropical fruit any longer. The palate is still vibrant and intense, but still so well balanced that it's almost hard to isolate each individual flavor... rather just to absorb them all together. Superb sauternes and superb Yquem; I would place this at just beyond youthful immaturity to early adolescence but not anywhere near maturity... this still needs a decade or two to get anywhere close to its potential. For now it is excellent, but the 01 Fargues (well stored) and the 01 Suduiraut (especially the Suduiraut...) get 95+% of the way there for a small fraction of the price. 97-99+ Of note, compared to recent top vintages like the 2011, the style of Yquem has changed to a lighter bodied wine. This just seems more substantial (still fresh due to its high acidity) than the recent vintages which seem more elegant and Barsac-like. Update: I'm always struck by how similar Yquem and Fargues are. This 01 Yquem has just a faint hint of bitterness on the palate that I call a citrus pith or a grapefruit bitterness. Fargues generally has much more and I think it's their trademark. It's much more subtle in Yquem, but it's there. Day 2: Largely the same as yesterday. Nose has subtle complexity, and the palate still has explosion of flavor including most prominently orange marmalade, and plenty of acidity. A landmark wine, but for most casual drinkers of Sauternes this is probably overkill. I let this sit out in a glass for 4 hours and it was completely unchanged. Day 4: Overall unchanged, but I paired this with a simple sugar snap pea dish, and it came alive even more. Every sip just a melange of complexity, balanced with the crispness of the sauteed sugar snap peas. I rarely pair Yquem with food, but I have to say with this pairing, it tastes like a perfect wine. Perfect balance, perfect complexity, perfect richness and acidity. Still expensive, but worth trying once (or a few times...) in your life. 100 Compared to 01 Fargues (From half, opened fresh today): On the nose, the Fargues is actually more aromatic and more advanced. By comparison, the Yquem has more complexity but is more reserved, and far younger. On the palate, the Yquem is far younger, and in comparison seems almost too young (whereas by itself it seemed approachable). The Yquem has more youthful pure fruit on the palate, even a bit of melon and tropical fruit that I didn't get by itself, whereas the Fargues is a bit less sweet, a bit more citrus pith, and a bit less complex (only in comparison to the Yquem, it's still a super-complex Sauternes). Overall, the style is very similar with superb balance and lovely citrus notes (and actually the '01 Fargues reminds me of the '88 Yquem now), so I expect that the '01 Yquem will develop in that direction over 2 decades. For drinking now, the Fargues pairs better with a broader array of foods (because the sweetness is more integrated), and it will take at least a decade or two for the Yquem to enter the same window. Pricing was $60-70/half for the Fargues and $350-400/half for the Yquem. Day 5: Similar to my comparison yesterday to the Fargues. A tad more reticent on the nose right now, but makes up for it in additional complexity. With age, this will be even more spectacular.
From a 375. This is one of my medium colored bottles, at this point a golden-orange, noticeably darker than an '01 Yquem; nose is aromatic, botrytis spice, grapefruit, citrus peel on the nose, dried fruit, some nuttiness/hazelnuts; palate is full bodied, the rich sweetness has integrated at this point, balanced by high acidity, dried apricot and fruit, almost a minerality to it, midpalate is where the slight grapefruit and citrus peel tartness/bitterness kicks in, a signature of Fargues and one of my favorite things; long finish. Overall this seems at early maturity, drinking superbly but may be entering a phase where this starts to become more savory than sweet (at least from this half), and a superb pairing with a wide variety of foods. Has at least 2 decades ahead of it. 96++ Compared to 2001 Yquem (opened 4 days ago from half): On the nose, the Fargues is actually more aromatic and more advanced. By comparison, the Yquem has more complexity but is more reserved, and far younger. On the palate, the Yquem is far younger, and in comparison seems almost too young (whereas by itself it seemed approachable). The Yquem has more youthful pure fruit on the palate, even a bit of melon and tropical fruit that I didn't get by itself, whereas the Fargues is a bit less sweet, a bit more citrus pith, and a bit less complex (only in comparison to the Yquem, it's still a super-complex Sauternes). Overall, the style is very similar with superb balance and lovely citrus notes (and actually the '01 Fargues reminds me of the '88 Yquem now), so I expect that the '01 Yquem will develop in that direction over 2 decades. For drinking now, the Fargues pairs better with a broader array of foods (because the sweetness is more integrated), and it will take at least a decade or two for the Yquem to enter the same window. Pricing was $60-70/half for the Fargues and $350-400/half for the Yquem. Day 2: Similar on the nose, just a wonderful balance of richness and savoryness; palate is more explosive than yesterday with balanced caramel, butterscotch, plenty of botrytis, citrus fruit, superb balance; long length. Even better today than yesterday. 96-98 Day 3: Unchanged nose, still super-balanced palate with excellent acidity. Wonderful.
2001 Château d'Yquem 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(9/27/2017)
From a 375. Color is light golden, as expected for the 2001 Yquem but lighter than other '01s; nose is highly aromatic, plenty of botrytis spice, honey, some vanilla, some cinnamon, complex even beyond fruit and spice with some sandalwood coming out with air; palate is explosive, full bodied, sweet but balanced by high tingly acidity throughout, certainly has a presence, plenty of white fruit, apricot, and orange marmalade throughout the midpalate, honeyed complexity; finish is long, both palate coating and fresh, persists for minutes. I bought this to replace a corked half I tried in an '01 Sauternes horizontal, and I was really looking forward to this data point. Since my last taste in 2012, the nose has really opened up and is much more aromatic, complex but not pure youthful tropical fruit any longer. The palate is still vibrant and intense, but still so well balanced that it's almost hard to isolate each individual flavor... rather just to absorb them all together. Superb sauternes and superb Yquem; I would place this at just beyond youthful immaturity to early adolescence but not anywhere near maturity... this still needs a decade or two to get anywhere close to its potential. For now it is excellent, but the 01 Fargues (well stored) and the 01 Suduiraut (especially the Suduiraut...) get 95+% of the way there for a small fraction of the price. 97-99+
Of note, compared to recent top vintages like the 2011, the style of Yquem has changed to a lighter bodied wine. This just seems more substantial (still fresh due to its high acidity) than the recent vintages which seem more elegant and Barsac-like.
Update: I'm always struck by how similar Yquem and Fargues are. This 01 Yquem has just a faint hint of bitterness on the palate that I call a citrus pith or a grapefruit bitterness. Fargues generally has much more and I think it's their trademark. It's much more subtle in Yquem, but it's there.
Day 2: Largely the same as yesterday. Nose has subtle complexity, and the palate still has explosion of flavor including most prominently orange marmalade, and plenty of acidity. A landmark wine, but for most casual drinkers of Sauternes this is probably overkill. I let this sit out in a glass for 4 hours and it was completely unchanged.
Day 4: Overall unchanged, but I paired this with a simple sugar snap pea dish, and it came alive even more. Every sip just a melange of complexity, balanced with the crispness of the sauteed sugar snap peas. I rarely pair Yquem with food, but I have to say with this pairing, it tastes like a perfect wine. Perfect balance, perfect complexity, perfect richness and acidity. Still expensive, but worth trying once (or a few times...) in your life. 100
Compared to 01 Fargues (From half, opened fresh today): On the nose, the Fargues is actually more aromatic and more advanced. By comparison, the Yquem has more complexity but is more reserved, and far younger. On the palate, the Yquem is far younger, and in comparison seems almost too young (whereas by itself it seemed approachable). The Yquem has more youthful pure fruit on the palate, even a bit of melon and tropical fruit that I didn't get by itself, whereas the Fargues is a bit less sweet, a bit more citrus pith, and a bit less complex (only in comparison to the Yquem, it's still a super-complex Sauternes). Overall, the style is very similar with superb balance and lovely citrus notes (and actually the '01 Fargues reminds me of the '88 Yquem now), so I expect that the '01 Yquem will develop in that direction over 2 decades. For drinking now, the Fargues pairs better with a broader array of foods (because the sweetness is more integrated), and it will take at least a decade or two for the Yquem to enter the same window. Pricing was $60-70/half for the Fargues and $350-400/half for the Yquem.
Day 5: Similar to my comparison yesterday to the Fargues. A tad more reticent on the nose right now, but makes up for it in additional complexity. With age, this will be even more spectacular.
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2001 Château de Fargues 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(9/30/2017)
From a 375. This is one of my medium colored bottles, at this point a golden-orange, noticeably darker than an '01 Yquem; nose is aromatic, botrytis spice, grapefruit, citrus peel on the nose, dried fruit, some nuttiness/hazelnuts; palate is full bodied, the rich sweetness has integrated at this point, balanced by high acidity, dried apricot and fruit, almost a minerality to it, midpalate is where the slight grapefruit and citrus peel tartness/bitterness kicks in, a signature of Fargues and one of my favorite things; long finish. Overall this seems at early maturity, drinking superbly but may be entering a phase where this starts to become more savory than sweet (at least from this half), and a superb pairing with a wide variety of foods. Has at least 2 decades ahead of it. 96++
Compared to 2001 Yquem (opened 4 days ago from half): On the nose, the Fargues is actually more aromatic and more advanced. By comparison, the Yquem has more complexity but is more reserved, and far younger. On the palate, the Yquem is far younger, and in comparison seems almost too young (whereas by itself it seemed approachable). The Yquem has more youthful pure fruit on the palate, even a bit of melon and tropical fruit that I didn't get by itself, whereas the Fargues is a bit less sweet, a bit more citrus pith, and a bit less complex (only in comparison to the Yquem, it's still a super-complex Sauternes). Overall, the style is very similar with superb balance and lovely citrus notes (and actually the '01 Fargues reminds me of the '88 Yquem now), so I expect that the '01 Yquem will develop in that direction over 2 decades. For drinking now, the Fargues pairs better with a broader array of foods (because the sweetness is more integrated), and it will take at least a decade or two for the Yquem to enter the same window. Pricing was $60-70/half for the Fargues and $350-400/half for the Yquem.
Day 2: Similar on the nose, just a wonderful balance of richness and savoryness; palate is more explosive than yesterday with balanced caramel, butterscotch, plenty of botrytis, citrus fruit, superb balance; long length. Even better today than yesterday. 96-98
Day 3: Unchanged nose, still super-balanced palate with excellent acidity. Wonderful.
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