I haven't had this wine in almost two months! Best bottle I have had in several years. Still incredibly fresh and almost backward, with a broad cross-section of apple flavors and aromas, then some le on notes on very, very long finish.

Fully mature with lots of apple and pear with excellent concentration, depth and length. Better than other bottles I've had in the past 5+ years.

Wonderfully mature array of red berries with floral charm. Great textures with finesseful effervescence and crunchy minerality. Very long, very elegant with lots of complexity. In its peak drinking window, I might have enjoyed this more 5 years ago, given my preference for Champagne on the younger side, while also always a fan of the 1988 vintage.

Lots of apple with floral notes, some baguette and gingerbread. Very fresh, very long and elegant. Chardonnay dominates in all its beauty here. As good as I can ever recall for this wine.

I've never heard of this wine. Lots of ripe apple and pear on nose and palate, with some lemon curd on finish. Good weight and length, even if slightly simple.

Unusual combination of under-ripe orchard fruit and some tropical fruit, supported nicely by almond butter and floral notes. Good concentration and length, but much less in both regards vs the more precise 2012 in the next glass. Best to enjoy over the next few years.

Wonderfully floral with candied lemon peel and ripe apple along with background savory spice. Very good density and length. Just entering its peak drinking window. Big step up over the 2011 vintage in the next glass.

Green and yellow apple with both sweet and savory spice. Finishes with both lemon peel and Meyer lemon. Very long, energetic finish. Wonderful now, clearly with upside from here.

Decanted 3-4 hours before serving. Broad array of red cherry and berry aromas with baking spice. Similar flavors bring out some black cherry as well. So alluring, especially from start-to-middle, then slightly more firm towards long/ powerful finish. This way exceeded my expectations for today.

Open for 3-4 hours with a quick double decant, but clearly this needed more air and/or more time. Lots of red and black berries with great baking spice. Just so firm and backward with slightly awkward tannins. Great concentration with a long finish, but not quite balanced today, so just teasing us with its (94+ point?) potential.

Open for 3-4 hours with a quick double decant, but clearly this also needed more air and/or more time, even if slightly more accessible vs the 1996 in the next glass. Broad array of red berry aromas and flavors with so much whole cluster and so much Vosne spice. Dense, concentrated and almost meaty, but also very firm/ rugged from middle through finish. Very good tonight (92-93 points), but not quite as exciting today as other bottles from this case have performed, so more air and/ or cellar is warranted.

This took a while to fully emerge, despite decanter time. But once open...woah baby! Black plum, black currant and cassis with cigarbox hints. Slightly backward to start, then explosive after a few minutes in glass. Much better vs a (very good) bottle from a few weeks ago.

Mature black fruit, nicely ripe with liqueur hints and plenty of savory spice. Earth and gravel character and textures, most notably middle-through-finish. Good+ weight and length. This got plenty of decanter time, and was best when initially poured.

Fresh black plum, currant and cassis with spice hints. Big and bold, but slightly slimmer / simpler vs other examples of this wine I have had before. Still lots of youthful exuberance, despite hours of decanter time, while also a little dull. This was a slightly controversial wine, with some others liking it a lot more. To me, 92 points tonight.

Mature red cherry, earth and truffle aromas and flavors, with a hint of black pepper and clove. Everything was stunningly elegant and complex when first poured (97 points), but shorter and less interesting (92 points?) within 20 minutes, then declined further from there.

This bottle had been open for 6 hours when served, with a quick double decant because of sediment. I probably would have treated this wine the same, but that turned out to be too much air.

Also open 6 hours before serving, with a double decant. Fresh and dried red and black cherry with plenty of spice and floral notes. Some braised meat character with mushroom. Good+ weight and excellent length.

Incredibly rich and concentrated black berries and plum, with cloves, black pepper and espresso. Intense and powerful, but this manages to retain exceptional balance. Wonderful now, and no signs of any decline.

Massive and ultra concentrated to start, then seemingly even more concentrated with more time in glass. All black fruit with lots of spice, but monolithic for a Sine Qua Non, so less complex and complete (to me). What an absolute treat to try...thank you, James. Will this wine last forever?

Dry apricot and yellow peach with candied lemon peel, creme brulee and very good concentration. Moderately/ interestingly still sweet. Enough acidity to keep this bright and interesting, even if not the most complex great vintage old d'Yquem.

Certainly the most interesting wine of the night, even if not close to my favorite. Dark as molasses with very good concentration. A little bit of dried apricot with a Sercial Madeira-styled nose and some dried fig and balsamic flavors in a mostly savory package. Some people found this simply enthralling, but I found it much more interesting than "wow."

Late night, very brief note. Incredibly elegant with good+ length and fun array of cherry and earth.