Thick, opulent, and sweet. This does not have quite the same cut as many of the other wines tonight; it is relatively low acid and honestly kind of oily and fat. And yet! Somehow the peachy fruit manages to carry the day here, and this never feels cloying (though serving this chilled is quite necessary). White peach forward, versus the more typical apricot profile. Not very much botrytis spice here in play either -- this seems to be fully centered on the expressively sweet and delicate white fruit notes.
A huge stylistic difference between this and the 2011 alongside -- whereas the 2011 was very much fruit-driven, this was far more botrytis driven, showing plenty of the typical marmalade and bitter orange that you would expect. A good analogue here is the 1983. This is a relatively opulent edition for the post Lur-Saluces era, and it's definitely one that really appeals to my taste and desire for that older, high-oak style. Excellent, and I am very much curious to see where this goes with time.
The first half-bottle was corked, so we opened a second. But this was also slightly musty though it was certainly cleaner and didn't have that unpleasant cardboard note on the finish. Nonetheless, this didn't have the mineral brightness nor elegance that I remember from this vintage (in the context of the trilogy, of course). The botrytis did seem dialled down, and there was a slightly oiliness to the texture here. Whether this was corked or not, this wasn't a good (or likely representative) showing of a great Yquem vintage.
Always a stellar bottle in the trilogy. Intense spice and botrytis, rich and opulent, and just a splendid bottle of Yquem drinking very well now, despite its just entering middle age. If you're ever wondering what botrytis tastes like, this is a great example -- all of those classic hallmarks are there. A slight bitterness helps counteract the sweetness, yielding a large-scaled, rich wine in full balance. Never for a moment does this feel imbalanced or ungainly.
From half-bottle. Fresh, but overall showing quite lean relative to the other two vintages in the trilogy. More mineral and racy, with acidity being a key player here; the botrytis plays a backseat role here. This definitely feels more stern and less exuberant and expressive; it ticks the boxes but doesn't really go very much beyond that.
From half-bottle. I may well have misjudged this wine in the past. Tonight's bottle (of a colour that was comparable to the 2011) was one of the most compelling Yquems I've had. It's crystalline and bright, with a deft, light touch to the fruit, and focussing more on minerality than opulence. Perhaps this is what the modern incarnations are aiming at. So light and lithe on the palate, with this incredible freshness and lift that made this so easy to drink and enjoy. What a splendid example of a vintage that I had never been particularly keen on.
A splendid showing for this wine. It's very botrytis-laden, with a burnished colour that definitely tells you how much botrytis there in fact is. Very oily and rich, this is very similar to both the 1989 and 2007 in that sense, where the botrytis drives the profile of the wine. Definitely a Yquem for the ages -- the richness will allow it to age effortlessly for 50+ years, and one that I will be looking to backfill in the coming years.
I don't think this was a proper showing of this wine -- it came off a little dirty and musty, though the apricot jam tones were pretty prominent here. That dirtiness really detracted from my enjoyment of this bottle; it was just too distracting from the other (quite nice) elements of this vintage.
Alternate whiffs of this wine yielded TCA. Slightly musty and dirty, and honestly pretty disappointing given what I expected this bottle held in store. On the other hand, whatever the funk was didn't really get worse either, but it was bad enough I didn't really care for the bottle.
From half-bottle. For me, more interesting than good at this point, but this was startlingly fresh for its age given the format. Very clear iron notes on the palate, with a focus on leathery tones here. Fading, and definitely one to drink up.
Remarkable freshness for a wine of this age; clear leathery notes as well as a nascent bit of brett that bloomed later in the evening, but managed to add an accent at the beginning. Again, quite leathery, but the dried plum notes are apparent and the fruit gives this freshness. Classic pencil shaving and leather tertiary Bordeaux notes here.
2011 Château d'Yquem 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Thick, opulent, and sweet. This does not have quite the same cut as many of the other wines tonight; it is relatively low acid and honestly kind of oily and fat. And yet! Somehow the peachy fruit manages to carry the day here, and this never feels cloying (though serving this chilled is quite necessary). White peach forward, versus the more typical apricot profile. Not very much botrytis spice here in play either -- this seems to be fully centered on the expressively sweet and delicate white fruit notes.
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2007 Château d'Yquem 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
A huge stylistic difference between this and the 2011 alongside -- whereas the 2011 was very much fruit-driven, this was far more botrytis driven, showing plenty of the typical marmalade and bitter orange that you would expect. A good analogue here is the 1983. This is a relatively opulent edition for the post Lur-Saluces era, and it's definitely one that really appeals to my taste and desire for that older, high-oak style. Excellent, and I am very much curious to see where this goes with time.
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2001 Château d'Yquem Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Corked.
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1990 Château d'Yquem Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From half-bottle. Most likely corked -- muted nose, stripped on the palate, and a cardboard finish.
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1990 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
The first half-bottle was corked, so we opened a second. But this was also slightly musty though it was certainly cleaner and didn't have that unpleasant cardboard note on the finish. Nonetheless, this didn't have the mineral brightness nor elegance that I remember from this vintage (in the context of the trilogy, of course). The botrytis did seem dialled down, and there was a slightly oiliness to the texture here. Whether this was corked or not, this wasn't a good (or likely representative) showing of a great Yquem vintage.
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1989 Château d'Yquem 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Always a stellar bottle in the trilogy. Intense spice and botrytis, rich and opulent, and just a splendid bottle of Yquem drinking very well now, despite its just entering middle age. If you're ever wondering what botrytis tastes like, this is a great example -- all of those classic hallmarks are there. A slight bitterness helps counteract the sweetness, yielding a large-scaled, rich wine in full balance. Never for a moment does this feel imbalanced or ungainly.
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1988 Château d'Yquem 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From half-bottle. Fresh, but overall showing quite lean relative to the other two vintages in the trilogy. More mineral and racy, with acidity being a key player here; the botrytis plays a backseat role here. This definitely feels more stern and less exuberant and expressive; it ticks the boxes but doesn't really go very much beyond that.
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1986 Château d'Yquem 98 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
From half-bottle. I may well have misjudged this wine in the past. Tonight's bottle (of a colour that was comparable to the 2011) was one of the most compelling Yquems I've had. It's crystalline and bright, with a deft, light touch to the fruit, and focussing more on minerality than opulence. Perhaps this is what the modern incarnations are aiming at. So light and lithe on the palate, with this incredible freshness and lift that made this so easy to drink and enjoy. What a splendid example of a vintage that I had never been particularly keen on.
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1983 Château d'Yquem 95 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
A splendid showing for this wine. It's very botrytis-laden, with a burnished colour that definitely tells you how much botrytis there in fact is. Very oily and rich, this is very similar to both the 1989 and 2007 in that sense, where the botrytis drives the profile of the wine. Definitely a Yquem for the ages -- the richness will allow it to age effortlessly for 50+ years, and one that I will be looking to backfill in the coming years.
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1976 Château d'Yquem
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
I don't think this was a proper showing of this wine -- it came off a little dirty and musty, though the apricot jam tones were pretty prominent here. That dirtiness really detracted from my enjoyment of this bottle; it was just too distracting from the other (quite nice) elements of this vintage.
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1975 Château d'Yquem Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Alternate whiffs of this wine yielded TCA. Slightly musty and dirty, and honestly pretty disappointing given what I expected this bottle held in store. On the other hand, whatever the funk was didn't really get worse either, but it was bad enough I didn't really care for the bottle.
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