Community Tasting Note

• Winegangster Does not like this wine: 80 points

  July 11, 2022 - D'Yquem 2003 - Much ado about nothing.
  
  When I have d'Yquem au menu, I give up being rational. Both ways, and I'm usually dithyrambic... partly because uncorking d'Yquem is not daily bread, and partly because there's something indefinable behind this sober and elegant label that is very unfair to other contenders on the Ciron's banks : if you've had a chance to taste such vintages as 1975, 1988, 2001, 2007 and even the more "modest" 1989, you know what I mean. And if you're unfortunate enough to have stored a few cases of 2003, then, you have a problem. At least : I have a problem.
  
  2003 was indeed a challenging year marked by an unprecedented heat wave where inspired winemakers created beauties in Sauternes and Barsac - Coutet 2003 brought me down to my knees! - but the sprinkle of genius did not illuminate Yquem. Not at all. Let me be straightforward : this-is-a-very-disappointing-wine. Period. And if you wish to live the d'Yquem 2003 experience without having to pay the entry fee for the legend, here are 3 alternatives that will save you time and money :
  
  1. Meet my grand mother. Or just pay her a visit when she cares of her oak furniture (that's usually on Tuesday): the intoxicating smell of turpentine backed by a contradictory scent of beeswax will give you a clear idea of the olfactory impressions of this vintage. Absolutely nothing (exotic fruits, white flowers) can survive to such a mess swirl of indelicate fragrances.
  
  2. Fix yourself an Aperol x Spritz, without Proseco. Or sip a shot of Bitter San Pellegrino. The coarseness of bitters, the ubiquitous and unmelted sugars and the dryness on the finish will get you as close as one can get to where d'Yquem 2003 can take you.
  
  3. Let dry an orange peel for a couple weeks : once it has reached the consistence of a candied fruit, chew it. Let it melt in your mouth for a while and blame me for having suggested this rather painful experiment.
  
  Such a disappointment would be excusable if I only had that impression once. But statistics don't lie, and the 3 bottles from 2 different cases I´ve drunk over the past 6 months gave me and my guests the same consistent impression of a perfectly failed wine.

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8 Comments

• aagrawal commented:

  7/11/22, 11:12 AM - Ouch. Have you had this wine at release, and if so what did you think about it then? I enjoyed this wine 5 years ago but haven't had it recently. Sounds like it's time to check back in... or maybe to avoid and hope it reintegrates in another 5 years?

• oldwines commented:

  7/11/22, 12:49 PM - Sorry for your loss... It does suck when you have such an experience with a wine that should be quite different as you well know. Your experience does beg a few questions, like the previous commenter... Provenance? Storage? Decanted? Purveyor? while I (fortunately or not?) only have one bottle left, my previous bottle in 2019 was lovely and while not the best example/vintage, 5 others seemed to have a similarly good experience that evening. Curiously mine were purchased in 2012 from a re-release from the chateau. Is there possibly something about the wine you purchased?
  
  Cheers!
  
  "oldwines" aka Dave
  www.dtpwineadvisors.com

• I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine commented:

  7/11/22, 3:30 PM - I can't understand such a poor experience with 3 bottles, unless, as one commentator pointed out, they were not stored properly by a previous owner. I have 2 bottles left, but it has been about 5 years since my last one, and I can distinctly remember that the wine was perfectly balanced (a hallmark of Yquem) and not overly sweet like other 2003 Sauternes I have had. I would say maybe your palate is different, but it sounds like you have enjoyed other vintages. I hope the rest of your bottles are better!

• Winegangster commented:

  7/12/22, 2:35 AM - @aagrawal, @oldwines, @I'RatherBeDrinkingWine : thank you to the 3 of you for having taken time to comment on my rather bitter post. Origin and storage may have been the root causes for my recurring disapopintment with d'Yquem 2003, however, the two 6x cases were purchased from the same reliable supplier (Millesima in Bordeaux) as were all my d'Yquem since 1997. As far as storage is concerned, these 2 cases have been treated the same way as the other wines that I keep : underground cellar, cooled with an internal unit at 55-57° (F)/13-14°(C), humidity varies little (between 70% and 75%)... so most of the boxes of the check list seem to have been ticked. And, on the long run, most of my wines benefit from the same treatment, and I don't recall having had such a gap between my expectations and the actual tasting.
  
  As @I'dRatherBeDrinking Wine may have suggested, my palate may be different... or I may lack nuance when d'Yquem is on the menu. My expectations for that wine are systematically higher than for other sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac, and it's all the more true for 2003 since my daughter was born on that year. I have spent 18 years anticipating the joy of celebrating important milestones with her and d'Yquem, increasing all the more the level of expectations and the consequent perceived severity of faults which would have been negligible in other vintages or other crus. Climens 1997 gave me the same sens of inconsistency as d'Yquem 2003, with this same ambushed bitterness and lack of fluidity, but it's "just" Climens, and flaws are acceptable. Not with d'Yquem ;)

• Zweder commented:

  7/30/22, 5:07 PM - Pity you don’t enjoy the wine and/or have a bad experience with this vintage. I had the same vintage recently and it was truly beautiful with great sweetness and beautifully fresh acidity. I have some experience with Yquem: 55 of my tasting notes are in Cellartracker and definitely I have tasted several more in the past. But I am not going to argue with you. It is/was your taste and experience. Pity it was such a disappointment for you.

• I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine commented:

  7/30/22, 8:33 PM - Personally, I think the experience is a combination of your palate and the lofty expectations you have for these wines. Although storage may have affected your bottles (prior to your purchase), I find most Sauternes have a somewhat indestructible nature, i.e., it takes more than normal abuse to really affect the wines (at least that has been my experience). Therefore, I think it may. be more your higher than normal expectations for these wines. Personally, I find the 2003 vintage mostly overly sweet, but I still found Yquem to be remarkably balanced and not overly sweet due to my perceived balance of acidity and sweetness. But I did find other wines, such as Rieussec, on the sweet side. I would be curious what your daughter thinks of the wine, and whether she has had any Sauternes previously to taste. I know she is not 21 yet, but perhaps you still have shared a glass of two of wine with her? It is also possible that the wine is currently going through an awkward "phase".....I hope your next bottle fairs better, and your daughter loves the wine!

• mjarvis46 commented:

  12/16/22, 1:02 PM - I'm curious. Do you have friends, male and female, whom you consider to have good wine palates? If you have shared this wine with them I would be curious as to their thoughts and Cellartracker" ratings. Also, have you and your friends tasted this wine with appropriate food like foie gras, roquefort cheese or sweet, fruity deserts? If so what were your thoughts and their thoughts on the wine when paired with food. It's a scientific fact that taste and smell are inextricably intertwined and I have read that as much as 85% of the perception of taste comes from the sense of smell and that individual smell and taste receptors can vary widely from person to person. If that is true, then your seemingly minority, negative perception of this wine is very personal and not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the worthiness of this wine for others. I'm confident that your perception is your truth but I am hopeful, as I have a few unopened bottles myself, that my perception of this sauternes, when I open one of my bottles, will be positive. I'm not trying to be pedantic but did you have a cold recently when you tasted it? What was your emotional state? Since you knew that this wine was produced from a "bad" year, could that have led you to believe that this wine would not be good and therefore became a self fulfilling prophesy? I'm not discounting your opinion as I truly believe it was unsatisfactory for you. I am just asking you to evaluate your experience from a broad perspective. My suggestion is to try two blind tastings against two other d'Yquem with the understanding that it would be possible that neither of the three has to be the 2003 for one of the tests. You would not know if the 2003 was among the wines tasted.

• Decanting Queen commented:

  1/15/23, 2:26 PM - First of all, thank you for your wonderful, insightful and entertaining reviews. Please keep writing them.
  Secondly, thank you for being willing to speak your truth (and in an entertaining way with great examples!!). I will take your review into account before I go crazy on a 2003 d’y auction splurge.
  I also have a 2003 daughter and she recently had her first exposure to this wine, and ‘09 and of course loved it. But feeling less inclined to chase after an 03 for her now.

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