4/27/2024 - DVill wrote:

Fantastic — my I’m a newbie to d’Yquem, having had only 5 others… for me the 2001 is supreme, but 1990 is still great and the ideal way to end an evening. Gave it about 30min of air and served at 52 degrees

3/30/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

Needs at least an hour—ideally 2–of air. Still young. Next bottle probably in 5 years…

Amazing mouthfeel — stood up to bacon-wrapped scallops beautifully.

3/30/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

It’s in a perfect place now. Tertiary characteristics starting to dominate. Still plenty of life, yet fully resolved. Great balance, too.

3/30/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

Mama Mia, the nose was off the hook. Drinking beautifully. I’d recommend 2 hours of air before approaching this one. Wish I had another to open in 2-3 years.

3/30/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

Even at this age, it still has the “Lafite perfume” — not much air necessary, improved over an hour. If I had any others, I’d plan to drink them this year

3/2/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

Beautiful - ethereal. Didn’t need more than 30min of air. Not much weight left in it, so I recommend drinking soon

3/1/2024 - DVill Likes this wine:

Great. Massive and nearly integrated. Finish is a beaut — 45 seconds easy. I’d recommend another 5+ years in the bottle. HOLD.

12/29/2023 - DVill Likes this wine:

Needed about an hour of air — lovely bouquet and great balance.

12/25/2023 - DVill wrote:

I thought this would be a helpful “cellar defender” but would have been better off left in the bottle. I’d say this is 5 years AT LEAST away from having any balance

11/19/2023 - DVill wrote:

agree with other comments -- the time to open was yesterday :)

11/17/2023 - DVill wrote:

fine wine for a bbq maybe... underripe herbaceous elements that were hard to ignore, and thin/watery mouthfeel. Finish was acid-driven and lacked complexity.

11/17/2023 - DVill Likes this wine:

very nice and well-integrated, but a bit past its prime.

6/12/2022 - DVill Likes this wine:

Lovely and balanced. Seemed best after 2hr of air. Burgundian nose, where there seemed to be some woody notes along the typical/classic fruit tones, and some minty character as well. Round and light mouthfeel, but still well-structured; and a longer finish than I would have expected. Really nice bottle — if I had another I’d wait another couple years

5/8/2022 - DVill Likes this wine:

Ended up giving it 4 hours of air, which is what it took to really open and display some “thicker” aromas

After only an hour, it came across as almost “thin” and somewhat astringent on the nose, but at around hour 4 it was alive! Strawberry, cherry, licorice, brambly; with a nice juiciness in the middle.

I wish the finish were a bit longer, but all in a all, a nice Brunello

3/6/2022 - DVill Likes this wine:

Drank after 1.5 hours of air, over the next 2 hours. Structure seemed a bit imbalanced (somewhat “informal”, with massive fruit relative to tannins/structure), but a very pleasing and long finish. Would have guessed it to be far younger than it actually is. Won’t open another one for 5 years.

2/19/2022 - DVill wrote:

Like drinking ink — amazing weight on this still. Fun bottle, but I feel like it was lacking a bit of structure to support the opulent fruit — felt a bit flabby, but did great with pizza

2/18/2022 - DVill Does not like this wine:

For me, the nose has a lot of elements that I’m not particularly keen on: sure, there’s cherry (which is great), but it has to compete with cough syrup and a bit of greenness — something like mint/eucalyptus. I actually welcomed the barnyard funk, which gave the nose some depth/interest. The middle was on the sweet side, and lacking weight/structure, the finish didn’t stick around for long. I recognize many folks like some of the elements above, but not my cup of tea… er, grapes. If you have some of these hanging around, I don’t think there’s much upside in waiting to open them

1/30/2022 - DVill Likes this wine:

2.5 hour decant and drank over following 2 hours. I think a 1.5 hr decant is sufficient at this point if you plan to drink over 2 hours

The nose was classic Barolo — floral elements of roses and violets adorned a serious almost sensual earthy core. Great balance. Tannins wonderfully integrated at this point; still plenty of size/weight and acid to keep this one in great shape for another 5 years (if only I had more bottles!). Finish was outstanding — and a perfect complement to a very hearty lasagne

1/22/2022 - DVill wrote:

Very muted nose, but still a lovely/balanced middle (albeit light) and decent lasting finish. Not sure if in dumb phase or what, but I don’t get the sense this one is going to last many more years in the bottle

1/22/2022 - DVill Likes this wine:

Gave it 2 hours of air, but still evolved noticeably over the next two hours. Nose started dark, but became rounder with cherries, bilberries and leather over those 2 hours. Nice middle and finish — will wait at least 3 years for the next one of these, as it’s still clearly young

11/11/2021 - DVill wrote:

Cherry, gummy candy-like, with a bit of cough syrup on the nose. Fairly light midpalate, nice acid, but thin finish. I gave this 2 hours of air… probably better straight out of the bottle (which I did 6 months ago and enjoyed more)

11/3/2021 - DVill Likes this wine:

On the nose: Iron, macerated cherries and eventually (1-hr of air) cola and leather… some green notes underlying (pepper?), which seemed more apparent with time

Acids and tannins in good shape; though finish was relatively on the weak side

Nice wine overall, im saving a pour for day 2… but as of now, I think definitely time to open if you’re on the fence :)

10/20/2021 - DVill Likes this wine:

Nice balance and finish — in addition to what others have written below, there was a very apparent grapefruit and pith quality — not unpleasant at all, in fact gave it some nice brightness and acidity

10/19/2021 - DVill Likes this wine:

Really nice — decanted for an hour. Jammy, dark accents and leather. Finish was medium; tannins in great shape. Needs another 3 years I think

7/14/2021 - DVill wrote:

Napa Perfection. Fully integrated, extremely long finish. Classic dusty nose; dark brambly on the open; excellent middle—but the finish. Oh my.

4/25/2021 - DVill Likes this wine:

Great dark fruit; and then earthy, chocolate and caramel notes emerging after an hour of air. Lovely round mouthfeel and very balanced finish. I wish I had opened a couple years earlier, as the tannins were a bit understated compared to all the other elements; though all in all a lovely bottle

4/3/2021 - DVill Likes this wine:

I was plannning to wait a few years, but couldn’t resist after reading community reviews (which were spot on).

Decanted for 2 hours. Dark, intense aromas of blackberry, cassis, cedar and leather. Practically spring-loaded entry and long finish. It’s youthfulness is very apparent (it will be better once the tannins balance a bit), but even more apparent is its potential. Can’t wait to try another in 3-5 years.