March 19, 2023 - Such a beautiful and poignant pleasant surprise. Opened for my father in law’s 80th birthday and expected something historically interesting but way past its prime.
First good sign was the cork — I opened with a Durand but could have used a regular corkscrew — it held together great. Next good sign was the color — lighter red-brown, like a young amontillado.
Nose — deep rich caramel and apricots. Fresh apricots! At 80 years. Depth and complexity off the charts, felt like exploring the story of the 80 years.
Palate — vibrant fresh acid (the apricots again) and that long caramel. The freshness was stunning. If the color was lighter I could have believed 20 years old. Moderate sweetness.
Finish — like the nose, long and gorgeously integrated and savory but still fresh.
Again — beautiful surprise. Incredibly grateful to have lucked into such a beautifully preserved bottle.
January 11, 2023 - Same bottle as Ashish (thanks to Herwig!). Gorgeous aromatics. Palate deeply complex but with surprising verve and energy. Elegant. Long salt and pepper finish. A real joy and privilege to try this wine.
January 10, 2023 - Dinner with Herwig (Heirloom Cafe, SF): Deep orange-caramel, appropriate color for its age; intense aromatics with dried orange, apricot, some honey, developed but not quite caramel, a little nutty with almond; palate is richly textured but absolutely vibrant acidity, orange peel, orange marmalade, dried apricot, intense with some spice, complexity; finish is long. The only comparison I have for this is the ‘67 which was more complex, but this is a special experience and certainly a stellar Sauternes and Yquem. 96
November 17, 2018 - Dried raisin, lifted aromatics. Fresh palate, very clean with good acidity. Held together over 2 hour lunch, persistent. Interesting how this converges with port and madeira at this age.
December 6, 2014 - Direct from the chateau. Almost red in color, rather than the typical dark brown of older d'Yquem. A fun bottle to drink, given its wartime lineage. Much less sweetness and fruit vs. other older vintages.
March 9, 2013 - nose of raisins, nutty, honey, caramel, orange marmalade, definitely vanilla, honeydew. Soooo sweet and concentrated, very unctuous. A very long finish, and the fragrance lingered in glass for a long time. Very top shoulder. The color of the wine was soooo deep and dark, and resembled an old Madeira or Tawny Port.
October 29, 2011 - Chateau d'Yquem Masterclass (Amber, Hong Kong): This was the darkest of them all - full deep brown in colour. Glycerin and unctuous with almost petrol notes. Not much in terms of fruit or flavour interest but very nice mouth-feel.
August 1, 1994 - Madeira-like tea color. Tastes way too old for me but still balanced between sweetness and acidity. No pineapple fruit. An experience to be sure. Others liked it better.