April 28, 2024 - Medium to dark amber. Nose of perfumed apricot, honeycomb, stone, bruised apple. Complex, fresh layers of butterscotch, peach, apricot, and caramel cascading across the tongue. Sweet but not cloying, with exceptional delineation and detail. Long finish of white peach, vanilla, and steely apricot. A happy conclusion to a family birthday party.
March 25, 2024 - [Dinner at Salil's. Pop and pour.] Another great half bottle with Salil's fabulous Canelés de Bordeaux. See his note for more details.
March 25, 2024 - Another showstopper. I've had some variation with this wine, but this might have been the best showing I've ever had from it. A soft cork with a slightly odd smell had me worried for a second, but that worry dissipated once I poured the first glass. All the honey, orange marmalade, crème brulée, vanilla, and tropical fruited goodness of Sauternes in spades, and that luscious richness and power of Yquem. This isn't a light dessert wine and it's not trying to be one, it's showing off its power and intensity and botrytis, and it's absolutely spectacular. Just a perfect match with canelés de Bordeaux. I can't think of many wines that mirror the flavours of a dish as perfectly as Sauternes and canelés mirror each other.
March 9, 2024 - Still fresh and balanced with honey and butterscotch and white truffle. Perhaps a touch blousy. A fine wine but unlikely to improve in bottle.
February 13, 2024 - Tinned peaches and vanilla along with some honey and caramel. Sweet, but not overly so. Nice texture and a finish that is clean and invites another sip.
January 29, 2024 - This had been opened for a few days and I don’t know how it was kept in the meantime. Friend brought it over and poured me a glass. Color was quite evolved. Toasted almond, marzipan, honey, candied ginger, orange marmalade, and caramel. Ample acidity and good balance. I look forward to having a more intimate experience with the 375ml bottle I have.
January 9, 2024 - Red Wine: No great wines, only great bottles (Salil's, Albany, NY): [Pop and pour.] Nose of thick honey and botrytis. Rich in the mouth. Delicious but doesn't have the brightness, depth, or complexity of the bottle on 11/21/2023. Still worth drinking, and very good with Salil's fabulous Canelés de Bordeaux.
January 9, 2024 - Not quite on the level of the bottle that Ken brought over a couple of months ago, although this is still delicious and not a wine I'd ever pass up. This one felt a bit lighter, not showing quite the same richness and luscious fruit as the last bottle, but still has those classic vanilla/honey/orange marmalade/botrytis spice notes, and a brighter saffron-like aromatic element. Still very tasty, especially with canelés.
December 30, 2023 - 7th and 8th of 24, pnp, perfect cork and level, mid yellow, unctuous but youthful, second bottle slightly more caramel to supplement fresh fruit flavours in the first, wonderfully long, complex and persistent, seems to be entering a long drinking window. VF+ (19).
December 5, 2023 - Good vintages of Yquem (Chicago, IL): 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.