June 22, 2021 - A blend of early-picked Sauvignon Blanc with a little bit of late-harvested Sémillon. Aged for 10 months in oak barriques (1/3 new). 14% alcohol. Tasted blind.
Quite concentrated, medium-deep yellow-green color. Clean, relatively youthful and rather concentrated nose with aromas of ripe gooseberries, some creamy oak spice, a little bit of passion fruit, light evolved notes of woolly lanolin, a hint of zesty lemon, a touch of toasty oak spice and a floral whiff of apple blossom. The wine feels ripe and quite concentrated yet surprisingly lively and fresh at the same time with a moderately full body and quite intense flavors of lemony citrus fruits and sharp passion fruit notes, some fresh cantaloupe, a little bit of creamy oak, light evolved woolly notes, juicy hints of gooseberries and ripe green currants and a touch of sweet, toasty oak spice. The overall feel is fresh, balanced and quite focused, thanks to the bright, high acidity. The finish is ripe, juicy and somewhat tropical with complex flavors of passion fruit and fresh pineapple, some honeydew melon, a little bit of tart Granny Smith apple, light creamy notes of oak spice, a hint of zesty citrus fruit and an evolved touch of woolly lanolin.
A big yet surprisingly fresh and balanced Ygrec that is still surprisingly youthful for its age - the wine was noticeably more youthful than any other wine of the same age in our tasting of Bordeaux Blancs. Contrasting my previous experience of Y, which was vintage 2008 tasted in 2014, and the wine was both noticeably more oaky with more pronounced Sauvignon Blanc character, this vintage was noticeably more balanced with great interplay with the less obvious oak tones and more tropical fruit flavors. It seems that it takes +10 years before the wine fleshes out the midpalate, so it doesn't come across as just a combination of deep toasty oak and shrill, high-toned Sauvignon character, but instead a complete wine where the bassy low end and the piercing high end play to each other and have a nice, firm middle frequencies to tie the both ends together. All in all, this is a balanced and well-made wine that is still very youthful, but evolving into the right direction. However, I must say that even though the quality here is high, I really can't say the wine is really worth the money at ~150€.
June 22, 2021 - No formal notes, drinking excellently now, very enjoyable and classy.
February 5, 2021 - Has integrated, but still not worth the tariff. Hard to score it like this, considering the name and the glowing cellar tracker reviews, but this is how I feel about this wine. Tastes like a chenin blanc. (very good Chenin blanc) but not like a white Bordeaux. Will hold my remaining bottle and hope for something special. Interestingly, there is a flavor profile that reminds me of the famous d'Yquem dessert wine.
December 21, 2020 - Gorgeous lemon, caramel, butterscotch. Acidic but rich.
March 14, 2020 - Drinking beautifully. A kaleidoscope of tropical fruits, beeswax, and honey.
November 3, 2019 - I'm afraid this was suffering from premox.
April 30, 2017 - not a great fan of this style.
November 8, 2016 - light golden in color. Creamy feel in general with a touch of waxy on the margin. Ripe fruits, rich lemon, exotics , melon, mango and of course an overlaid vanilla feel. Very tropical. Well round on the palate and with pretty solid acidity. Very good. 91-92
May 8, 2016 - Back into the fray with this wine, now with some modest bottle age. Pear and apricot. Mild color advancement. I'm still tepid. Needs food! This is not a wine to sip while you are cooking. I just can't get excited, especially at the price. Drinkable, but no QPR and no upside. Drink or SELL.
September 21, 2014 - Golden wine with vanilla and citrus notes primarily with an undertone of honey. On the palate medium bodied and elegant. Length. This was a wine of character with some finesse. 4/10, where 10 is a wine of character, finesse, complexity, power and property specificity.