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€.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Non-blind this is a tough wine to review, because it will always live in the shadow of D'Yquem and the price tag. In and of itself this is a solid wine, with big citrus notes, lemongrass, a bit of oak spice and a pleasantly medium plus body to it. It paired really well with a trout roe and pea dish, as well as a great, complex halibut dish, but that is about it. It is a solid wine, but something that you could probably replicate for a lot less money from Pouilly Fume, Sancerre, parts of CA and probably several other places. I'm really yet to be wowed by any high-end white Bordeaux and may just be done with them. I'm totally on board with Burgundy being a totally unique and special expression of Chardonnay, but white Bordeaux seems pretty generic and repeatable Sauv Blanc, with a little Semillion and oak. Really its a pretty good wine, but you can get a pretty good wine and knock the "1" off the front of the price tag. I'll probably enjoy the one bottle I have left, I just won't be all that excited when I open it.
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Lemon, lime, fresh citrus, grapefruit, green apple and vanilla scents lead to a bright, round, open, citrus and grapefruit packed finish. The style of this wine is going to please some tasters more than others.
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A private dinner (Ron Gastrobar, Amsterdam, Netherlands): Wonderful symphony of ripe fruit (lemon curd, melon), vegetal notes and perfectly integrated spicy oak; fresh and lively in spite of 14% ABV, clean and precise but also very sexy and stylish, seductive, rounded, subtle but silky, rich and honeyed; very good length.
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Hard to look past the label when evaluating this wine, but me thinks the emperor has no clothes. Very complex fruity palate tasting of honey, grapefruit, and ripe yellow mellon. A surprise after the off putting "cat box" nose. Tastes sweet. Possibly some residual sugar. Nothing special on the finish. Seems not well balanced, but perhaps time will bring the elements together. Suggest holding to see. At this price point I can find a much better white Graves, White Burgundy, or Loire Sauvignon Blanc.
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Heavy apricot-driven nose, Muscat and orange peel, some decaying notes; fresher in the mouth, powerful and some complexity, feels very young. Absolutely no clue. Cudos to the taster that believed this to have the nose of a Sauternes.
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I thought it was excellent but it definitely was one of the most divisive wines of the evening. Beautiful minerals, rocks, Maine sea salt, pomelo juice and an old Riesling like pencil eraser nose met a palate of honey, agave nectar, tropical fruit and peach. Divisive because a couple of people couldn't get over a cat pee quality (one I find in New Zealand SB but not at all here) and so found it off-putting. More for me! Drink before 2020.
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Bottle of Pain dinner (Ibiza, New Haven, CT): Really struggles following the pair of Vatans; I suspect I'd have enjoyed this more in a different context as being poured right after the 2002 and 2010 Vatans, it comes across heavy handed, extracted and lacking in finesse. There's ripe grapefruit, an exotic strawberry-like character and high toned herbal flavours, a sense of creaminess and density on the palate but it leaves me wanting more acidity and precision.
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i'm never going to like this wine simply for it's ultra modern style and intense grapefruit note, but if you decant it and allow the wine to settle it's bold acid, it can reach a respectable level. i won't miss it when the last of our original 6 bottles disappears next time.
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i recently put up a note about this. please reference. blind, i would be very complimentary about this wine, despite it's strong grapefruit component, a flavor i'm not nuts about when it dominates as it does here. but knowing this is a $125 ygrec...i'm not so thrilled. look for the 2000 or 2006 instead.
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4BOW (Jeff's House): Golden color. Waxy honeycomb nose. Tastes of apple, grapefruit, lemon, and lime fruit. Rich full bodied mid palate. Sharp lime dominated finish with some depth and complexity. With time this wine should flesh out and become something special. 14% alcohol.
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i recently reported on the superb 2006. this wine tasted too california to me, with strong notes of grapefruit and lemon grass. where is the balancing semillon which gives it distinction? of course, well made and delineated, but a personal disappointment.
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My first Y Grec and it did not disappoint. Superb nose of tropical and citus fruits. In the mouth it's more floral with a nice dry back bone. Delicious
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6/22/2021 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points
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€.
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6/22/2021 - Lype Likes this wine:
No formal notes, drinking excellently now, very enjoyable and classy.
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2/5/2021 - melzar wrote: 89 Points
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.
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12/21/2020 - jimcopland wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous lemon, caramel, butterscotch. Acidic but rich.
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3/14/2020 - Niagara wrote: 93 Points
Drinking beautifully. A kaleidoscope of tropical fruits, beeswax, and honey.
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11/3/2019 - Philip67 wrote: flawed
I'm afraid this was suffering from premox.
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4/30/2017 - steinersing wrote:
not a great fan of this style.
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11/8/2016 - Papies wrote: 91 Points
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
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5/8/2016 - jeff nowak wrote:
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.
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9/21/2014 - David.larkspur@gmail.com wrote: 85 Points
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.
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7/7/2014 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 91 Points
Non-blind this is a tough wine to review, because it will always live in the shadow of D'Yquem and the price tag. In and of itself this is a solid wine, with big citrus notes, lemongrass, a bit of oak spice and a pleasantly medium plus body to it. It paired really well with a trout roe and pea dish, as well as a great, complex halibut dish, but that is about it. It is a solid wine, but something that you could probably replicate for a lot less money from Pouilly Fume, Sancerre, parts of CA and probably several other places. I'm really yet to be wowed by any high-end white Bordeaux and may just be done with them. I'm totally on board with Burgundy being a totally unique and special expression of Chardonnay, but white Bordeaux seems pretty generic and repeatable Sauv Blanc, with a little Semillion and oak. Really its a pretty good wine, but you can get a pretty good wine and knock the "1" off the front of the price tag. I'll probably enjoy the one bottle I have left, I just won't be all that excited when I open it.
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11/24/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Lemon, lime, fresh citrus, grapefruit, green apple and vanilla scents lead to a bright, round, open, citrus and grapefruit packed finish. The style of this wine is going to please some tasters more than others.
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11/10/2013 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 93 Points
A private dinner (Ron Gastrobar, Amsterdam, Netherlands): Wonderful symphony of ripe fruit (lemon curd, melon), vegetal notes and perfectly integrated spicy oak; fresh and lively in spite of 14% ABV, clean and precise but also very sexy and stylish, seductive, rounded, subtle but silky, rich and honeyed; very good length.
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9/23/2013 - melzar wrote: 88 Points
Hard to look past the label when evaluating this wine, but me thinks the emperor has no clothes. Very complex fruity palate tasting of honey, grapefruit, and ripe yellow mellon. A surprise after the off putting "cat box" nose. Tastes sweet. Possibly some residual sugar. Nothing special on the finish. Seems not well balanced, but perhaps time will bring the elements together. Suggest holding to see. At this price point I can find a much better white Graves, White Burgundy, or Loire Sauvignon Blanc.
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9/16/2013 - LWI wrote: 91 Points
Heavy apricot-driven nose, Muscat and orange peel, some decaying notes; fresher in the mouth, powerful and some complexity, feels very young. Absolutely no clue. Cudos to the taster that believed this to have the nose of a Sauternes.
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1/6/2013 - Reptibark Likes this wine: 93 Points
I thought it was excellent but it definitely was one of the most divisive wines of the evening. Beautiful minerals, rocks, Maine sea salt, pomelo juice and an old Riesling like pencil eraser nose met a palate of honey, agave nectar, tropical fruit and peach. Divisive because a couple of people couldn't get over a cat pee quality (one I find in New Zealand SB but not at all here) and so found it off-putting. More for me! Drink before 2020.
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1/4/2013 - stephanm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Grapefruit on the nose, full bodied. Very interesting, though lacks perhaps some last element of elegance compared to other vintages
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10/11/2012 - salil wrote: 87 Points
Bottle of Pain dinner (Ibiza, New Haven, CT): Really struggles following the pair of Vatans; I suspect I'd have enjoyed this more in a different context as being poured right after the 2002 and 2010 Vatans, it comes across heavy handed, extracted and lacking in finesse. There's ripe grapefruit, an exotic strawberry-like character and high toned herbal flavours, a sense of creaminess and density on the palate but it leaves me wanting more acidity and precision.
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5/22/2012 - jeff nowak wrote:
i'm never going to like this wine simply for it's ultra modern style and intense grapefruit note, but if you decant it and allow the wine to settle it's bold acid, it can reach a respectable level. i won't miss it when the last of our original 6 bottles disappears next time.
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4/7/2012 - jeff nowak wrote:
worst bottle yet. no soul and way too much grapefruit. a disappointment. 06 is a winner.
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7/14/2011 - andymnyc wrote: 90 Points
tart
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3/6/2011 - goofy Yno wrote: 91 Points
fruity grapefruit, with some substance, may be really ood or really bad with time.
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3/6/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
i recently put up a note about this. please reference. blind, i would be very complimentary about this wine, despite it's strong grapefruit component, a flavor i'm not nuts about when it dominates as it does here. but knowing this is a $125 ygrec...i'm not so thrilled. look for the 2000 or 2006 instead.
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3/6/2011 - kstoddard Likes this wine: 90 Points
4BOW (Jeff's House): Golden color. Waxy honeycomb nose. Tastes of apple, grapefruit, lemon, and lime fruit. Rich full bodied mid palate. Sharp lime dominated finish with some depth and complexity. With time this wine should flesh out and become something special. 14% alcohol.
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2/12/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 89 Points
i recently reported on the superb 2006. this wine tasted too california to me, with strong notes of grapefruit and lemon grass. where is the balancing semillon which gives it distinction? of course, well made and delineated, but a personal disappointment.
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2/4/2011 - nrccpro wrote: 91 Points
still needs time to mature fully, too much pink grapefruit for my liking
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12/18/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 93 Points
Dinner with Martin, Chris, Philip (飯堂): delicious as always. lovely perfume and creamy long finish.
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12/17/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 94 Points
Christmas lunch with Eric, Jon, Carlos and Michael (H One): wonderfully fragrant nose - pink grapefruit and citrus - add in a dash of perfume. lovely.
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9/22/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 96 Points
Rich, creamy, long, exotic. A beauty!
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5/4/2010 - PatrikO wrote: 93 Points
My first Y Grec and it did not disappoint. Superb nose of tropical and citus fruits. In the mouth it's more floral with a nice dry back bone. Delicious
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