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2011 VintageTasted: Feb 2023

One sniff is all it takes before you're immersed in its web of overripe apricots, pineapple, exotic spices, flowers, white peach, roasted nuts, and honey. But, of course, the real excitement here is on the palate, with its wall of perfectly ripe, sweet, very sweet, and incredibly sweet, tropical fruits, mango, pineapple, vanilla, and lemon creme all coated with honey. Even with all this unctuosity, with all of its racy acidity, the wine is as vibrant as it is sweet. With all of its layers of sweetness, it is never tiring to taste, instead, it is an upbeat, thrill ride that can age for at least 50 or more years. Drink from 2023-2080.

1947 VintageTasted: Jan 2023

My first, and sadly, probably my last time tasting this beautiful, copper/amber colored, historical gem, the wine opened with creme brulee, marshmallow, caramel, butterscotch, candied orange, and mango, completed by Indian spices in the perfume. The patina of age was there on the palate, providing an exotic, soft, silky, sweet mouthful of caramel-coated orange, tangerine, and candied mango with an accent of spice and cocoa. Tasting younger than its almost 80 years of age, but without the same raciness and concentration found in years with less heat, like 1945, it was still a thrill and a treat to taste. Drink from 2023-2037.

1967 VintageTasted: Jan 2023

A legendary vintage, rightly considered the legitimate successor to the 1937. Known as an incredibly deep, opulent and multi-layered wine from a great botrytis vintage, this wine is now in perfect balance. It has thus needed over fifty years to reach its zenith, where it will now probably remain for decades to come. Intense gold with a reddish shimmer, an unmistakable Yquem bouquet on the nose, delicate notes of lanolin, ripe tropical fruits, spices, honey, fine oak, building up with air to an aromatic crescendo of superlatives. Perfectly balanced on the palate for all its complexity and power, making it appear light-footed and floating, a fine fruity texture of stone fruit, the typical bourbon vanilla, a wine you can literally sink into. Has everything that makes an extraordinary wine. (12/2023, drink - 2050).

2020 VintageTasted: Jan 2023

Bright medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. Attractive ripe yellow tropical fruit, honey and lanolin, some coconut, candied tangerine zest, floral touch, fine caramel in the background. Full-bodied, elegant, ripe pineapple, yellow peach, new wood vivid in the core, fine honey nuances, seems opulent on the finish, marked by some baby fat, powerful finish, certain ageing potential.

1982 VintageTasted: Oct 2022

A nice d'Yquem, but short of thrilling, the wine is on the orange, tropical side of the style range with caramel, molasses, and brown sugar nuances that ride along with the candied orange rind, molasses, tangerine and candied orange rind, topped with an array of spices and butterscotch. Drink from 2022-2037.

1999 VintageTasted: Aug 2022

More interesting on its nose with all of its butterscotch, honey, butter, caramel, orange, and bright pineapple notes. Medium-bodied, energetic, crisp, and fresh with honeyed, yellow tropical fruit and orange pith on the palate. This is a very bright, semi-sweet style of d'Yquem. Drink from 2022-2030.

2005 VintageTasted: Jul 2022

This treat offers everything you could want in a sweet wine with countless layers of honey-slathered, vanilla-tinted ripe, and overripe tropical fruits, roasted nuts, and apricots. Rich, luscious, and also bright, crisp, vibrant, and racy, this is so good now, that it is impossible to put down your glass. But is only going to get better from here with additional years of bottle age. That is part of the magic and allure of Chateau d'Yquem! Drink from 2022-2070.

2006 VintageTasted: Jul 2022

Bright, sweet, juicy, fresh, and vibrant, the wine leans to the orange fruit side of the style range with a cornucopia of ripe, and overripe candied mangos, apricots, tangerine, and pineapple. There is a wealth of sweet fruit along with bracing acidity that comes through in a discreet style. Drink from 2022-2060.

2009 VintageTasted: Jul 2022

Young, rich, opulent, silky, fresh, vibrant, full, and deep, with enough blazing acidity to allow all the layers of vanilla and honey-coated orange and yellow tropical fruits to bathe your palate again and again with this stunning, sweet treat. OK, so this is still obviously young, and primary, but it is such a delicious experience now, that it was impossible to put my glass down. Patience might be a virtue. But there are times when patience is over rated.

2007 VintageTasted: Jul 2022

Unctuous, and equally racy, this full, rich, deep glass of sweet pleasure hits all the right marks. Layers of ripe, fleshy, tropical fruits slathered in honey, along with roasted almonds, vanilla, coconut, candied orange rind, and overripe pineapples from start to finish. In a decade, this will be off the hook.

1921 VintageTasted: May 2022

Not all legendary wines live up to their lofty status. But this did! Right from the start, the amber, translucent, mahogany color in the hand-blown bottle is a thing of beauty. From there, the caramel, burnt sugar, molasses, roasted orange rind, clove, singed, overripe mango, butterscotch, and melted butter aromas created an unforgettable bouquet, which continued to add chocolate covered orange overtones as the wine remained in the glass. On the palate, the perfect balance between the interplay of sugar, honey, roasted, orange tropical fruit, butter, acidity, and melted caramel transfixes you. Tasted for more than 2 hours, the wine never degraded. Instead, it continued adding more shades of sugary, cooked honey, and buttery sweetness to the fruits that were kept fresh by the wines racy, acidities. When young, there are sweet wines that give d'Yquem a run for the money. But after the 50-year mark, there is no equal. And now, I can safely say, that gap is even wider as the wine crosses the century mark.

1989 VintageTasted: Apr 2022

Freshness, purity, and more layers of roasted, apricots, pineapples, yellow plums, nuts, caramel, and spice slathered in honey and butterscotch are only part of what you will encounter here. It is the racy lift, and vibrance on the palate that makes it all work, finishing with its lively endnotes. As good as this is, it is only getting started. I imagine this will drink well for at least another 50-75 years if well stored. That is why d'Yquem is d'Yquem. 98 Points

2010 VintageTasted: Apr 2022

Leaning to, but not quite at the orange side of the style range, the wine serves up its floral, spice, candied orange, apricot, roasted nut, pineapple, vanilla and creme brulee nose. There is richness, intensity, opulence, sweetness and freshness. The wine is youthful, yet approachable, honeyed, but not cloying, balanced and vibrant. You can enjoy this today, in a decade, or in 50 years your kids can toast you. 97 Points

2019 VintageTasted: Mar 2022

Light, yellow, gold in color, the wine pops on the nose with its showy display of flowers, honeysuckle, candied apricots, orange rind, pineapple, mango, lemongrass, vanilla and spice. Perched on the corner of richness, sweetness and acidity, the wine is opulent, fresh, sweet, rich and most-importantly, lifted, so everything feels upbeat and racy on the backend. Because the wine has so much lift and energy, it will be easy to pair with a diverse array of cuisines. You can enjoy this young, without much if any age for its sweetness and exuberance. Or age it for secondary characteristics and nuances. Produced from a blend of 55% Semillon and 45% Sauvignon Blanc , 2019 has the highest percentage of Sauvignon Blanc ever used in d'Yquem. You find more Sauvignon Blanc this year due to the shortened picking window. But as you can see from my notes, or from tasting the wine, it really works here! Drink from 2025-2075. 98 Points

2011 VintageTasted: Feb 2022

Mittleres Grüngelb, Goldreflexe. Feine Nuancen von Lanolin, Ananasfrucht und frischem Pfirsich, helles Karamell, saftiger Aprikosentouch, ein Hauch vom Edelholz. Stoffig, elegant, reife gelbe Tropenfrucht, perfekt eingebundene Fruchtsüße, mineralisch, unterlegt mit einer finessenreichen Säurestruktur, perfekte Balanc, verfügt über Jugendlichkeit, Länge und enormes Reifepotenzial. Ein Musterbeispiel für den neuen, noch präziseren Stil bei Yquem, der auf jedes kleine Schonheitspflaster verzichtet.

2019 VintageTasted: Feb 2022

Mittleres Goldgelb, silberfarbene Reflexe. Feiner Blütenhonig, ein Hauch von Bourbonvanille, reife gelbe Tropenfrucht, kandierte Orangenzesten, zart nach reifer Mango, Macis und Orangenblüten im Hintergrund. Saftig, deutliche Restsüße von 138 g, opulenter, aber nicht üppiger Stil, gut integrierte Holzkomponente, mineralisch-salzig, noch etwas unterentwickelt, ein Hauch von Marille im Abgang, gute Länge, sehr harmonisch und bereits problemlos antrinkbar, mit sicherem Reifepotenzial ausgestattet.

2007 VintageTasted: Jan 2022

Deep gold, with an intense Botrytis nose of saffron and dried apricot. The satiny damask texture is sensuous and extravagant in its sheer volume. Long and intense flavour that continues to develop. Quince tart, roasted walnuts, notes of cinnamon, star anise and spicy white radish. There is a bitter phenolic on the finish, very pronounced, which, for me, is the marker of Yquem. RL

1999 VintageTasted: Jan 2022

Red-gold colour, aroma of roasted chestnuts, autumn leaves and acorns, followed on the palate by intense and complex tarte tatin, baked custard, dark bitter honey, agave and star anise. Textural and almost grainy quality as it becomes dense with some age. Generous and intense, very long, opening up over time with spicy and complex notes of aniseed, Russian leather and the classic saffron note of Botrytis. RL

1989 VintageTasted: Jan 2022

Amber colour. This is a warm vintage with dried fruit notes from passerillage. Highly concentrated. There are gorgeous and varied aromas of potpourri, musk rose and vanilla pod and on the palate a bitter tea-tree note with hints of quinine and sandalwood and rich gingerbread flavours, treacle, dried apples and saffron. RL

2017 VintageTasted: Jan 2022

Golden in colour, with a heady aroma of orchard fruits and citrus -- pomelo, grapefruit and tangerine. Dried apricots and orange marmalade are a mark of intense Botrytis. RL