White Bordeaux

ROBERT PARKER: 98

NEAL MARTIN: 95

JANCIS ROBINSON: 17.5

WINE SPECTATOR: 83

DECANTER:

With greater evidence of botrytis than the colossal 1983, but less power and alcohol, the 1986 d'Yquem tastes reminiscent of the 1975, only more precocious. Several highly respected Bordeaux negociants who are d'Yquem enthusiasts had claimed the 1986 d'Yquem was the greatest wine produced at the property since the legendary 1937. However, after the release of the 1988 they concluded that the 1988 surpassed even the 1986. The 1986's enthralling bouquet of pineapples, sauteed hazelnuts, vanillin, and ripe apricots is breathtaking. Compellingly concentrated, its breadth as well as depth of flavor seemingly know no limits. This full-bodied, powerful, yet impeccably elegant d'Yquem should provide memorable drinking for 40-55 more years. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2040. Last tasted, 7/93.| Wine Advocate.August, 1993

Score: 98 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003 The favorite sweet wine of millionaires, Chateau d'Yquem has, not unexpectedly, turned in a brilliant effort with their newly released 1989. It is a large-scaled, massively rich, unctuously-textured wine that should evolve effortlessly for a half century or more. It does not reveal the compelling finesse and complexity of the 1988 or 1986, but it is a far heavier, richer wine than either of those vintages. It is reminiscent of the 1976, with additional fat and glycerin. The wine is extremely alcoholic and rich, with a huge nose of smoky, honey-covered coconuts and overripe pineapples and apricots. As with most young vintages of Yquem, the wine's structure is barely noticeable. These wines are so highly extracted and rich yet approachable young, it is difficult to believe they will last for 50 or more years. The 1989 is the richest Yquem made in the eighties, and it has an edge in complexity over the powerhouse 1983. It remains to be seen whether this wine will develop the extraordinary aromatic complexity possessed by the promising 1988 and 1986 Yquems. Last tasted 11/97 Score: 97

Rating

90

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

1997 - 2012

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

1st Jan 1998

Source

Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition, The Wine Advocate

Laville's 1996 is one of the lighter-styled efforts from this estate in the nineties. Nevertheless, it has managed to cram gorgeous levels of complexity and elegance into a citrusy, melony, richly fruity format. While it does not possess the weight and body of such blockbuster vintages as 1994, it is impressive. There is good acidity, and the wine comes across as clean, crisp, and stylish in an understated, restrained manner. This wine should drink well for 12-15+ years. Last tasted 11/97

Rating:

95

Price ($)

NA

Drink Date

2003 - 2053

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

31st Oct 2003

Source

149, The Wine Advocate

The 1998 Chateau Yquem was released several months ago. This estate does not allow tasting from cask (where the wine spends 42 months), and it is not released until five years after the vintage. The 1998 Yquem (95 points) is a great success. Made in an elegant style, it is not a blockbuster such as 1990, 1989, and 1988. It is well-delineated, with wonderfully sweet aromas of creme brulee, pineapples, apricots, and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, it is not as sweet as the biggest/richest Yquem vintages, but it is gorgeously pure, precise, and strikingly complex. Already approachable, it should evolve for 30-50 years ... without a doubt.

A prodigious offering, the 2001 Climens’ light medium bold color with a greenish hue is followed by ethereal aromas of tropical fruits (primarily pineapple), honeysuckle, and flowers. It is a medium-bodied wine of monumental richness, extraordinary precision/delineation, great purity, and moderate sweetness. The finish seemingly lasts forever. This monumental effort is the stuff of legends. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040+.

Score: 100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (153), June 2004

Score: 96/99 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (146), April 2003

The Climens 2001 has always possessed a deliriously complex and intense bouquet that is beautifully defined: dried quince and marmalade, honeycomb and antique furniture. There is an inchoate, resinous element that will surely surface over the next decade or so. This is a bouquet that demands attention and in this blind tasting, sticks out from the crowd, a sui generis. Since I last tasted it, the palate has opened up and is beginning to pump on all cylinders. It is wonderfully balanced with fabulous intensity and a long, citrus-tinged finish that is utterly beguiling. As Kate Bush once sang: "Wow". Drink 2014-2040

Score: 99 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (215), October 2014

Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 2005 Chateau d'Yquem is similar to the 2006 in that it deserves aeration. The bouquet is well-defined, although there is clearly some new oak that will need another two or three years to fully integrate. The aromatics seem to show a little more botrytis than the 2006, richer and headier. The palate is unctuous on the entry, beautifully balanced and lacquers the mouth in pure honeyed fruit interlaced with white pepper, quince jus and nectarine. Comparing the two, the 2006 has a little more tension and race, although the 2005 has a touch more persistency. The 2006 may well turn out to be the better of the two vintages in the long run (hence the plus sign), although the 1995 [sic - should read 2005] is a Yquem with panache to spare. Drink now-2040. Tasted March 2014.

Score: 96 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (213), June 2014

Proprietor Berenice Lurton continues to turn out one of the utterly profound wines from the Barsac Sauternes region. The 2006 is not up there with their perfect 2001, but it is a beautiful wine and stands out as one of the top wines of 2006. Medium gold, with a slightly more advanced color than I am used to seeing in a young Climens, the wine displays waxy honeyed pineapple and delicate marmalade and citrus notes with a restrained use of new oak. The wine cuts a full-bodied swath across the palate with terrific acidity, freshness, and moderate sweetness. This is a beauty, but perhaps on a much faster evolutionary track than some of their greatest vintages.

Delivering 12.0% ABV and 200gms residual sugar, Denis Dubourdieu’s luxury Barsac, the 2007 L’Extravagant de Doisy-Daene, does not hold back, born with a lucid golden hue with big fat tears (of joy). The bouquet is very intense but very tight at first, demanding time to unfurl in the glass at its own pleasure: white peach, apricot, orange-blossom and a touch of marmalade with breathtaking definition. The palate is full-bodied with a viscous entry, so pure and caressing with mellifluous honey, apricot and citrus lemon, wonderful delineation on the finish, the thread of acidity interwoven through that powerful finish with the length of an ocean liner. Brilliant. Drink 2015-2050.

Rating

93

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

NA

Reviewed by

Neal Martin

Issue Date

23rd Dec 2011

Source

199, The Wine Advocate

Tasted single blind against its peers. This has a very well -defined nose of dried pineapple, quince and vanilla pod that unfolds seductively in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a mellifluous texture, although there remains some oak that needs to be subsumed into the wine. It displays fine definition towards the finish with impressive length. Always a little curmudgeonly in its youth, this Climens deserves a decade in bottle. Tasted January 2012.

Rounded and broad in feel for now, with richly layered toasted almond, ginger cream, brioche and glazed apple notes that all glide through the viscous finish, where a flash of green tea can be found. This has the buried zip for the long haul, which it will need to assimilate fully. There's lots in reserve. Best from 2015 through 2034. 4,165 cases made. Score: 95

Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 2009 Chateau d'Yquem is one showstopper of a wine and perhaps it is only in a vertical that you realize this is up there among the legendary wines of the past - the 2001 included. It has a wonderful nose that expresses the Semillon component majestically: heady aromas of lemon curd, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that all gain momentum in the glass. The oak is supremely well-integrated. The palate is extremely well-balanced with an unctuous entry. You are immediately knocked sideways by the palpable weight and volume in the mouth, which is almost ""bulbous,"" with layer upon layer of heavily botrytized fruit. It builds to a spicy finish with hints of marzipan and pralines in the background that lend it an untrammeled sense of exoticism. The 2009 is utterly fabulous and decadent, a star that will blaze brightly and undimmed for many years. Drink now-2060+. Tasted March 2014.

Score: 100 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (213), June 2014

The 2009 Yquem has an almost ethereal nose, beautifully defined with scents of honey, honeysuckle, pear, fresh apricot and a hint of quince. It blossoms in the glass, gaining intensity and expanding across the ether. The immediate impression is not of a powerful, rich, botrytis-laden Yquem, but one that has semblances with the 2007 in terms of poise and precision, the acidity defining the wine in its youth and around that, subtle notes of honey, fig, pear, apricot and just a hint of ginger adding vibrancy and edginess towards the pure and tensile finish. As expected, there is extraordinary persistency, lingering in the mouth long after the wine has disappeared, yet it will remain long in the memory.

Score: 96/98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (188), April 2010

Pale to medium gold colored, the 2009 d'Yquem bursts from the glass with gregarious crème caramel, allspice, dried apricots, mandarin peel and pineapple upside down cake scents plus a fragrant undercurrent of fungi, acacia honey, candied ginger, musk perfume and frangipani. Full-bodied and full-on hedonic in the mouth, the rich, tightly wound layers are still amazingly youthful with bags of citrus sparks and an incredibly long, perfumed finish. Possessing a residual sugar of 157 grams per liter and 13.6% alcohol as well as a laser-focused line of freshness, the rock-solid structure and through-the-roof opulence here is simply mind blowing. Pure perfection. Drink 2022 - 2069.

Score: 100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2019

What a fabulous wine. It's an explosion of fruit, yet it's very refined. I absolutely love the nose on this, with apricot tart, apple crumble, caramel and crème brûlée. Full-bodied, superripe and spicy, with mango, papaya, spices and sweet dried lemons. Incredibly long. It really rocks your socks off. Amazing. This could be even better than 2001.

Score: 97/100 James Suckling, WineSpectator.com, April 2010

Lively greenish gold. Very indulgent nose that sends a tingle down the spine. Great tang and life as well as richness. So pure and flirtatious - not one of the sweetest but beautiful balance and refreshment, without being an 'aperitif style Sauternes'. Quite exceptionally persistent. Hints of blossom and real lift. Orange peel and real zest - great energy. Not heavy at all, This takes 2009 Sauternes to a new level. Extremely bright fruit. Long and rich. Not a fat style of Yquem. Date tasted 31st March 2010. Drink 2016-2046.

Score: 19+ Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2010

The greatest sweet wine of Bordeaux and without doubt one of the world's most famous wines. The colour at this stage of its development is a fresh-looking light gold. The 2009 Yquem has a heavenly botrytised nose packed full of pineapple, peaches and cream that soars from the glass. On the palate it is creamy, spicy, powerful and intense yet with amazing freshness and lift. With 155 grams per litre of sugar this is one of the sweetest Yquems ever made yet there is such wonderful acidity that the sugar seems almost reserved. Incredible length. Pierre Lurton is convinced that this is the greatest Yquem of our times. Will it surpass even the outstanding 2001? He thinks so! He says that it has the rhythm of the 1989, the opulence of the 1990, the intensity of the 2003, the character of the 2001 and has a taste reminiscent of the 1893! If there was a prize for the most enthusiastic tasting note by a wine-maker in 2009 then Yquem would win hands down. A new masterpiece says M Lurton, hardly able to contain himself. We can see why.

Score: 19.5+ Farr Vintners, April 2010

The nose has that lovely mix of fragrance and richness. Caramelized orange peel is fleshed out by apricot, given a lighter more elegant feel by white peach and tropical fruits. There is underlying power yet freshness, rich fruit yet raciness, seemingly the perfect marriage. It is one of the most complex young samples that I have ever tasted. Drink 2018-2055.

Score: 96/100 Derek Smedley MW, April 2010

Set to be one of the great vintages of Yquem, this wine is a class act. Grapefruit, barley sugar and subtle bortrytis nose, with oak adding a touch of vanilla. Intense and fresh on the palate with clarity, length and concentration and a citrus fruit tang. Carries its 155 grams of residual sugar lightly. In a great year for Sauternes, this is a stand out wine. 20+ years

Score: 99 Tim Atkin MW, April 2010

Perfection again, with the monumental body and flavour of the vintage: but a magical winemaking touch avoids any heaviness and gives a crystalline Riesling-like purity of taste and texture which is thrilling! For me the most formally perfect Sauternes of the vintage and a glorious affirmation of the property's new style: as rich as ever but with more flexibility to express the best and most original aspects of the vintage.

Score: 19.5 James Lawther MW, Decanter.com, April 2010

THE WINE ADVOCATE: 94-96

JEANNIE CHO LEE MW: 94-96

JANCIS ROBINSON: 18

DECANTER:

Berenice Lurton and her team managed to pick the crop just hours before rains fell on October 23. Tasting through every one of their lots in 2010, there was a theme of tautness, racy acidity and spice. Focusing upon two batches representing about 14% of the harvest, there was patently exquisite balance and a sense of concentrated but efficient power, counterbalanced by immense purity and effervescence. Their problem will be knowing exactly which lots to deselect! Neal Martin, Wine Advocate May 2011

This full-bodied blend of 54% Sauvignon Blanc and 46% Semillon has a level of concentration and intensity that makes it the dry white wine of the vintage. Loads of minerality, a hint of subtle spice, but mostly just pure orange marmalade, candle wax, honeysuckle and caramelized melons make for a full-bodied, distinctive style of wine to drink over the next 50+ years.

Score: 98 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (205), March 2013

A blend of 54% Sauvignon Blanc and 46% Semillon, this singular, compelling white exhibits notes of orange blossoms, lemons, melons, crushed rocks, spice and flowers. It is a sensational, provocative, full-bodied dry white to enjoy over the next 40 years.

Score: 94/97 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011

Tasted at Chateau Haut-Brion. There is a slight floral aspect to the nose of the Haut Brion Blanc with hints of almond, white chocolate and fresh pear underpinned by fine minerality. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp citric fruit on the opening. It is slightly more phenolic than recent vintages, just a hint of white pepper tingling on the tongue with a well-balanced finish that is persistent. Good potential. Tasted November 2012.

Score: 95 Neal Martin, eRobertParker.com, February 2013