One of the monumental moments in my wine education was the first time that I tried Chateau d’Yquem. Granted, I was a bit of a youngster, but I will never forget my first sip of the 1979 Chateau d’Yquem, poured by a former mentor of mine, Claude Faure. “This is different,” I thought to myself. While it takes a lot of time to typically appreciate the wines of Sauternes, I have found that the gravity of wines from this house appeal to pretty much every palate that try the wines.
I have been highly passionate about Sauternes for decades and started buying Sauternes when I was in graduate school fifteen years ago. While I might not possess a top shelf range of d’YQuem wines like some of my colleagues, I have a few that are best consumed for special occasions. The storied Sauternes estate was the only Sauternes property to be given the the Premier Cru Superior designation from the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. The world wine community recognizes this estate as producing the best wines from Sauternes. The site itself is perfectly situated for achieving a high degree of botrytis in even the most challenging of vintages.
This fall I had the chance to open one of my bottles of the absolutely epic 2005 Chateau d’YQuem which was seen by most critics as one of the top wines of the vintage. I did a 2005 vintage retrospective this past summer and found that wines from 2005 typically showed good levels of botrytis but also possessed a good sense of balance (http://www.washingtonwineblog.com/blog/2019/8/26/2005-sauternes-retrospective). I was absolutely blown away with the 2005 Chateau d’YQuem (WWB, 100) which is perfection in the bottle. My colleague and I simply stared at each other while sipping this majestic bottle. We didn’t need any words to describe how good this wine was.
Earlier in the year I tried the absolutely mind-blowing 1989 Chateau D’Yquem (WWB, 99) which came from a thrilling year in Sauternes. The wine now has a captivating blend of bananas foster and pineapple creme brûlée flavors that give the wine plenty of exotic appeal.
Learn more about the storied estate at http://yquem.fr/int-en/ Here is my review of the Sauternes wines from Chateau D’YQuem.
1989 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes- The 1989 Chateau d’Yquem is a stunning showing at more than 30 years of age. While this is obviously showing some signs of age, the bright acidity of the wine shows that this still has many years to go. Nutmeg, butterscotch, Meyer lemon creme brûlée and toffee aromas fill the glass and entice the senses. The palate shows serious weight and tension leading to toffee infused bananas foster, kumquat zest and roasted pineapple creme brûlée that meld together in harmony. Complex and insanely delicious this wine is near perfection in the bottle. The finish to this wine is truly astounding and lasts for more than one minute. While it is gorgeous now, this will continue to evolve for the next decade or more. Drink 2020-2035- 99
2005 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes- The 2005 Chateau d’Yquem is a scintillating wine that is just starting to hit its prime drinking window. The nose has a great exotic appeal with ripe pineapple and ginger tones that mingle with shades of butterscotch, and brandy soaked white raisin that all marvelously march in harmony in the glass. The scintillating aromatics bring you back to the glass for more delight. Stunning on the mid-palate, the silky texture truly entices. The range is insanely good from cardamom infused honey to candied ginger and lemon creme brûlée flavors. This is a complete wine that not only has tremendous viscosity but a marvelous balance and sense of place. Finishing strong with minerals, candied tropical fruits and butterscotch, the wine lingers incredibly long on the tongue. Ethereal and quite youthful now, do not hesitate to open this beautiful wine. Drink 2020-2050- 100