On a fair, but not exhaustive, sample I’m thinking that 1975 might be about the finest Yquem in…well…a bloody long time. I’ve had most ‘big’ vintages back to 1966, including 2x bottles of 1967 tonight, and just don’t see the pixellated clarity and focus of '75 elsewhere. Maybe the (good) bottles of 2001 in time, and I still hold a candle for the unfashionable 1986. To me, 1976, 83, 90, 97 and so forth are a bit too broad. I love them, but don’t see the same fireworks. It’s too young, but 2009 is astonishing and '13 is pretty special.
This isn’t meant to be a dick swinging exercise, I’m genuinely interested in opinions on the top years of Yquem, people’s favourites and why.
Interesting - although I must admit I’m no fan of d’Yquem (at its prices) generally preferring great Riesling. I’ve had quite a number, including “greats” like '01, '67 and '90,as well as a few from the '70s (though can’t recall ever having the '75). My favourite has been a 1986. Note that in most instances I’ve had a glass of a particular year only once, so not exactly good sample size but that '86 is the only one that left a real impression.
I’ve never understood why 86 isn’t more highly rated. There’s a poise and cut to the wine (Riesling-like, I guess) that’s quite stunning. To me, 75 is similar but magnified.
I generally like Riesling more than Sauternes, but I put d’Yquem (and Climens) in a separate category, for me at least. To me, Climens is the greatest value in the world of sweet wine and d’Yquem is the best.
I cannot say at the moment that 2001 is the best vintage of d’Yquem I have tasted. It is certainly impressive, but right now I would rather have the 2001 Climens than the 2001 d’Yquem for something to drink tonight. That being said, I think the 2001 will be great.
Really enjoyed the 1967, but while it had good richness, it seems to lack a bit of acidity to me. Very much loved the 83 - had it earlier this year. Have not had the 75.
My favorite d’Yquem (and it is somewhat hard to say if this is real as I had it so many years ago) was the 1971. It had wonderful acidity as well as richness and I loved the wine. More recently, I loved the 2011. Of course, I had it at the winery, so I am not sure how much location bias I had, but this wine was just beautiful.
Way back in the early 1980s, I had a taste of a 1928 d’Yquem at a Heublein Auction preview tasting. Boy was that special.
I’ve never tasted older than 1980 so I can’t comment beyond there, but I have always cherished my experiences with the 1989 and the 1983. For me the 1983 has a crispness and thrill to it that I don’t find in the other Yquems from the 80s, and I think it’s more interesting than the 1986. The 1989 I like for entirely opposite reasons - the sheer size and weight held barely in check, like an elephant on a tightrope. Both are among my peak wine experiences
I always love discussing this, so thanks for posting the topic.
For me, I’ve been particularly impressed by the 88. The '86 lacked distinction for me the one time I had it (and I really wanted to like it, since it was my birth year). I haven’t tried the '83, but that’s one I need to track down. I’ve never had the '67, but in the 70s the '75 and '76 are excellent but I prefer the acidity and freshness of the '88. I like the '89 more than the '90, and there are certain “off” vintages that I think really show better than their reputation might suggest: right now the '95 and the '03 are really nice. The '03 in a completely different way than usual, but I think it’s an excellent value Yquem to buy now and age for the next decade or two.
For newer vintages, I’ve had the 2011 which was excellent but needs time. Haven’t had a chance to try much else from recent years.
I’ve had a lot of enjoyable d’Yquems but I must say that the 1975 is my favorite.
I for one don’t mind a bit of richness/sweetness/cloy in these wines since opening a bottle is always an occasion. The key is to pair it with the right foods or none at all. Richer vintages like '71 are great with or as dessert, but for a while I was going through halves of the 1970 and that had it own charms for an “iffy” vintage. I like the 1996/1997 wines for dessert as well. But having them with food kills some of the complexity I think. For drinking on its own, 1975 is it.
That’s what I don’t get, Jeff. I totally understand about acidity in these wines - too often Sauternes is deficient in this aspect - but to me the 1986 has lovely, bright, acid. I find it a finer-boned vintage and that’s why I prefer it do some of the fatter years, like '90. For the same reason, I prefer the '75 to the more top-heavy '76.
Yes , this is a topic some of us always like to discuss .
I think the best wine now is 1967 but it is hard to find a pristine bottle , I have seen a lot of average ones. The 67 is the Yquem with most disappointing bottles but if you have a good one… The 1975 is a very close runner up and much more uniform so maybe it is better because of that .
I like 1988 , much less 1990 ( to big ) . The 89 is somewhere in the middle of those 2 . I prefer 88 over 86 .
2001 is excellent , a finesse wine, too young now . I like 1962 but not as much as William . A hugely underrated Yquem is the 1982 imho .
My favorite 20th century wine is the 1945 . Many people claim it is the 1921 but I think it is too big ( too much sugar , too much of everything ) . The 1937 , 1943 and 1929 are also in the top of the league . The 1955 is one of the biggest wines of the century ( we had it 2 weeks ago , the cork had dropped in the bottle so I had to decant it ; about half was not drunk during the dinner and I had put the decanter in my cold cellar and forgot about it ; one week later , I discovered it and tried it , it was delicious , maybe even better , such a beautiful acidities… it will outlast us all ! )
In my wine club , we usually do not drink young Yquem . But at our last wine club tasting we had an Yquem 1997 and it blew us away . Another great Yquem .
Chateau D’Yquem - Mini vertical tasting - Nov 2005
Sit down tasting. Five wines were served starting from the youngest to the oldest.
Vintage 1999
Tight, lean and balanced. A drier vintage perhaps as the wine clearly shows less botrytis influence. Clean and fresh. Vibrant. Isn’t going to turn in to any voluptuous wine. If you are looking for a hedonistic wine this isn’t it. Remarkably balanced and tight.
I returned to this wine after tasting the entire line up and 1999 was not completely overshadowed by others. Sometimes the older wines screw up the younger ones. However, the 1999 stood its ground. It will remain very attractive its own mould. I really liked it.
Vintage 1986
Deep straw but not yellow. Some deepening of colour change seen compared to the 1999. More fat. High toned. Beautiful body and good poise. It maintains a surreal elegance in spite of the richness. Excellent.
Vintage 1983
More or less same colour as the 1986. Nose had apricots and butterscotch elements. Very lifted nose with a bit of VA to it. Texturally much more powerful on the palate than the 1986. But it still a complete rounded feel with no rough edges. Excellent.
Vintage 1975
Deeper colour. Explosive nose. I kept coming back to it –just to languish in its perfume. Apricots and carmelised peaches. A bit of toffee. Much more concentrated that 1983. Big bruiser of wine yet with a near perfect balance. Underlying spine of acidity was helpful to keep it from appearing flabby. An absolute delight.
Vintage 1945
Darkish. Aged character. Complex nose with lots of tertiary characters almost indescribable. Well rounded and mellowed. Molasses type. Very sweet fruit. I felt that the acid backbone had just receded a little. It was not cloying in the least but I would have preferred a tad more tighter structure as I thought it to be more open knit. Extremely beautiful wine.
Best wine of the tasting?
The group as a whole preferred 1945 but I actually preferred the 1975 to the 1945.
For me it’ s 67as Herwig said. Good provenance is essential. 75 is great too but still a little bit young. For current drinking beside 67, I really like 80 & 82.
Put me well into the 1983 camp. I"ve never had the big years prior to that ('67 etc.) but the '83 is a pretty stunning wine. Big but balanced in that you can drink half a bottle by yourself without realizing it in the way of great fresh Riesling.
but that '86 is the only one that left a real impression.