Just bought this bottle as someone’s birthday gift but the colour seems too dark orange to me. Not sure if it is normal or not. I don’t want to gift someone a flawed bottle.
They used to have a color chart for each vintage. I couldn’t find that but they do have vintage information. Château d'Yquem Keep in mind I have a 1983 which is darker than their 1983 vintage blurb.
To me, that looks perfectly normal for a 2007 Sauternes.
Don’t have my 2007 Suduiraut at hand, but I wouldn’t be worried.
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Thanks, that is a relief. Was worried because I have a half bottle of 2006 Sauternes that is a lot lighter compared to this bottle.
It does look a touch dark/dull for a 2007 to me, I’m afraid to say. I had a bottle last year.
Begs the question - just how much color variation is there from vintage to vintage for d’Yquem or for Sauterne in general. I am assuming the OP is concerned the bottled is oxidized.
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From vintage to vintage, there is variation, for a variety of reasons related to vintage conditions. This isn’t an issue.
It’s variation from bottle to bottle that is concerning.
Looks like bottle variation is more common than I realized. The 5 bottles of 05 Riessec all bought by me on release and stored in a temperature controlled cellar.
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I’ve been seeing that a lot with 2001-2005 era Sauternes. (not just Yquem)
Can’t say what’s causing it, but certainly something I’ve noticed.
I have popped open many cases of Yquem in my time, and slight color variations within a case are not at all unusual once the wines are a few years old. I cannot explain why, and I have not noted any major performance differences, but I don’t let it worry me anymore.
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To me the level looks just a touch low. Also, the colour is a little dark and perhaps a little lackluster (though that may be the photo). I have seen a lot of colour variation in older Sauternes (particularly Rieussec) and it can occur in wines of this age as well. I suspect it cold be down to anything from different storage temperatures to bottle/barrel/batch variation. It may also be a result of cork weakness though, which would be exacerbated by high temperatures, which may case with this bottle.
It’s probably fine. Bottles of Sauternes develop color differently. I’m not sure if it’s the picture, but it appears a bit cloudy. That might, or might not matter. At the end of the day, the only way to know is to pop the cork.
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For real? Every bottle in every photo has a fill into the neck.
Yup, definitely on the low side (the OP bottle). Clearly lower than any of the other bottles shown in the post above… In an auction catalogue this would probably be listed as VTS or BN rather than IN.
Another reason for the colour/fill/lack of clarity might of course be that it’s a fake. Not unknown, even for younger Yquem, but probably not the case here, presuming the supplier is a trusted source.
With respect, I have over 20 years experience appraising wine as a sideline and have worked with almost all the major auction houses on multiple occasions. Those 5 halves of Rieussec are neck fills, maybe base neck for the middle one.
And if you look at any chart in the back of any auction catalogue, you will see this. Your information is just flat out wrong, and your speculation about color difference being due to counterfeits is just that- pure speculation. Two long time experts have already stated that color variance within a case is quite normal and we have years of direct experience to back that up.
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I have a bunch of 2001 Yquem I bought on futures from the same place that has been cellared since I received them 10+ years ago with controlled temperature and humidity and there is significant color variation. It could be related to cork variation, I guess. One thing I have noticed is that the color doesn’t necessarily correlate with how the wines have shown. We drink a pretty good amount of Sauternes (mostly Yquem) and that’s been my experience.
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I agree that the other bottles are IN/HF; was just referring to the OP (post edited accordingly).
I do think the level is a few mm on the low side for a bottle this young, if properly stored. To make sure I wasn’t just making this up, I checked and none of my bottles of Yquem younger than 1989 have levels this low. Nor do any of the bottles of this vintage advertised online, at least from a quick glance through the listings.
I don’t think there’s anything unusual about the colour per se, but as @Jeff_Leve and @William_Kelley also noted, it does look a little dull. While it may still be fine, I would be sceptical about buying it.
I see now - thank you. Yes the OP bottle depending on angle could go either way.
I’ve been seeing this too.
It’s pretty much impossible to tell color of a wine from a photo because of the backlighting, the camera, etc. You have to be holding the bottle to actually accurately opine. That said, I’ll opine. 
The OP’s bottle is much too dark for a 14-year-old top quality Sauternes. Remember that d’Yquem holds a lot of wine because they only release a certain number of bottles a year, unlike most other wineries. If that bottle is as dark in person as it looks in the photo, I personally wouldn’t trust it. I have Sauternes from the 1980s that I’ve owned for 30 years that are lighter in color.
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Ya just concerned that it is oxidized. In your photo of the 2007 the fill levels are both higher than mine too so not too sure what is going on. I think the colour of mine is closer to the darker one on the left.