Most interesting. I have bought precious little d’Yquem in the past but just pulled the trigger on some 2021s in halves and 1 magnum. I also considered 2014, 2011 and 2009, but from my wholesaler these vintages were roughly twice the price, hence I settled on the 2021.
I’m curious. When do people open magnums of d’Yquem?
How many people do you plan that for? I’ve always been a one-and-done kinda guy with Sauternes. Small glass is plenty.
I am with you Mikko and only drink sweet wines rarely. For disclosure bought this for our restaurant as we have a small clientele of conspicuous imbibers, who I am expecting will snap this up at some stage.
I tacked on an extra day on my Bordeaux tour in 2022. I highly suggest a visit to Yquem.
https://reservation.yquem.fr/en/home/
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I don’t think you need a huge group; we’ve done lots of dinners with 12 with 3 750s of Yquem. I think the bigger issue is them needing more time.
Ok, to me half a bottle of Yquem sounds like crazytown. The amount of RS would kill me. Horses for courses I guess.
Isn’t 2021 supposed to be an exceptional Sauternes vintage albeit a tiny one?
It’s my daughter’s birth year so I bought her some Suduiraut 750s. I’ve seen in several places (including here as I recall) that the Sud is supposed to be pretty epic.1 hectoliter per hectare yields according to Leve. I guess I need to get her some Yquem as well.
For me, it isn’t “still very much Yquem”, and that’s the problem. Too much Sauvignon, not enough botrytis, and an attempt to deliver a wine built around sweetness vs acidity (instead of the bitterness vs acidity dynamic that is at the heart of great Sauternes) in a region without much acidity.
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I think William Kelley offers a fair assessment. Today’s D’Yquem isn’t the same as those powerful versions of the past. In recent years, I have focused on other Sauternes; first Climens (stylistically different but often impressive) and lately Suduiraut (big wines, but on a roll in recent vintages).
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Marshall, when do you think the change started?
Difficult to say. There are hints of a move towards more elegance and finesse in the 2014 d’Yquem, though the 2015 reverted to the more powerful style of old. By 2019 and 2020, d’Yquem’s change to a lighter, brighter style with more finesse – and more Sauvignon Blanc in the blend - became apparent…The trend continued in the 2021, when d’Yquem used a huge percentage (35%) of Sauvignon Blanc in its blend, likely with elegance and finesse in mind (to be fair, many other those estates that made 2021 did the same, though not to the same extent - it was a very difficult growing season).
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