TN- 2002 Chateau d'Yquem

From half bottle this afternoon over Christmas dinner- so no formal note. Tasted on opening and revisited 15 minutes and 3 hours later.

Nice light bright yellow color, orange and honey on the nose, on the palate a mid-weight Yquem with some nice puppy fat to it- very much in the vein of the 1999, unfortunately as with the 2001 a couple of years after release this has a strange tarragon-minty bite on the tail end that appears related to the oak treatment, 15 minutes later opening nicely- more honey notes and expanding on the palate, 3 hours later- forward and attractive, mandarin oranges, honey, the strange green finish is even more pronounced and dry, oak too heavy for this right now and troubling, all in all a solid mid-weight Yquem but as with the 2001 the next 10 years will be very important in watching what the oak gets up to.

(***)?, 2015-2025 hopefully.

I have a hard time seeing 2001 and 2002 in the same vein. Anyone else care to comment? Are they really similar?

2001 is by far a better Yquem!

just my 2 cents

Not saying they are of similar quality- not by a long shot. I am saying that the strange character that seems driven by oak treatment in the 2001 is evident in the 2002 as well.

Very interesting Tom - haven’t tried the 2002, but considered a double mag as it’s a birth year.
I may have made a good choice buying other 02s, but I’ve never had a d’Yquem I didn’t enjoy.

That is strange Tom,

No tarragon on the tail here [cheers.gif]
I love this wine from day 1, and had It in my glas last week.
It is a Yquem, but this vintage is a class of its own, even compared with 67, 75 and the best 80ers