Château d'Yquem 1996

Compared with the flamboyant aromatics of the 1997, Yquem's 1996 plays it closer to the vest, although there is a lot going on. Light gold with a tight but promising nose of roasted hazelnuts intermixed with creme brulee, vanilla beans, honey, orange marmalade, and peaches, this medium to full-bodied offering reveals loads of power in its restrained, measured personality. There is admirable acidity, weight, texture, and purity in this impeccably made Yquem. However, patience will be a virtue. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2060. Note: Yquem spends 42 months in 100% new oak. No cask tasting is permitted, and the wine is not released until 5 years after the vintage. For example, the 1998 will be released some time in 2003; the 2001 will not be released until 2006.

This leans toward the tropical side, with mango and guava notes out front, while maple, date, blood orange and citrus oil flavors fill in behind. The finish kicks into another gear, taking off with honeysuckle, orange blossom and frangipane accents. Has almost unbridled power today, while maintaining serious cut. A very impressive showing in a rather overlooked vintage. -- Non-blind Yquem vertical (July 2014). Drink now through 2035.

Half bottle. Deep gold, savoury/sour apricot and orange peel aromas. Intense, viscous, dense and there's a slightly grippy texture on the palate still. Great depth, notes of almond and baked apple and all that sweetness counterbalanced by bracing acidity. Still seems so young, and promises more. (JH)

A beauty that is already fun to taste and enjoy for its honeyed, apricot, spice, pineapple, orange peel and vanilla bean profile. Low acid and fat in style, this glass of sunshine and pleasure hits the sweet spot.

Tasting this wine used to be comparable to a trip to the casino. You either won or lost, although the odds were actually lower than in gambling; time and again there were bottles with a strong nail-polish note. In the meantime, the situation has improved. Medium golden yellow. Acacia honey, lemon, apricot, saffron. A racy character on the palate with pronounced structure, which bodes well for the future. Fruit aromas such as mandarin and apricot. Rather than botrytis, you mainly notice the berries’ over-ripeness. Marked acidity on the finish. Will time give it a chance to become a great Yquem? It’s my wedding year, so it should turn out well!

02: How can something like this work? The wine is produced and bottled. In 2002 it is launched through some 20 Bordeaux négociants. Hundreds of wine merchants buy it and offer it to potential buyers for an obscene amount of money. The price was far too high for me, so I turned down all my “allocations”. Thankfully! Because this sip, ceremoniously served to me at a Wine & Dine in Düsseldorf at a high-end restaurant, was like a sweet haunted house ride. And as if that horror vision weren’t enough, I also had to comment on the wine. Just as I was about to launch into a reprimanding tirade, I looked into the happy faces of quite a few label drinkers. So I went with the generic Yquem praise hit song and, thank God—due to lack of time—managed to flee onto the plane to Zurich to attend a wine course at the Académie du Vin. There we had a simple but very successful 1998 Haut-Bergeron. Over the following two weeks I tasted at least 30 more great Sauternes. That allows me today, as I type up my memories of this rather botched 96 Yquem, to give a fairly neutral and comprehensive overview: pale, brilliant yellow with a lime-green touch. The nose is alarmingly grassy; vegetal, with a rotten-leaf note; the sweetness is restrained with a hint of acacia honey; the aroma is metallic—essentially completely green. On the palate, a caricature of Yquem: sweet, wiry, with a strange fruit flesh that shows neither citrus, nor apricot, nor orange. Yet somehow it does turn into apricots after all (albeit completely unripe!), which come through in the slightly bitter finish. Yquem really ought to consider creating some sort of second label. Such poor performances as were bottled in the 1993, 1994 and 1996 vintages should eventually make even the dumbest wine drinkers realize that, in these particular cases, prestige and quality are two completely different concepts that neither approach nor overlap Yquem in any way. In court cases, such offenses would be punished most severely as “misrepresentation of facts”. (13/20). 11: The wine has come around and shows a nose that first recalls gelatin and glucose, then saffron and applesauce, forced botrytis, and patchouli-like fruit on the finish. A pretty good Sauternes—but a mediocre Yquem. (16/20). 14: I was allowed/had to comment on the wine on two evenings. It is indeed a lovely and also a very good Sauternes. But an Yquem at this level of performance still costs far too much.

The 1996 Yquem is pale to medium amber in color. Spritely scents of orange blossom, honeysuckle, and pineapple upside-down cake jump from the nose, giving way to hints of green mango, lime cordial, and powdered ginger. The palate is relatively savory and energetic, delivering bright citrus and tropical fruit flavors, with a racy backbone, finishing gracefully, beautifully poised, with a lingering perfume. The residual sugar is 122 grams per liter.

Like the 1994, this wine’s development is disappointing. A smoky, straightforward nose. A fruity, simple palate with medium length. Noticeable variation from one bottle to another.