YQUEM 2016

The 2016 Chateau D’Yquem is pure magic, and dessert wines don’t get much better. Showing a pale gold hue and a blockbuster bouquet of honeyed tangerines, tart apricots, wet stone, white flowers, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an opulent texture, vibrant acidity, and again, an incredible sense of minerality, despite having no shortage of sweetness or depth. The 2016 is a classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon that reached 14.2% alcohol with 135 grams of residual sugar. It’s already complex and approachable yet will age for 3–4 decades.

This is exotic, with very lush and seductive notes of coconut, honeysuckle, creamed white peach, glazed pear, mirabelle plum and yellow apple, all woven together seamlessly. Beautifully caressing in feel, with a long acacia echo on the finish. (JM)

The 2016 Yquem is a magical wine. It also looks like an Yquem that will drink well right out of the gate. Like so many of the better wines in this vintage, it manages to express richness while avoiding excess heaviness. Pineapple, orange marmalade, exotic flowers and spice all blossom in the glass. There is a real sense of phenolic richness and overall viscosity to the 2016 that adds to the wine's singular personality. The 135 grams of residual sugar are not especially evident. In 2016, the vineyard was harvested in four passes, but it was not until after the October rains that noble rot started to appear on the vine.

A very classic Yquem. Breathtakingly wide spectrum of floral honey, exotic fruit (passion fruit, mango and pineapple), caramel and marzipan aromas. But none of this is a jot too much. In fact, the wine is extremely precise and finely nuanced. Wonderful freshness and textural complexity, in spite of the considerable concentration and extravagance. Very suave and sensual finish that goes on and on. Drink or hold.

The 2016 Château d'Yquem was picked over four passes through the vineyard, beginning on September 27 and finishing on November 4. The crucial pass through the vines took place between October 18–22, when over half the crop was harvested. In fact, 75% of the crop was picked during the final two weeks of harvest. It has 14.2% alcohol and 135 grams per liter of residual sugar, with a pH of 3.80. A classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc, it has a comparatively nuanced bouquet compared to Yquems I have encountered at this stage. It opens gradually with light honeyed aromas, white flowers, apple blossom and just a touch of honeysuckle, though it does not possess the bravura personality of the astounding 2015. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous opening, a subtle spice note leaving the mouth tingling. This is a fresh Yquem, tensile with moderate weight and delivering, perhaps belatedly, a fine attack on the finish lined with subtle lemongrass notes. It will be interesting to chart this Yquem’s progress throughout its barrel maturation. This is an excellent Yquem, no doubt, though I missed that nerve, that labyrinthine complexity that can mark a top-tier Yquem even at this premature stage. I suspect it will drink earlier than others, but age in a style only it knows.