Château d’Yquem Sauternes 1er Cru Classé Supérieur 2021 (37,5 cl.)

Tastingbook.com

James Suckling

Dreamy, subtle aromas of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes, but also fresh lemons and pears. Then there are caramel and tart tatin undertones with some bananas, pineapple, tangerines and other tropical fruit. Full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact, giving it a lightness even though it is really structured. The tannins are throughout the palate but blend in perfectly, giving it a solid presence, like a diamond. It’s tight at the end, but you know that it will linger for ages, with a lightly chewy and intellectual finish. Touches of sweetness, cloves and bitterness to make it interesting. Dynamic.

Alexandre Ma

Markus del Monego MW

A deeply impressing Yquem showing a bright golden colour with slightly green hue. The nose is opulent, multi-layered with an aroma of ripe apricots, fresh quinces, sweet almonds and hints of Earl Grey tea. Coconut and cardamom in the background, hints of honey, vanilla and caramel. On the palate rich and balanced with ripe peaches, quinces and hints of bergamot, tangerine zest, thyme and aromatic herbs, hints of oriental spices and vanilla in the aftertaste. A wine with excellent depth and length, truly great.

The Drinks Business

Tutankhamun gold, maybe a hint of buttercup. I find this more direct and intense than the 2020. Yet this is also a wine that exudes balance and harmony, even at this nascent stage. Beautifully limpid and with a disguised natural power. Supremely aerial. Green apple skin. Saffron. Fresh ginger. A hint of confit ginger too. Lime. White grapefruit. A touch of fleur de sel. Marzipan. White almonds. Mango. Guava. Passionfruit. Pineapple – entirely pure and crisply fresh. All in great purity. This is floral, too. Mimosa. Buttercup (almost the leitmotif here). On the palate I find this tight and tense, yet so incredibly softly textured. And, above all, intense and captivating. Sparklingly striking and dynamic – and held together by the salinity as much as by the acidity, the two in fact working together, giving this an incredible aging potential. Delicate in its intensity. Sapid and with lovely waves of saline-inflected juicy fluidity. Even now this is a wine of very considerable complexity – built from assembling the finest botrytised grapes from the best of the couronne (the crown) of Bommes (with the Château of Yquem at the epicentre). This finishes with the most glorious bitter sugar note – burnt caramel just perfectly on the edge of bitterness. So accessible but so totally ageless and, for now, almost cool in its freshness.

La Tulipe Rouge