1996 Yquem
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Served at The Clove Club's Bordeaux lunch with roast foie gras, loquat, hazelnut and amaranth – a particularly successful combination. Deep orangey gold. Masses of botrytis exhibited on the rich nose full of pungent lanolin. The finish was fresh and clean and the sweetness, if on a scale of 1 to 10, would be about 7. Lots of weight and presence – really very majestic. No hurry whatsoever to drink this. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
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)
RS 130 g/l, TA 4 g/l. An academic vintage – Sandrine’s first. Guy Latrille left in 1997. Great balance. Mid copper. Very firm barley-sugar nose. Very rich and so concentrated. Lovely firmness. Brilliant fruit without being that sweet. Wax and depth and great tanginess. Very flexible with food, I should think. Medium weight and very very appetising, with a touch of chew on the end. Orange peel, muscularity. This one goes to the gym. Real lemony interest. (JR)
About the producer
The undisputed finest sweet wine in the world, Château d'Yquem is the only Premier Cru Supérieur estate in Sauternes, classified in 1855. With a long history stretching back to the Middle Ages, the château is entwined with that of the Lur-Saluces family – who remain involved today.