Château d'Yquem 1988

The 1988 is a backward-styled Yquem, built along the lines of the extraordinary 1975. With a honeyed, smoky, orange/coconut/pineapple-scented nose, this powerful wine possesses full body, layers of highly concentrated, extracted flavors, considerable botrytis, and a sensational finish. Last tasted 12/97.

Broad and soft, with creamed apricot, mango, date, honey, caramel and marzipan notes, all framed by toasted brioche and musk accents. The flattering finish lets orange curd and flan details glide through. A touch shy on tension, but shows lovely range. -- Non-blind Yquem vertical (July 2014). Drink now through 2030. 6,500 cases made.

The 1988 Yquem is similar to the bottle I tasted two years earlier, one of my favorite vintages from that decade. Orange pith, quince, wax resin, and mandarin blossom on the nose, yet there is more control and focus than in other warmer vintages. The palate is underpinned by a wonderful frisson of acidity that cuts a swathe through the viscous fruit with Clementine and touches of crème brûlée on the finish. It’s firing on all cylinders, and I envisage it remaining there for some time.

Showing a bit more mahogany in the color, as well as more secondary characteristics since my last tasting, this is still as delicious as it is complex. Now you find saffron, spice, caramel, burnt sugar, melted butter and sweet, honeyed, roasted pineapples. The wine is rich, but with ample vibrancy. There is power with elegance you feel as the sweetness of the fruits, along with the perfect touch of bitter that balances everything out coats your palate. Like all great vintages of d’Yquem, the only issue is how effortless it is to drink. Drink from 2025-2060.

Intense gold with amber highlights. A complex, captivating nose of candied apricot, orange zest, mirabelle plum, beeswax and saffron. Full-bodied, powerful on the palate, with an outstanding interplay between sweetness and structure. Great opulence and density. Passion fruit and honey also find their place on the palate. A late bloomer, like many Yquems, that could one day reach 20/20.

During a Château visit in 1989, I secretly dipped my finger into the barrel and then licked it with relish. Certainly too little to give a valid comment. But I felt like a little boy stealing fruit from the neighbor’s tree. 1993, at the Château, enjoyed as an aperitif with Comte de Lur Saluces: rich, opulent bouquet; vanilla, papaya and passion fruit in very concentrated form, with a glue-like note from the botrytis behind. Full palate, again a lightly exotic fruit presence, rich with a velvety, melting fatness, good supporting acidity, a long, sustained finish. Stylistically very close to the legendary 1975. 1997, a half-bottle: we were happy right up to the moment we brought the wine to our nose: corked! Half-bottle — full frustration! 1998, a double magnum in Munich; corked again!!! 99: intense golden yellow. Equally intense, fine bouquet; expansive — honey, butter and a hint of orange zest. Soft, plush on the palate, nice fullness, but at the moment it lacks a bit of length. Nose better than palate. (19/20). 07: Arno Sgier from the Traube in Trimbach offered us a bottle after fairly extensive, though not excessive, drinking. I noted candied fruit, angelica, acacia honey, and was surprised by the fat body; the acidity polarizes slightly on the tongue, yet beautifully balances the rather forceful, rich sweetness. I was so enthusiastic that I resolved to rate the wine much higher than before and award it at least 19/20 points. Somehow I had anchored it negatively in my memory. But it was the often corked bottles in the past that made me believe that. If you find it in impeccable condition, it is a truly great Yquem — and given the price, perhaps only insiders should know that. 08: at a lunch at Yquem. Before that we had the “fat” 1998. The 1988 seemed almost filigree, delicate and finely nervy afterwards. It is probably the Barsac-like breed that makes the class of this very refined Yquem, which does not come across as very sweet. 09: lunch at Las Cases — a worthy conclusion to a fine midday meal with Wiener schnitzel and homemade pasta. You won’t find that anywhere else in Bordeaux. (18/20). 12: we drank it in Luxembourg next to the full, elegant 2002. It seemed somewhat lean and almost a little wiry, though its pronounced minerality deserves praise. (18/20). 13: seven small, hand-cut glasses filled with a golden nectar from a 3/8 bottle, called 1988 Château d’Yquem, provided the finale. The color quite dark, with an orange shimmer and slightly brownish highlights. The nose, sugar-sweet, raisiny, honey notes and cold chamomile tea. A hint of saffron too, but also something vegetal, a very fine grassy touch. The palate full and rich, with subtly slightly papery contours. In the finish, fine capsular notes with a spicy yet present Semillon noble bitterness. Probably right now on a fairly long plateau. 18: quite golden and luminous, showing fine orange tones within. Opens with mineral aromas, white pepper, dried apricots, hay flowers, raisins and dried figs. Powerful on the palate, showing acidity on the one hand and quite an intense sweetness on the other. Somehow it seems — despite its stated greatness — not yet to have fully found its harmony. But it was clearly the most powerful and perhaps also the most ageworthy wine in this Sauternes line-up. (18/20). 20: already a rather dark golden yellow with ochre reflections. Intense, spicy bouquet, candied peels of kumquats, blood oranges and resinous notes. On the second pass, raisin scent and floral notes (salad burnet). The aromatic profile is somehow “dry-sweet.” On the palate, dancing, highly aromatic and in itself still quite young. The balance is wonderful, and this d’Yquem — which I had previously rather underestimated — now shows itself very elegant, full of finesse, with a beautiful length. This was the best bottle so far! (19/20).

Medium gold-amber in color, the 1988 d'Yquem waltzes out with graceful wafts of candied ginger, lemongrass, dried apricots, and creme caramel plus touches of fresh straw and crushed stones. The palate is racy, with a compelling grip to the texture and wonderfully savory/sweet layers, finishing on a lingering citrus pip note. The residual sugar is 123 g/l.

The 1988’s nose is highly complex, and the palate combines both Yquem’s power and a fine, elegant, beautifully long structure; the finish is restrained. With aeration, it gains breadth and complexity. Enormous ageing potential, a legendary wine. 13.5% and 123 g/L. Acidity: 3.8 g H2SO4.

It smells inviting, ready to drink. Then, in the glass, it evolves into almost menthol-like notes. This freshness makes the pairing with the dish remarkable. The whole builds with delicacy and depth. A slightly buttery finish, with a hint of candied fruit and fresh almond lingering on the palate. Here, the spicy notes on the nose lead us toward the dish (milk-fed veal grilled over vine shoots, spring sabayon, first verbena and peas), while the slightly tannic final structure, almost like a red wine, makes the pairing even more complex. A multidimensional wine, perfectly suited to fine dining.