Château d'Yquem 1991

1991: Yquem's 1991 is a beautifully made, medium gold-colored wine with a gorgeous nose of creme brulee, roasted coffee, and sweet, honeyed pineapple and other assorted fruits. Full-bodied, unctuously-textured, and rich, but not yet revealing a lot of complexity or enormous weight. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.

Lacks a bit of elegance for Yquem. Light gold in color, with honey, marmalade, dried apricot and vanilla aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, rather fat really, with an oily texture. Medium-sweet, with a burnt almond and molasses finish. A bit rustic. This might improve with age, but why wait? Drink now.

Paler than 1990. Pale gold. Smells of very ripe pears. Relatively simple and unevolved. Clean, quite tart palate. Noticeably lighter-bodied than 1990 – not as pure and tingling either. 17 and developing but not a great Yquem. (JR)

The 1991 Yquem is my fourth encounter with this vintage, which is better than its reputation suggests. It is more fragrant on the nose than the 1993 and 1994: fig jam mixed with Aszú-like fruit, with a subtle adhesive note in the background. The palate is well balanced, with a tangy entry and a keen thread of acidity. Not a complex Yquem, but it is less abrupt than the aforementioned vintages. The finish is still Barsac-like, yet it still leaves you wanting more. Drink now and over the next decade. Just 98 g/l residual sugar. Tasted at the château.

An intense bouquet with citrus fruit and botrytis notes. Coffee and cocoa butter. An elegant attack on the palate, a creamy character and good structure. A surprising 1991: fruity, well-balanced and with good ageing potential. Bravo!

Arrival (17/20): An open, slightly vegetal bouquet; despite clearly pronounced sweetness, the nose shows an illogical Sauvignon-like aromatic profile in the style of a Loire sweet wine, with only very sparse botrytis. On the palate, very elegant, with plush, rounded contours; the huge sense of richness makes the sweetness feel a bit clumsy at the moment, balanced in a somewhat polarising way by a slightly sharp acidity. The extract leans toward cool, mineral, chalky notes; toward the end the wine turns oily and, with the excess sweetness, almost a touch jammy. It will need quite a bit more time and has better prospects for development than other predecessors from small Yquem vintages (e.g., 1985 and 1987). 98: Pale colour. An intense botrytis bouquet with light yellow fruits; starfruit, with molasses behind. Medium-bodied on the palate, but with well-supporting acidity. Drinks quite well already when young.

Bad bottle Coppery color. Fruity, woody nose. Very fruity, smooth palate with a slightly woody finish. This dryness indicates a bottle that isn’t showing well. Another case of trouble caused by the cork stopper!