Château d'Yquem 1986

There is no other wine in the world like it, and there is no other luxury wine that can possibly justify its price as much as Yquem. The remarkable amount of painstaking labor necessary to produce the nectar known as Yquem is almost impossible to comprehend. This is a fascinating effort. With greater evidence of botrytis than the colossal 1983, but less power and alcohol, the 1986 Yquem tastes reminiscent of the 1975, only more precocious, as well as more concentrated. Several highly respected Bordeaux negociants who are Yquem enthusiasts claim the 1986 Yquem is the greatest wine produced at the property since the legendary 1937. Its enthralling bouquet of pineapples, sauteed hazelnuts, vanillin, and ripe apricots is breathtaking. Compellingly concentrated, the breadth as well as depth of flavor seemingly know no limits. This full-bodied, powerful, yet impeccably balanced Yquem should provide memorable drinking for 40-55 more years. Like the 1983, this is another winemaking tour de force. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2040. Last tasted, 4/91.

From an outstanding year in Sauternes, this Yquem has some honey character but fails to take off. It's a bit flat on the nose, lacking in acidity, turns a little dry on finish.—Yquem vertical. Drink now through 2010.

The 1986 Yquem has a rich and generous bouquet with crème brûlée, saffron and dried mango aromas, along with a patisserie scent that is quite pronounced at the moment. There is a spirituous element here that is disconcerting. The palate is well balanced with a spicy entry and plenty of ginger mixed with mandarin and orange rind notes. This is a powerful, almost burly Yquem, though it does not have the complexity and amplitude of the 1988 or 1989. This is a Yquem of stature rather than nuance. Despite perfect provenance, there are better bottles out there. Tasted at the Yquem vertical at the château.

1986 d’Yquem offers the perfect balance of acidity and sweet, ripe, honeyed tropical fruit. Pineapples, crème brulee, apricots, honey, grilled nuts and vanilla with freshness, sweetness and lift.

Intense gold with amber highlights. Good bouquet intensity: orange blossom, almonds, honey, vanilla and toasty notes. Fresh, intense attack on the palate. Seductive, yet also powerful. The structure is pronounced and fruit-driven, clearly noticeable on the finish. Beautiful fruit intensity on the long aftertaste. A great Yquem, with great potential. You can already start enjoying it.

The first sip suggested a potential wine of the century. But at the next tasting it turned out very differently: I stared in disbelief at the label after it was revealed during an extensive Yquem blind tasting. Then I looked again at my notes: 15/20 points! And all the other tasters were shaking their heads too, because this legendary ’86 showed extraordinarily poorly. When I drank it for the first time in spring with Jean-Pierre Moueix, I was preaching at the lunch table that this vintage could, for me, be the successor to the ’37—and now this: idiosyncratic bouquet; sultanas, reminiscent of a Rhine Riesling. Vegetal palate, fine bitterness, chlorinated, salty. As a closing remark I had noted: simple sweetness without class. It must have been a bad bottle! In any case, the last word has not yet been said. No rating for this bottle! 1996, tasted from three different bottles: all were cloyingly sweet and far from having any claim to be a wine of the century. After so many bad bottles, I must strongly advise all Yquem lovers against buying the ’86. Perhaps it will recover one day and become what it initially promised. Perhaps it will experience a renaissance like the ’82 did back then. Even though I am, by nature, an optimist, I currently lack the faith. 97: Now I know what the problem is with this great Yquem in itself: it is too “cold”. While the ’83, ’88 and ’89 smell almost explosively of dried fruits, this ’86 comes across like a cold Chablis: on the nose there are limestone and magnesium traces and a subtle, almost discreet sweetness. This also prevents the botrytis note, which is evident in the acid profile, from revealing itself. Over the next five—perhaps even ten—years, you won’t be able to feel much affection for it. But it will gain and, at its peak, will be a great Yquem with a Barsac-like profile. Yet just a few months later, another 16/20-point bottle: perfumed bouquet; multi-faceted with pleasant sweetness. Juicy palate, honeydew melon, good length. Other tasters rated it rather higher. Sadly, one has to assume that, as with the ’67 and ’75, there are different bottles! But what is very positive among all these assumptions: in twenty years this wine has what it takes to become a wine of the century. 99: Drunk to crown an unforgettable evening at Christine and Christoph Rageth’s in Dietikon, and “laid to rest” to guitar sounds: medium yellow with first golden reflections. Gently toasty bouquet, scented of vanilla and apricots; the botrytis seems hidden in the background. Fat, opulent palate; the aromas are still closed and the wine even shows a certain tannic astringency. Shortly after release from the Château, the signs for a truly, truly great Yquem vintage were there. Then difficult years followed, and often somewhat hard-to-read bottlings. And then I had the absolute aha moment of a stunning Sauternes. Immense potential is certainly assured. Unfortunately, there seem to be different bottle qualities. The best: 19/20. 06: The deepest color of all Sauternes tasted. Cool bouquet, orange blossom, apricots as if freshly cooked, peppery and rich, compact sweetness, very perfumed at the core, white pepper, candied citron; still feels very young and fresh, finishes with enormous fruit drive and sweetness and shows tremendous ageing potential. A great Yquem that somehow blends its Sauternes typicity with a certain finesse reminiscent of a truly great Barsac. 08: Drunk twice on the same day! First at lunch at Cos d’Estournel with Jean Guillaume Prâts, and then in the evening with François Xavier Borie at Grand Puy Lacoste. The en primeur business does have its good sides! (19/20). 16: Bright orange-gold. Brilliant bouquet: delicate citrus notes and a multi-layered botrytis note, orange blossom, fresh cooled apricot jam; very balanced. On the palate, finely full, poised, flowing homogeneously, persistent on the finish. One of the great Yquems, though not among the spectacular ones. Or perhaps that will still come, because unlike all the other 1986 Sauternes, there is further potential here. Overall, a finesse package not to be underestimated. Superior to all competitors. (19/20). 19: Bright yellow-gold, not as developed yet (the Rieussec ’86 in the same series was much darker!). After tasting quite a lot of 1986s again and again, this is the only wine where you find botrytis from the very first second—though not very intensely. The bouquet is expansive and multi-faceted. There are fresh berries, very ripe fruits, and also dried fruits—apricots, peach, mirabelle plums and orange. Restrained and tender at the same time. On the palate, sublime yet full; the acidity is integrated, the flow is мягk, with an almost silky texture. The finish is focused, intense and very long. It is not an absolutely great Yquem. However, the last word has not yet been spoken, as the drinking window is only just beginning. And because it is a) a Sauternes and b) an Yquem, I was counting on a guarantee of pleasure almost up to the year 2100. (19/20). 21: At the dinner at Lynch-Bages. The wine was served blind. I also guessed 1988 and speculated either Suduiraut or Yquem. I had had Yquem 1988 a few days earlier. But it was the 1986. With a half-matured golden color and delicate greenish reflections. The nose full of mirabelle plums, green plums and saffron. The botrytis (still) doesn’t really push through, so the pleasantly sweet wine comes across as vegetal, apricot-like and molasses-like at the same time. On the palate, however, it shows considerably more grandeur. (19/20)

Velvety, creamy, full, sweet, powerful bouquet with notes of raisins, dried apricots, honey and Pertinax. Velvety, dense, creamy, full-bodied palate with pronounced sweetness, fine acidity and hints of linden blossom tea. Creamy, full, velvety palate with a wide array of aromas, a creamy structure, marked sweetness and a long, full finish. 19/20 Drink – 2040

A hot, dry summer in Sauternes, after a difficult early season, and this was one of the latest vintages on record, with harvest really getting underway after a rainy spell in late October, followed by a dry, sunny November that saw picking continue right through the month (the château remembers that much of it took place under a blanket of picturesque mist). The result is extremely impressive, and even now there is a youthful kick to this Yquem. Expect plenty of biting marmalade, pineapple and orange peel, dried fruits layered with truffles, saffran, lemon confit, salted caramel and grilled cumin. Alexandre de Lur Saluces was heading up the estate in 1986, as he had been since the 1960s. 100% new oak for ageing.

Pale to medium gold with a touch of amber in the color, the 1986 d'Yquem slowly expands in the glass with a powerful crescendo of orange marmalade, honeycomb, praline, and black tea followed by suggestions of brown sugar and toasted almonds. The palate appears fabulously savory, with a wicked backbone of acidity creating exhilarating tension, finishing long and nutty. The residual sugar is 96.9 g/l.

The 1986 vintage didn’t produce the most powerful wine, but the botrytis is of the very highest quality, and the wine is refined, long, surprisingly structured and slender, with an ageless youthfulness and lovely saffron notes.

Coppery colour. Fruity nose with light vanilla and toasted notes. Hints of crème brûlée and vanilla. Silky on the attack, the wine melts on the palate, extremely fruity and smooth, with energy and depth. It drops slightly on the finish before coming back with fine, complex aromas. Very open right now.