France 2023 day 2: Yquem banquet

Dinner at Château d'Yquem with wines chosen to pair with dishes from Guillaume Galliot.

2018 Yquem - nose of apricot, orange blossom, honey, beeswax, saffron. So fresh, so energetic and lively. The wine is still too young to be unctuous on the palate, but it's already soft and supple. Very exotic. Very delicious.

2021 Ygrec - nose of muscat grapes, a little bit of flint and mineral. Good acidity, as it's there but not too sharp, with some ripeness to balance out everything. This was a good match with the scallops.

2017 Yquem - just a year older than the 2018 but this was much more mature. Very supple and alluring, with nose of honey and apricot. Much sweeter on the palate but also comes with the bitterness on the finish. A bit more viscous in terms of texture. Chef says he smells durian in this wine, but I didn't think so. Maybe the creaminess but there's no stink here.

2001 Yquem - so rich, soooo unctuous, and much more mature. Showing lots of marmalade and then the bitterness on the finish. Nose of honey, minerals, a little acetone, so much ripe honeydew melon, and sooooo sweet on the nose. This was such a stunning wine!

1990 Yquem - this was soooo smooth now, thinner on the body and definitely lighter. Nose of raisins, with a prominent, bitter finish.

1970 Yquem - lots of alcohol and tons of acetone made this sharp on the nose. Lots of raisins on the nose, a little exotic, with some medjool dates, and this was actually more aged mandarin peel than the classic marmalade thanks to a bit of smokiness. Lots of depth on the palate, and the bitterness was there, but this was not viscous by any means. So happy to have tasted this at the château.

1934 Yquem - nose of honey, raisins, medjool dates, almost nutty. More sharp on the nose than expected. Later on also showing honeydew melon. Very elegant now. Not so sweet on the palate at this age, and not too bitter on the finish. After the cheese course, though, a little more of the bitterness came out.

Full post on dinner is here.