Description / Reviews
"This took home the audience award at the 67 Pall Mall tasting that I was hosting, with good reason. What a brilliant example of why Sauternes should be left to gather nuance and to shed its more exuberant, fattier early years before opening. This is just a masterclass in the layers and complexity that you find in fully mature Yquem; saffron, truffle, pineapple, quince, lime, apricots and lemon. Hugely persistent with a squeeze of scraping slate acidity through the final few minutes that gives a dry but mouthwatering finish. It is clearly in its tertiary phase in terms of the type of aromatics, and the beautiful amber, rose-gold colour, but there is no sense that it is beginning to run out of steam. A concentrated, gloriously balanced Yquem that has decades ahead of it, and fully justifies the reputation of the vintage. Count Alexandre Lur Saluces was heading up the estate at the time." - 100 Points, Jane Anson, Decanter
"The 1989 Yquem is my favourite of the triumvirate and this bottle was stellar. It explodes from the glass with scents of quince, acacia, honeysuckle, saffron and wild heather (a trait that I have observed previously). What marks this out is the stunning delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with tangerine, fig, marmalade and quince. A livewire Yquem with enormous depth and intensity, a bit more swagger than the 1988, a bit more precision-tooled than the 1990. Fabulous. Tasted blind at a private dinner in Bordeaux." - 99 Points, Neal Martin
"What a remarkable trilogy of vintages for Chateau d'Yquem (I am speaking of the 1990, 1989 and 1988). This vintage leans more toward the 1990 than 1988 in style. It is a very unctuously textured, medium gold-colored Yquem that is oozing with honey-soaked oranges, pineapples, apricots, and peaches. This is a very powerful, rich, thick wine, with load of glycerin, fabulous aromatics, and seemingly low acidity, but mind-boggling levels of depth and concentration, and a finish that goes on well over a minute. Like the 1990, it is a bit more flamboyant than its restrained sibling, the 1988, and tends to be more impressive in terms of power and richness than the more nuanced 1988. A great, great Yquem! Anticipated maturity: now-2065." - 98 Points, Robert Parker
