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At Château d'Yquem, we are talking about an ideal vintage. The 1990 vintage is exceptional and offers a first class superior growth of great quality. On tasting, Yquem 1990 offers a varied aromatic palette: caramel, notes of tangerines and candied walnuts, and a final note of honey. A sweet wine to drink now or keep for several decades.
Vintage | Wine 1990 |
Classification | Sauternes - 1er Cru Classé Supérieur |
Region | Bordeaux |
Appellation | Sauternes |
Colour | Sweet white wine |
Volume | 0.75 l |
Country | France |
Château | Château d'Yquem |
Country | France |
The Château d'Yquem is an area of 133 hectares including 113 hectares of vineyards, 102 acres operated, south of Bordeaux in Sauternes region that produces a sweet white wine ranked Premier Cru Superior, the only wine from the Sauternes category.
It is considered by many as the best Sauternes. The yield is only 6 hectoliters per hectare and in some years, if the quality is not deemed sufficient, the bottles are not sold under this label.
The wines are characterized by their complexity due to a significant amount of residual sugar and flavorings made by Botrytis cinerea. A relatively high acidity helps offset the sweetness. Another characteristic for which Château d'Yquem is known is his longevity. In good years does present a bottle of his outstanding after one or two decades in a cellar and with care it will keep for a century or more, adding to the complexity...
Since 1959 Chateau d'Yquem produces a dry white wine named "Y" (and before 2004 "Y Lur-Saluces") makes an equal proportion of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. This wine, like great wine is not produced every year. The 2005 vintage was the first vintage of Yquem offered for sale en primeur.
>> See all the crus classés of Sauternes classification
Châteauneuf du Pape
Saint Estèphe
JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE Cuvée Cathelin 1990
Hermitage Rouge
CHÂTEAU CLOS DE L'ORATOIRE 1990
Saint Emilion
Champagne
Côte Rotie
Pessac Leognan
Saint Emilion
Saint Julien
DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI 1990
La Tache
(08-2019) A warm to hot vintage ideal for producing outstanding reds does not necessarily make for a great Sauternes vintage, but in the case of 1990 it did. Dry, warm winds in the autumn contributed to the level of concentration that this wine exhibits. Fortunately, a little rain in late September and early October ensured that botrytis flourished well in the end, the final factor necessary to achieve this extraordinary expression.
Medium to deep golden colored, the 1990 d'Yquem opens with unabashed opulence, giving expressive notes of dried apricots, toffee, candied walnut, tree bark and sandalwood with nuances of preserved mandarin peel, lemongrass and fallen leaves. The palate is entering that stage where it still has bags of fruit and yet appears quite dry, with a lively line contributing jaw-dropping tension and finishing with epically long-lingering honey nut and earth-inspired notes. Pure. Hedonism. The multilayered intensity perhaps makes this appear a much bigger, sweeter Yquem than it is, and yet it possesses a relatively modest 12.7% alcohol and 126 grams per liter of residual sugar with 3.9 grams per liter of total acidity (H2SO4). Well into its ideal drinking window, there is no real rush to drink this beauty, as it should remain suspended at the heavenly plateau for another 25+ years.
(08-2000) Truly superb. Yellow with a gold hue. Intense spice, honey and dried orange peel aromas. Full-bodied, very sweet and very alive. Vibrant Sauternes that goes on and on on the palate. Doesn't get much better than this.
(09-2007)