wBlog: YV1-a-M

Saturday 3.9.2016 was the long-waited day when me and three friends of mine (Timo Lämsä, Mika Kokko, Jaakko Alatyppö) opened Château Yquem vintage 2008. Half a bottle was bought from www.wein-bastion.de at price of 130€.

The bottle was chilled to 9 degrees, since the wine was still young. We had Riedel Veritas Riesling/Zinfandel and Chardonnay/Viognier -glasses which we changed in the middle of the tasting. Both glasses gave different flavors and aromas. Which was better – well that was matter of opinion, however Riesling-glass seemed to be a bit better.

The portions were weighted carefully – the nectarine did cost about 2,5€ per gram. Timo had praised Yquem so much before hand as he had tasted it at a cruise to Stockholm, that you could even wait for a miracle from tasting it.

Conclusion: Expectations were a bit too high, however there are very few wines taking an hour to drink only a 9cl amount. The wine was full of exotic fruits and the aromas of wine changed all the time in the glass, since it’s relatively young wine as a Yquem. I could also find vanilla in the wine -no wonder since it has spent 42 months in new oak. Compared to other Sauternes-wines, Yquem exploded in the mouth giving strong spectrum of aromas staying there forever. Not only was the wine excellent, but it was in its own category. It was Château Yquem.

Markus Laukkanen 29.9.2016

Wine information

Purchased / price / size: Wein-Bastion.de / 130€  / 0.375l

Grape Variety: Semillon 80%, Sauvignon Blanc 20%

Professional review: 96 pts – Neal Martin Wine Advocate 

Anticipated maturity: 2014 – 2050