D'Yquem 1893 (750ML)

99 VM

2019 Sweet Wine of the Year - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

It was not the name of the château or the age, but the circumstances of the growing season that ensured this was easily the most remarkable sweet wine of 2019.

At 126 years old, this elixir effortlessly shrugs off its age. Iridescent amber in color, it has a beguiling bouquet of dried honey, rosehip, stewed peaches and just a suggestion of Tokaji Azsù. The delineation is enthralling and difficult to reconcile with such a hot growing season. The palate is blessed with exquisite balance and an electric wire of acidity that slices through what must once have been very intensely botrytized fruit. This is still viscous and caressing, offering caramelized oranges, honeycomb and just a hint of yellow plum towards the ineffably complex finish. Maybe because of its venerable age, the 1893 does not quite possess the persistence of the very greatest d’Yquems that I have tasted, but it remains a truly fabulous Sauternes from a remarkable growing season. Tasted blind at the end of the Pétrus dinner at Hide in London. Neal Martin, Vinous Media, March 2019