Château d'Yquem Chateau Yquem / 2016 / 375mL

Description:

Château d'Yquem 2016 is a Sauternes of remarkable clarity, where sweetness and acidity hold each other in check rather than one running away with the wine. In this 375mL half bottle, the 2016 gives you the full weight of a great Bordeaux dessert wine in a format two people can finish over an evening.

Sweeping through candied lemon peel, apricot and orange blossom, the nose carries the saffron and beeswax lift that only properly botrytised fruit delivers, with a faint smoky, flinty edge underneath. The palate is unctuous but not heavy, layered with quince paste, ginger and toasted nuts.

2016 was the driest summer in Sauternes since 1898, and botrytis arrived late — picking at Yquem ran in four passes from late September through to 4 November, with most of the crop taken in the final fortnight. That patience shows as precision: a fine line of acidity runs the length of the wine, cutting the sugar and carrying a long, saline-citrus finish that stays fresh well after the glass is empty.

Roquefort or a well-aged comté is the classic move, though it is equally at home with a lemon tart, poached stone fruit, or a slab of foie gras terrine. Serve it cold, around 8–10°C, in a small glass.

Drinking beautifully now through to roughly 2040, though half bottles mature faster than 750mL, so this one will reach its honeyed, tertiary phase a few years ahead of its full-sized sibling.