One of my favorite movies is 48 Hours with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy starring as cops reluctanly paired as partners for 48 hours. They are chasing down some criminal and they find a ticket to claim his car in a nearby parking garage so they go there and present the ticket to the clerk to pick up the car. The clerk looks at the ticket and says "you do realize this car has been here for 3 years?" whereapon Nick Nolte responds "Yea, I've been busy". So my apologies for a 2 month delay in articles on the blog but I am back in the saddle so to speak with a great one on Sceaming Eagle that I was fortunate to be able to attend a charity event and taste 7 years of these wines. Please enjoy. I will try and get at least one article out a month as things start opening up a little post Covid.
Seven Vintages of Screaming Eagle Dinner
“We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” Benjamin Franklin
Amelia Island's answer to Barbettes Feast and the Three Emperor's Dinner was held starting with a Friday night dinner as a prelude to the epic vertical tasting of Screaming Eagle on Saturday night. A gourmet's dinner was prepared by a local chef matched with outstanding wines shared by all. Saturday night the Screaming Eagle tasting was held with dinner prepared by Chef Jared Gilbert of the Jacksonville Capital Grille who contributed the dinner to support Micah's Place home for victims of domestic violence. All funds from the dinner were donated to Micah's Place and were matched by an anonymous donor.
For those unfamiliar with these historical events The Three Emperors Dinner was prepared by chef Adolphe Dugléré at the request of King William I of Prussia who frequented his cafe, Cafe Anglais, Paris, France during the Exposition Universelle on June 7, 1867. He requested a meal to be remembered and at which no expense was to be spared for himself and his guests, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, plus his son the tsarevitch (who later became Tsar Alexander III), and Prince Otto von Bismarck. The cellar master, Claudius Burdel, was instructed to accompany the dishes with the greatest wines in the world, including a Roederer champagne in a special lead glass bottle, so Tsar Alexander could admire the bubbles and golden color.
The banquet consisted of 16 courses with eight wines served over eight hours. The cost of the meal was 400 francs per person (over €9,000 in 2018 prices). The high price of the wines served contributed to the high price of the meal. Of interest in the late 20th century this dinner was recreated as best it could be and was attended by Angelo Gaja from Italy.
Babette's Feast is a short story Written in 1958 by Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke. Beautiful but pious sisters Martine and Philippa grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.
These two dinners exemplify the highest form of culinary art and demonstrate that great food and great wine are to be enjoyed by all. From the emperor's of France to the peasants of Jutland exceptional food and wine are to be enjoyed and celebrated by all. Saturday September 29th now joins The Three Emperor's Dinner and Babette's feast as one of the greatest historical dinner's ever done that pleased the palates of many while providing help for those who are less fortunate.
Friday Night Celebration First Dinner
Beau Vignes Reserve Chardonnay 2014 Rated 95 by community tasters
Elegance and sophistication blesses this offering. Perfectly balanced with a mild acid firmness enables this chardonnay to stand up and lay down into a very easily drank wine. The bouquet produces Aromas and tones of honeydew, spring flowers with tropical accents caress the body of this chardonnay. There is also pear and apple on the nose which carries over to a fruit bomb taste balancing all of the above flavors with a mild tartness. There is light oak with vanilla coming across the taste. Sourced from the world-renowned “Baccigalupi” vineyard, this block one hillside old clone vine is known for producing character-driven fruit. Unrefined and unfiltered allows this chardonnay to pull layered fruit tones through your pallet providing a creamy textured finish. The 2014 Beau Vigne Reserve Chardonnay will drink well from 2015 until the bottom of 2020.
With a true 'eye of partridge' nose, this has the boldness of the 2002 vintage and is unique in that the wine is based on 80% Chardonnay as a top rosé Champagne. The aromas are floral with sweet decayed rosehip and a clear toasty edge showing through, as well as fine wild red fruits and some peach and stone fruits. I also picked up some effervescent cherry flavor. There's a completely unique style here in terms of the chardonnay making a statement of gentle nougat, while some dried red berries lurk beneath. The palate has a precise, sleeve-like long texture and is really focused and even. The freshness is startling, meanwhile, and this really looks very young and unevolved. There's some very gentle tannin in the mix here, adding nutty toasted hazelnut elements on the finish which to me was a little short. Acidity is pronounced and, having the last say, keeps everything really fresh. Drink now as there are hints of aging beginning to show.
Dom Pérignon "P2" Brut Champagne 2000 97 WS/James Suckling
A Champagne that has turned to a very fine texture with dried pineapple and lemon character. Medium to full body, complex and flavorful palate. Shows length and beauty. Pie crust, cooked apple, and lemon rind continue on the finish. A truly great 2000 with a combination of finesse and strength. It’s very, very minerally to a point of sea salt. It was disgorged in first half of 2016. A beautiful nose of baked peach, lime blossom and graphite draws as well as apple tart draws you into the glass of this stunning 2000, whose flavors of brioche, salted almond, and spun honey are wrapped around sleek, mouthwatering acidity and a streak of smoke-tinged mineral. There is mild tart acid and it has a pleasant prolonged finish. This deftly meshed Champagne is hard to stop sipping. Drink now through 2030.
Morlet "La Proportion Dorée" Sonoma County White Blend 2014 RP 100
A perfect wine is the 2014 La Proportion Dorée, a blend of 65% Semillon, 24% Sauvignon Blanc and 1% Muscadelle. This 650-case cuvée is from 29-year-old, dry-farmed vines and was barrel-fermented. The wine is absolutely out of this world. With a light greenish gold color and a killer nose of lanolin, caramelized citrus, honeysuckle, orange marmalade, and candle wax, the wine displays great acidity, a magnificent, massive, full-bodied mouthfeel, and seems to come across like a Sonoma County version of a dry Haut Brion blanc. It was paired with a cold lobster salad bisque dish and matched well. I also found it to have a complex nose and taste including passion fruit and pear. It had a long finish. This is singular wine - profound, compelling, whatever! It should drink well for at least 10 years if you can resist its early charms. Drink now through 2026.
Dominus Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2006 RP 96
Very deep garnet-purple color. A wonderfully perfumed nose of violets, crushed blackberries, black cherries, mace, and cloves leading into some smoked meat and mocha aromas with swirling. In short, a very complex flavor profile and I detected a hint of petrol like you see in a Riesling. There was also cigar, hickory smoke as well as an overall smoky taste Very structured on the palate with high acidity, a medium to a high level of fine tannins which were smooth and a full body providing plenty of flesh in the mid-palate. Very long layered finish that to me was elegant.
From Luc Morlet's own estate just north of St. Helena, the 2013 Morlet Estate comes across like a first-growth Pauillac. Again 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with creamy blackcurrants and blackberry fruit, some licorice, graphite, and background oak, the wine displays excellent minerality, superb fruit intensity, and a multi-dimensional mouthfeel. A complex nose and taste with cedar, cigar box, and hints of sweetness and chocolate. The acid structure is low to moderate and there is a smooth tannin backbone so It should drink well for at least 25-30 years
Rieussec, Sauternes 2001 WS 100 JS
This is a crazy wine! It’s sweet, but not sugary. Mushrooms, furniture wax, spices then dried oranges, lemons, pineapples, and just a hint of vanilla. Full-bodied, with great density and power, yet balanced and refined. So amazing, but give this five to six years still. Pull the cork in 2016. Like lemon curd on the nose, turning to honey and caramel. Full-bodied and very sweet, with a fantastic concentration of ripe and botrytized fruit, yet balanced and refined. Electric acidity. Lasts for minutes on the palate. This is absolutely mind-blowing. This is the greatest young Sauternes James Suckling has ever tasted. Best after 2010. Wine of the Year 2004
Hall "Jack's Masterpiece" 2015 RP 100
When you taste wines of this magnitude in my opinion you need to compare them with other wines who may not be as famous but are close enough and in addition perhaps have a lower price point. I have been with wine experts multiple times and heard the comment "this wine is as good as wine X and costs only 10%". I ask them oh so you have tasted wine X in order to make that judgement only to have them tell me no. Sorry, but unless you taste wines side by side you cannot make those comments, hence using Jack's Masterpiecee here which stood up to the Screaming Eagles very well. Jack's Masterpiece has lots of fruit on the nose with a good toast of cedar and cigar. A very velvety smooth wine with some spicy tannins. Somewhat higher acid than others but well balanced and well-integrated with the alcohol. To me Parkers description is right on. Of interest, this wine was the first red opened with some intent on comparing the Screaming Eagles against it. Sort of using it as a benchmark so to speak. The fact that this wine would be chosen to compare Screaming Eagle against says a lot.
98-100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The other 2015 I tasted from barrel, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Jack’s Masterpiece is another brilliant wine, with more charcoal, burning embers, an almost Graves-like characteristic, a dense purple color, rich crème de cassis and blackberry fruit, a full-bodied, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a long, long finish. This should turn out to be a prodigious effort from Hall, capable of being drunk young, but for those with some patience, also cellared for three decades or more
Screaming Eagle 2011 RP 94 99 JS 94 ST
Most raters mention a floral bouquet and taste. To me, my first impression was rose petals as well as lavender. As Stephen Tanzer stated it has a gentle oak influence on what I described as light oak. There is definitely a cherry profile in the wine. I also found hints of lightly smoked meat which others described as cedar and cigar box flavors. The wine is well balanced with moderate acid and a nice moderate finish.
99 points James Suckling
Mind-blowing nose with spearmint, cloves, and blackberries. Floral, too. Full body with phenomenal detail featuring delicate but intense blackberry, espresso, toasted oak, caramel, and dark chocolate. Cedar and sweet tobacco. Finesse all over. The wine of the vintage? Everything is there. Great energy. Best in 2018.
94 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Bright ruby-red. Highly perfumed scents of cassis, musky cigar tobacco, and bitter chocolate, lifted by floral and cedar nuances. Youthfully tight today but boasts terrific youthful intensity and lavender lift to its dark berry and cigar box flavors. Broad tannins saturate the palate on the very long back end. Winemaker Nick Gislason uses five 'core coopers,' seeking a gentle oak influence. A star of the vintage, with a serious structure for mid-term aging.
Made from a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the 2011 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon is a sexy, upfront, precociously styled wine exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color as well as lots of licorice, camphor, black currant jam, new oak, and spice box characteristics. Dense, rich and impressive, the early drinking charm of the 2011 vintage gives it immediate appeal. It should keep for 10-15 years. (RP)
Screaming Eagle 2009 97 WS 96 RP 96 ST
I found this year to be heavily tannic but at same time it was balanced but when first approached the tannins just jump out on you. I found smoky flavors in the wine including cigar and cedar. There was also chocolate and berry fruit such as blackberry. I found a hint of cassis. It had a nice finish. Moderate alcohol and acid making it food-friendly went very well with a spicy gumbo.
97 points Wine Spectator
A stunningly seamless effort, rich and elegant, this delivers perfumed black currant aromas that are supple and graceful, building and gaining with subtle tannins, laced with loamy earth. A dash of black licorice marks the long finish. Drink now through 2028
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon (87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot) displays a slightly peppery nose, but ratchets up the level of concentration with pure black currant and black cherry fruit as well as licorice and lead pencil shavings. This beautiful, dense, full-bodied 2009 is exceptionally elegant, pure and seamless. Drink it over the next 20-25 years.
96 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Good bright ruby-red. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, ripe redcurrant, licorice, bitter chocolate, tobacco, and spearmint. Smooth and impressively concentrated, with a hint of medicinal austerity to the flavors of black fruits, violet, bitter chocolate, and menthol. Penetrating, gripping wine with great flavor intensity. Powerfully structured too, finishing with firm tannins and outstanding, slowly building, juicy length. The pH here is 3.8, according to estate manager Armand de Maigret, but the wine boasts an outstanding lift.
Screaming Eagle 2014 JS 99 RP 97 WS 95
I pretty much disagreed with most on this one. During our dinner between the 2014 and the 2009, at least half of the diners preferred the 2014. The professional ratings are fairly consistent also. I just felt this wine had a lighter nose and taste than the others. To me, there was some lack of tannin and body. I did pick up a moderate amount of smoky flavors but again to me it just was not that powerful a wine. I also felt the finish was a little bitter. I would agree more with Parker on this one as he did notice less structure and mass as say compared to the 2013.
99 points James Suckling
Extremely perfumed with blackberries, currants, and flowers. Rose petals, too. Seductive. Medium to full body. It grows on the palate with an extremely long finish that goes on for minutes. The tannins are ultra-fine and polished. Purity and essence to this. Feminine yet wild and unpredictable. Available in March. Better in 2021
97 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Screaming Eagle is an 880-case blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. The telltale sign of this iconic wine is its extraordinary purity of crème de cassis fruit, which is displayed abundantly in the 2014. It doesn’t quite have the structure and mass of the 2013, but this sexy, up-front, opaque ruby/purple-colored wine is seamlessly constructed, full-bodied, and has a long finish with silky tannins. This seems to float across that palate with that great fruit purity
95 points Wine Spectator
Beautifully crafted, young and energetic, with a vibrant core of rich blackberry, gravelly earth, and smoky, toasty oak. Lively acidity and firm tannins provide a backbone, promising a long life ahead.
Screaming Eagle 2013 JS 100 RP 97
On the nose and taste I found an abundance of smoky meat and barbecue. The tannins were exceptionally smooth and balanced along with balanced acid and alcohol. Again I found I agreed more with Parker on this year and it was one of my favorites of the evening.100 points James Suckling
Breathtaking aromas of blueberry, wet earth, black truffle, vine bark and lavender undertones. Full-bodied, yet tight and compressed with fabulous savory and dark fruit flavors. It lasts for minutes on the finish. The classicism in this wine is second to none. Incredible subtlety. Lovely austerity. Beauty in simplicity. Glorious to taste, yet a wine for decades ahead.
97 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Screaming Eagle flagship wine is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc. As one might expect, the purity of the cassis, which is always a hallmark of this estate and wine, is well-displayed in this beauty. Dense purple in color, it offers up some floral notes intermixed with damp earth, blackcurrant jam, blackberry and hints of licorice and incense. This reminds me somewhat of the 2010 Screaming Eagle. Full-bodied, rich, but perfectly balanced, it’s another terrific example of this iconic estate. It should drink well for 30 more years
Sceaming Eagle 2005 98 RP 95 WS 94 ST
To me another heavy floral nose and taste with a predominance of lavender. I picked up hints of cassis. Well structured with strong tannin and body. A moderate amount of alcohol but well balanced with other attributes of the wine. A nice pleasant prolonged finish. A very smooth wine. As the oldest Cabernet of the evening is holding up very well for being 13 years old. It is still in it's youth.
98 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, which I loved last year, has gotten even better, something I saw across the board with the bottled 2005s (a superb year for Bordeaux varietals). This blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc was aged in 67% new French oak for 21 months. It possesses a gorgeous, Pauillac-like bouquet of cedar, creme de cassis, licorice, smoke, and earth as well as sweet tannins, full body, fabulous layers of fruit, a noble sweetness, and outstanding length. This 2005 can be drunk now or cellared for 25+ years.
95 points Wine Spectator
Pure, rich and concentrated, offering a wonderful mix of cedar-laced currant, black cherry and wild berry fruit that's both intense and supple, with excellent depth, focus and persistence on the finish.
94 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Full ruby-red. Pure aromas of cassis, mocha and nutty oak, with bright red berry and tobacco notes emerging with air. Super ripe and thick but with strong acidity giving sharp definition to the middle palate. The blackcurrant and smoky oak flavors are sexed up by subtle hints of caramel, spices and burning cinders as the wine opens in the glass. I love the balance of lush texture and firm acidity, not to mention the wine's sheer intensity of flavor without excesses, but this highly distinctive cabernet really needs at least six or seven years of patience to come into full harmony.
Screaming Eagle 2012 100 JS 100 RP 98 ST 97 WS
For most of us this was the wine of the night. There was a fair amount of discussion if you were on your death bed would you want this or the 1945 Mouton to be your last taste of wine. Of all the wines tonight this had the most unique nose and flavor profile. Lots of floral notes on the nose including cherry, pear, pencil, and flint. To be sure very complex. A velvet smooth body with moderate well structured tannin and acid. To me perfectly balanced. It had a great long finish which I would describe as tangy.
100 points James Suckling
Incredible purity to this wine with fresh spearmint, lavender, sage and blackcurrants. Full body, mind-blowing structure, depth and length. What complexity. A new bench market for Napa Valley. This is the new legend, like the 1958 Beaulieu Vineyard George de Latour Private Reserve (my vintage and a wine my father and I drank many times early in my life). Savory. Needs at least 10 years to come around. Try in 2025. A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 820 cases made. Such precision, decadence and layers of sexy fruit.
100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle is composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Made in the classic, iconic Screaming Eagle style that the original proprietress, Jean Philips, first showcased in the early 1990s, before the winery was sold to Stan Kroenke, the inky/purple-colored, seamless 2012 possesses an extraordinary set of aromatics consisting of pure blackcurrant liqueur, licorice, acacia flowers, graphite and a subtle hint of new oak. Full-bodied, opulent and voluptuous, this profound wine is as prodigious as I thought it would be last year when tasted from barrel. It should age effortlessly for 20 or more years
95-98 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Bright medium ruby. Very deep aromas of blueberry, flowers, licorice and wild herbs show a medicinal reserve. Thick but vibrant, with deep, fully ripe, layered flavors of blackberry and blueberry syrup and graphite minerality dominating the middle palate. Offers compelling sappiness and definition. Noble tannins spread out to saturate the entire palate on the inexorable, steadily building finish. Still an infant but utterly seamless from the outset.
97 points Wine Spectator
A seamless, graceful, ebullient effort that's pure, even exotic, with dusty blackberry and wild berry flavors at the center. Though the fruit is broad and expressive, this is amazingly refined, supple and persistent overall. Tempting now for the expansive fruit definition, this should only gain over the next decade. Drink now through 2029.
Screaming Eagle 2010 100 RP 97 ST 96 WS
Nice smooth pleasant nose and taste with floral flavors and again a rose petal and lavender taste profile along with cigar smoke and cedar hints. Moderate tannin but a more pronounced acid profile but balanced out well. Again with this wine I find myself pretty much agreeing with Parker's description of the wine.
100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Utter perfection, the 2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon (a 610-case blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc; 14.5% natural alcohol) boasts a dense ruby/purple color along with a staggering bouquet of spring flowers, graphite, creme de cassis, kirsch, licorice and subtle toast in the background. Opulent and full-bodied with a multidimensional personality, gorgeous purity and a stunning, flawless texture, this spectacular wine is among the wines of the vintage.
97 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Brilliant ruby-red. Urgent aromas of crushed boysenberry, wild herbs, licorice and spearmint are complemented by sexy oak tones. Densely packed and electric, with great energy to the highly concentrated, pliant flavors of black fruits, cocoa powder and flowers. Still quite youthfully backward, but the inexorable slowly mounting finish and big but noble tannins suggest a long and glorious evolution in bottle. Owing to the small clusters, thick skins and concentration of tannins, this wine got a longer elevage than usual, with the bottling done at the end of November 2012. 97+ (ST) (6/2013)
96 points Wine Spectator
No denying the power and finesse of this wine, which is very Bordeaux-like in its rustic, muscle-bound personality, somewhat atypical of this vineyard early on. Combines deep, firm, rich and potent flavors built around a core of earthy currant, cedar and tobacco leaf, with subtle mocha touches. No denying the power and finesse of this wine, which is very Bordeaux-like in its rustic, muscle-bound personality, somewhat atypical of this vineyard early on. Best from 2015 through 2030
And with dessert the following offerings:
Louis XIII Cognac 95 WE
Wow, too me this was an exotic Cognac! Lots of sweet cherry, pineapple, leche, and chocolate in the nose a taste. Really smooth and silky on the palate. Just an exotic different Cognac with essentially no rough edges.
90-95 points Wine Enthusiast
The aroma features fig, prune, pastry dough, honey and maple scents. On palate, Louis XIII offers long and intensely woody flavors; additional layers of flavor, including figs, dates, prunes, dried apricot and vanilla, are featured at midpalate. Finishes elegantly, warm, smooth and more oaky than fruity succulent.
Chateau d'Yquem 2011 99 WS 98 JS 98 ST 94 RP
Lots of apple, pear, pineapple, and grapefruit on the nose and taste. Just a very complex fruity flavor profile that is well balanced. The body was a little light but that made the wine not overbearing, one could say elegant.
99 points Wine Spectator
A lovely, creamy, tropical style, with mango, papaya and guava notes lending a caressing feel, while singed almond and warm piecrust accents blossom through the lush finish. Just when you think that's all there is, toasted coconut, fig, orange blossom and persimmon details kick in, lending length and dimension. The finish is ridiculously long. Best from 2020 through 2060.
98 points James Suckling
Crazy minerality to this, with lots of dried mango, pineapple and papaya on the nose. Botrytis-spice and nutmeg undertones. Full body, very sweet, with superb depth of fruit and richness. It goes on for minutes. Turns dense and concentrated on the palate. Speechless. Better in 2019
98 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Luminous golden yellow. Cool, pure aromas of white peach, honeyed mango, guava nectar, white flowers and saffron are complicated by elements of crushed stone and spicy lemony botrytis. Suave and intensely flavored, with mineral-spiced apple, mango, passion fruit and grapefruit flavors offering outstanding purity, precision, and depth. The brisk but harmonious acidity gives this great Sauternes a penetrating quality and provides a powerful spine to the very deep flavors, making it seem less opulent than it really is. This Yquem has the depth of the 2007 but boasts even greater purity and focus. Finishes bright and extremely long, with repeating suggestions of white flowers and lemony botrytis. Though it lacks the depth of the 2001 or the opulence of the 2009 at a similar stage of development, this is one of my favorite young Yquems ever: it will age spectacularly well. (ID)
94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Château Yquem 2011 has a complex bouquet, one that is very well defined with hints of petrol infusing the rich honeyed fruit, later melted wax and fresh peach coming through. The palate is well balanced with a strong viscous entry. There is plenty of residual sugar here and I would have preferred a little more acidic bite to offset that rich, decadent finish (this is despite their correct policy of blending non-botrytized berries in order to increase acidity.) Powerful, burly even, I would give this several years in the cellar to allow this Yquem to mellow and enter its stride.
Chateau d'Yquem 2014 99 WS 98 JS 98 RP 98 WS $400
Clearly the Sauterns of the evening. Everyone raved about the wine. The flavor profile is a smoky pear, apple flavor. It has a well structure and firm body with all the flavors being complex and well balanced. Parker mentions harmony in the wine that I strongly agree with. Just a great Sauterns to end the evening on paired with Creme Brulee.
97-99 points Wine Enthusiast
Apricot tones with lively acidity give this rich wine a vein of freshness. Pear and white peach notes offer weight, while a lime backbone brings levity. There is a richness from the botrytis that is lifted by this wines delicious freshness
98 points James Suckling
Very subtle Yquem on the nose with dried pineapple, lemons, green apples and hints of botrytis. The palate grabs you by the arms and shows you superb concentration of spices, dried fruit, phenolics and incredible energy. Nothing is like this from Sauternes this vintage! Drink whenever you like. Spellbinding
96-98 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Château Yquem 2014 was picked over 9 weeks this year, with one-quarter of the grapes picked prior to 15 September. It delivers 134 grams per liter residual sugar and 7.3 grams per liter tartaric acid, with a pH 3.60. It has a captivating bouquet (I know...I know...what else were you expecting) But it entrances with its pure, wild honey notes mixed with almond and white chocolate scents, bestowed with beguiling delineation and focus. The palate is very poised with the acidity nigh on perfect. Occasionally an Yquem only reveals its components parts at this early juncture, necessitates conjecture. However the 2014 has a sense of harmony and completeness already, as if the élevage is merely there to usher it on to its finished state. There is undeniably great depth here, perhaps less conspicuous than other vintages because of that silver thread of acidity: notes of lemon sherbet, orange zest, shaved ginger and again, a few "flakes' of white chocolate. It is extremely long with tenderness rather than power on the finish. It's not quite up there in the rarefied heights of say, the 2001 or 2009, but it is what we call in the trade, "the business
98 points Wine Spectator
A stunner, sporting tropical mango and papaya notes that glide along beautifully, while heather honey, pineapple chutney and toasted coconut flavors fill in through the finish. Delivers an amazing mouthfeel that is both creamy and intense, with a pretty inner floral brightness that contrasts with the fruit. Best from 2020 through 2045
Broadbent Madeira Malmsey(or Malvasia) 1933 91 WS
The sweetest style of Madeira. Malvasia vineyards are located all around the island, planted at lower elevations towards the ocean. The wines are dark, rich and concentrated, with coffee-caramel flavors. Malmsey production has always been small, and as a result vintage Malmseys are very sought after. Madeira takes its name from the island of Madeira, which sits in the Atlantic about 380 miles west of Morocco. It was discovered in 1419 by the Portuguese mariner João Gonçalves Zarco in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator. Malvasia vines were planted around 1453, and as ships stopped at the island on their way to the New World in subsequent decades, they invariably loaded barrels of wine as ballast for their voyages. Overall to me it was the wine of the night. I found this wine to be close if not spiritual. It clearly demonstrated how well a wine can age and what pleasure comes from drinking wine that has in fact aged well. The tannins smooth out and the wine becomes a hedonistic pleasure.
