This is arguably the best wine that has been produced this century (so far), yet at a recent tasting it did not "win". It is a great example of why blind tasting has its own inherent faults and while a worthy endeavor (in my opinion), in the end, it is just one more data point. Why? The wines were of different ages. In blind tastings, the youngest, boldest wines often come out on top. It also matters the order of the wines. For twenty years (at least) I have noted how often that as a bottle is blindly poured and passed around a table, there seems to be "better" and "less better" pours as demonstrated by streaks in the scores of tasters. It also matters as the prior bottle can have an affect on the current bottle in not so obvious ways. In any event, this was seemingly a sound bottle (no obvious faults and I scored it 97), but it did take more time to open than many of the bottles. Additionally, different bottles open more quickly or more slowly and blind tastings tend to be done over a couple of hours to allow time to talk and enjoy the wines after the scores are turned in. JM2C. Golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is gorgeous with apricots, orange peel, and slight honey. Full bodied. Viscous. On the palate, this is delicious. Flavors of honey, apricots, orange peels along with a slight bitter note (pith?). Amazingly long finish and the reason I suspected this was d'Yquem. It is wonderful on its own and will work nicely with less sweet desserts. That said, this is one bottle that deserves to be served alone and not blind. Drink over the next fifty years.
