2006 Château d'Yquem, Sauternes, Bordeaux

Ch. d'Yquem is often described as the greatest sweet white wine in the world; quite a reputation to live up to in a difficult vintage for sweet wines.The 2006 was luscious and rich with lovely tarte aux pommes flavours, sweet pineapple and citrus fruit of great purity. It was well-balanced with beautiful freshness and incredible concentration but perhaps lacking the depth and complexity of better vintages.

This will be an early-drinking Yquem with its beautifully pure fruit overriding the botrytis characteristics. It is still the Sauternes of the vintage, but this says more about the quality of 2006 Sauternes than it does about d'Yquem.