Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition January, 1998

The 1988 is a backward-styled Yquem, built along the lines of the extraordinary 1975. With a honeyed, smoky, orange/coconut/pineapple-scented nose, this powerful wine possesses full body, layers of highly concentrated, extracted flavors, considerable botrytis, and a sensational finish. Last tasted 12/97

This remarkable wine is much more backward, less flamboyant, and more gentlemanly than the 1990 or 1989. Its light-golden colour is more youthful than its younger siblings, the bouquet powerful yet restrained, with subtle yet intense notes of coconut, orange marmalade, crème brulee, peach and white corn emerging very gently but authoritatively. In the mouth it builds incrementally, as this is a wine of enormous richness and power but far higher acidity than the 1990 or 1989 . The wine is relatively light on its feet for such a powerful, highly extracted, and sensational effort. This is certainly one of the great Yquems, and probably more along the style of the 1975 than more recent vintages. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2070. (99)

Just a fabulous wine from the moment the wine hit the glass. The explosive nose, with its coconut, butterscotch, creme brulee, candied orange, flowers, vanilla bean, and honeyed tropical fruit got you to stop, stare and take another sniff. Rich, lush, opulent, intensely concentrated, velvet-textured apricots, yellow tropical fruits and a gallon of honey that was perfectly braced with a wall of acidity that hung on for well over 60 seconds in the finish. This has entered the start of secondary development and could easily go 100 years. As a guess, the next marker comes in with another 20 yeas of age.

The 1988 Yquem is a vintage that I have drunk with enormous pleasure on numerous occasions. This last bottle was the perfect ending to a horizontal of 1988 Roumier wines at Noizé. It was a late harvest that lasted until All Saints Day (1 November). A total of 6 tries were necessary through the vineyard, each gifting plenty of botrytised fruit. Deep amber in hue, it offers wonderful aromas of mandarin, orange blossom, wax resin and a light adhesive scent. I was actually quite taken aback but the splendid delineation and life-affirming vitality of this example, hints of crème brûlée interwoven through the honeyed fruit, Clementine and hints of caramelised pear. It fans out wonderfully on the finish. Without doubt, this was the best bottle of 1988 Yquem that I have encountered. Tasted April 2022