2001 Château Rieussec
Lovely at first, and a breathtaking wine after being open for a few hours. A powerhouse of ripe tropical fruits and florality drenched in honey, caramel and vanilla. Intensely sweet and rich, yet remarkably light on its feet with fantastic acidity beneath that keeps it perfectly balanced, and a stunningly long, resonant finish.
2001 Château d'Yquem
A remarkable combination of intensity and lightness; a core of ripe apricot, nectarine and pineapple fruit framed by sweeter honeyed, floral and butterscotch flavours. This has a lovely purity of flavour and stunning balance and length, but seems to be holding a lot in reserve and not showing the aromatic complexity or depth that I'd usually expect from Yquem. This is a beautiful wine, but on both occasions I've had it, it hasn't lived up to the hype I've heard for this as one of the greatest Yquems ever made - I love it, and am always grateful to drink it, but can't say I particularly prefer over some of the other vintages of Yquem I've had recently (the 89 and 83 in particular).