96 Robert Parker
The 1988 Chateau d'Yquem has long been an insider's favorite over the 1989 and 1990, although at the end of the day, all three form a brilliant triumvirate at the end of the decade. Tasted from a half bottle, it shone with a slightly burnished amber hue. The bouquet is just as I have encountered with previous bottles with scents of marmalade, mandarin, burnt honey and citrus fruit, perhaps a little waxier and resinous than I recall. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive weight, viscous as you would expect, though not as flamboyant as the 1989 or as unctuous as the 1990. It is beautifully balanced with notes of apricot, white chocolate and orange peel towards the harmonious and tensile finish. You can see this cruising along for two or three decades and maybe it will turn more Barsac-like in style? Time will tell - a glorious Yquem however you look at it. Tasted May 2016.
96 Wine Spectator
Lots of of beeswax, botrytis spice and honey, with hints of toffee. Full-bodied, very sweet, thick and layered. Caramel, toffee, spice. Molasses too. Very, very powerful. Muscular and rich. Fabulous Sauternes. Nothing comes close in this vintage.—'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 6,500 cases made. –JS
18 Rene Gabriel
13: Sieben kleine, handgeschliffene Gläschen mit einem goldenden Nektar, aus der 3/8-Flasche, namens 1988 Château d’Yquem boten den Abschluss. Die Farbe recht dunkel, mit orangem Schimmer und leicht bräunlichen Reflexen. Die Nase, zuckersüss, rosinig, Honignoten und kalter Kamillentee. Ein Hauch Safran war da auch drin, aber auch etwas pflanzliches, ganz fein Grasiges. Der Gaumen füllig, reich, mit dezent pappigen Konturen. Im Finish fein kapselige Noten mit einer würzigen, aber doch präsenten Semillon-Nobelbitterkeit. Wohl jetzt grad auf einem recht langen Höhepunkt.