Pale gold colored, the 1998 d'Yquem features a flamboyant, rock-star nose of allspice, candied ginger, honeycomb and crème brûlée with a core of preserved lemons, mandarin peel and musk perfume plus a waft of potpourri. Beautifully balanced in the mouth, with seamless freshness lifting the decadent sweetness (134.4 grams per liter of residual sugar), it culminates with fantastically persistent layers of exotic spices.