Château d'Yquem 1976

I am walking. Emerging from a moss-covered dark forest, a sun-drenched hill opens up before me. Yet, the hill is again shrouded in mist, and I lose the path I should take. I am walking again. It is a serene temple. The long corridor, etched with history, is intermittently lit by light, uncertain of where it leads. Suddenly, I find myself enclosed in a cage. However, this cage is not meant to confine or torment. Rather, it is a divine play to deepen the joy that awaits beyond. I encounter a supple lioness. She gazes at me intently with tawny eyes. Is she in love with me? Those eyes that seem to draw me in. As I try to approach, she flees, her back rippling like waves. I am alone once more. And I start walking. I am walking. A market in the afternoon, overflowing with colorful fruits, flowers, straw hats, silk fabrics, and smiles. I savor everything, slowly enjoying the passage of time. Eating whimsically, exchanging words whimsically, and relaxing. I am swimming. In a deep, bottomless, transparent spring. I slowly slip away into the endless expanse of the grand blue. Is this warmth, or is it gentle despair? If it is despair, I may never return. I go on a picnic. With whom? It is obvious. With my younger self. My younger self looks at the old me with curiosity. And the old me watches over the young me as he runs freely. Both are the same me. A single bottle of wine. I am puffing on a pipe, gazing at the distant sea. The sun has long set, and the twilight begins to close my view. I had fallen asleep without realizing it. In my younger days, I braved stormy seas with fervor. As I aged, I moved forward, firming the ground beneath me, sometimes climbing walls, descending slopes, crying, laughing, getting angry, rejoicing. As I reached twilight, I looked back on the path I had walked, but saw nothing, only a trail of footprints. Footprints that can never return, my own solitary footprints, and I suddenly awaken. The freshly brewed tea still retains its warmth. Sixty years were but a fleeting dream. This wine is a long, short dream brought by a slumber. This wine is eternal, and yet a moment.