x
  • Country ranking ?

    980
  • Producer ranking ?

    55
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Lemon Tart

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

The pleasure derived from tasting Yquem is difficult to describe.

It offers a myriad of well-balanced, complex flavours that generate even more harmonies over time. The impression that remains is reminiscent of a quote from Frédéric Dard "the silence that follows a piece by Mozart, in which the listener remains suffused with the music". This reflects the fact that Château d'Yquem stays on the palate for a remarkable long time, providing a unique, prolonged pleasure. There is a lovely expression in French to describe Yquem's tremendously long aftertaste: il fait la queue du paon, which means that it spreads out like a peacock's tail.

 

It is always difficult to describe wine-tasting experiences with any precision. The senses of sight, smell, taste and touch are all stimulated virtually at the same time. While gifted tasters can identify some of the aromas and flavours in a glass of Yquem in an effort to define its complexity, they never really succeed in communicating its essence or explaining its mystery. Mere analysis, whether chemical or organoleptic, is not sufficient to account for Yquem's greatness. Yquem tells a unique story... It starts with the bouquet. Although not always very outgoing in young vintages, it is marked by fruit (apricot, mandarin, and occasionally tropical fruit) and oak (vanilla and toasty aromas). Older vintages, on the other hand, have an extraordinarily complex fragrance as soon as the bottle is opened, with hints of dried fruit (dried apricot, prune, stewed fruit, and marmalade), spice (cinnamon, saffron, and liquorice), and even flowers (lime blossom, etc.). The first impression of Château d'Yquem on the palate is always very silky, and often sumptuous. It then fills out, "coating the palate". This fine wine has a strong, but never overbearing character, with great elegance and poise. It always maintains a balance between sugar and acidity (sweetness and freshness). A touch of bitterness can also contribute to the overall harmony. Château d'Yquem's aftertaste is legendary, and it tells another story, which lasts and lasts…

Certain connoisseurs consider it outrageous to drink a young Yquem and believe that opening such a monumental wine before its thirtieth birthday is tantamount to a sacrilege. Others, on the contrary, think that Yquem can be enjoyed at all stages in its life.

 

Chateau d`Yquem is often described as the greatest sweet wine in the world. After centuries of family ownership, Yquem was was bought by Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy in 1999. Its former owner and director Alexandre de Lur-Saluce remains in charge. Yquem is located on the highest hill in Sauternes and enjoys the best growing conditions in the whole appellation. The 110-hectare vineyard is planted with 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Only fully botrytized fruit is picked by the 150 highly skilled pickers and yields are so low that each vine produces only one glass of wine. Yquem is fermented in oak barrels (100% new) and is left in barriques to mature for up to 36 months. Intensely opulent when young, Yquem develops an extraordinary complexity and exotic richness when fully mature, with the best vintages lasting for over 50 years. Château d'Yquem is classified as a 1er Cru Classé supérieur.

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Wine Information

The growing season was affected from the start by very high temperatures. Flowering was very early (the 5th of May) and the harvest began on the 4th of September, a record at Yquem. Picking was nevertheless called to a halt for 2 months because morning mists alone were insufficient to develop botrytis. This is a year of excesses that necessitated 7 passes and 32 days of picking lasting until the 4th of November. The end result is that 1997 Yquem shows rare complexity and perfect balance!

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Golden. Apricots, peach, fruit driven nose, nuanced, detailed and layered. Fresh acidity, elegant texture, rich, intense and layered, detailed, fruit driven, apricots, peach and pineapples, faint creme brulee, superb length. 96

  • 96p

A gorgeous Sauternes that is more evolved because it is from a half bottle. A wine of class and breeding, the Yquem is at once generous and discrete, complex without being showy. The wine offers an array of beautiful flavours that range from honeysuckle, marmalade to toffee and dried apricots. This wine has a long life ahead of it with the depth of flavours to support it through many decades. (96)

  • 96p
Tasted five times - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. This vintage is one of the most classic ones in the district since 1988. Straw yellow. This wine reminded a lot of 1996 (served in same flight), but showed though extra turbo on the concentration and botrytis. Truly speaking – it is nectar of the Gods. Keep it for 20-40 years. In April 2012, this beauty was in full blossom with creme brulée and pineapple confit, stunning cooperation of botrytized flavours and corresponding acidity, extremely rich and lot of sweetness.
  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Sauternes, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h
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