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  • Country ranking ?

    617
  • Producer ranking ?

    34
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    now to 2050

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

This year was strongly marked by hot weather starting in mid-May, building up to record temperatures in August. The summer of 2003 was totally outside the norm. 35 mm of rain in early September brought on an overwhelming and all-encompassing attack of botrytis that resulted in a unique phenomenon: the entire crop was picked in one single pass! The wine is as elegant as it is atypical. It is said that this vintage is reminiscent of the conditions that led to the making of the first ever botrytised wines in Sauternes.

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Vintage 2003

2003 was the hottest vintage ever seen in Bordeaux. The most successful châteaux have passed their exceptional 2000s and some claim to have made their greatest wines in living memory.

Very dry and extremely hot summer days and nights (16 days > 95°F compared to 2 in 2000, 6 in 2005, 4 in 2009). Need to eliminate the superscript here. I can't figure out how to do it.) The deeply colored reds, low acidities and high tannins are a departure from the classic Left Bank profile. St.-Estèphe and Pauillac are the most successful. The reds have largely reached their peak. It remains a controversial vintage, with opinions sharply divided as to its intrinsic quality. The white grape harvest began in mid-August. Rich, fatty whites, some acidified, not for long storage.

The extreme summer heat presented winemakers with a significant challenge. Sugar levels increased dramatically in late summer as some growers took the plunge and harvested early to preserve acidity. However, winemakers who waited until their grapes were fully ripe were rewarded with rich, concentrated, dark-colored wines displaying astonishing depth of fruit and plenty of complexity.

Generally speaking, the great wines of 2003 come from the northernmost communes of the Médoc: and in particular from Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe. Highlights include Lafite, Latour, Pichon Baron, Montrose and Cos d’Estournel. Quality was more uneven in the south of the Médoc although Château Margaux, true to form, produced one of the wines of the vintage.

The right bank properties of St Emilion and Pomerol, where temperatures were even warmer, produced inconsistent wines and volumes were massively reduced. Vieux Château Certan, which usually produces 4,000 cases per year, only produced 800 last year. Estates that have resisted this model and produced exceptional wines include Figeac, Ausone, Fetyit Clinet and Angelus.

Graves and Pessac-Lèognan fared better, but many châteaux produced wines that were alcoholic and expansive, but lacked the fresh, linear fruit core that distinguished the best of 2003. The exceptions are Haut-Bailly, the powerful and concentrated Domaine de Chevalier, and of course the thoroughbred stable of wines from Haut-Brion and La Misson Haut-Brion.

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

15 tasting notes

Tasting note

flavors

Apricot

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Balanced, Multi-dimensional, Full-bodied, Rich and Sweet

Verdict

nice but not special and Full-bodied

Written Notes

It doesn't get more famous when it comes to sweet wine; actually, it doesn't get much more famous when it comes to wine. To butcher Johnson, if you are tired of Yquem, then you really are tired of living. 2003 was a much hyped vintage, and deservedly so but coming so close on 2001 and then followed by 2005, it was in tough company. All brilliant, brilliant wines. 2001 remains for me the benchmark – best young wine I have ever tried and I believe that there is every chance that with time, it will become the greatest Yquem ever made. 2003 was a hotter, fuller, richer vintage. And so is the wine. It is a big, rich, plush, fat, soft, opulent Yquem. Just delicious. Very intense. It won't live as long as the 2001 but it will still live longer than most of us. Flavours of pineapple, apricot, honeycomb and tropical fruits abound. A joy. If 2001 is Audrey Hepburn, then this is Marilyn Monroe. 97
  • 97p

A massive Yquem, this has a dense palate that is almost chewy like a red. Full and very sweet, with notes of dried apricot, pineapple, and papaya on the palate. Long, with a vanilla-coconut tart finish. What a wine, voluptuous, sexy, and luscious. 147 grams of RS.

  • 98p

Golden. Rich nose, apricots, pineapples, intense, fruity, vanilla, honey, pure and detailed, layered. Fresh acidity, fruity, lush, intense, detailed, creamy, rich, some liquorice, pineapples, apricots and peach, detailed and layered, stunning! Long. 95

  • 95p

One of the weakest Yquems I have tried over time.Light golden color, extremely closed on the nose,tiny scent of marmelade , orange peel, peach, light to medium body, not very sweet and low acidity(extremely hot year).Disappointing finish.Either just in a sleeping phase or just not great.Will give it another chance in 5-10 years.

Tried it blind versus the Rieussec 2005, which was more appealing.

  • 85p
Tasted three times - last time in April 2014. Consistent notes. 80% of the harvest into Grand Vin. Residual sugar 8.3%, alcohol 13.5%, acidity 4.2 g/l H2SO4.. Harvest ended on record breaking erliest date of 26th September and lasted only 9 days! I'm totally in heaven. Extraordinary concentrated aromas of dried fruits, candied orange peel, mango, guava, candied apricot. Phenomenal purity and intensity. Wow! Incredibly long ongoing aftertaste which lasts for more than one minute. Paradise in heaven.
  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Sauternes, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

2h
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