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  • Country ranking ?

    390
  • Producer ranking ?

    20
  • Decanting time

    6h
  • When to drink

    from 2020
  • Food Pairing

    foie gras

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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Unseasonably warm temperatures led to an early harvest for this vintage, which is not only intensely rich and sweet, but also beautifully fresh, racy and with a long finish.High levels of residual sugar have helped to create a richly honeyed example of this legendary Sauternes. Pure and with exemplary range , it will do well in the cellar.

Due to a very warm spring, the harvest started and ended early, with picking commencing in the first week of September - the earliest harvest for the past 125 years. The grapes for this blend, 80% sémillon and 20% sauvignon blanc, were carefully picked at intervals to coincide with the changeable weather.

 

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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

2011 Chateau dYquem Sweet Bordeaux Wine of the Vintage

2011 Chateau d’Yquem is the sweet Bordeaux wine of the vintage! The 2011 Chateau d’Yquem is also a contender for one of the top wines of the entire vintage. This beautiful Sauternes offers intense aromatics packed with overripe pineapple drenched in honey, roasted nuts, apricots, nectarines, white peach, flowers, orange rind and honey in the complex perfume. Thick, rich and intense, with the viscosity of motor oil, along with tropical fruit dripping with honey and the perfect amount acidity to give this elixir life, 2011 Chateau d’Yquem is majestic. I do not think it’s quite at the same level of quality as the legendary 2001, but it’s not that far off. If the 2011 Chateau d’Yquem is offered at a fair price, it’s worth having in your cellar. 98-99 Pts

Prior to 2000, Chateau d’Yquem was not sold as a future. The wine was held in barrel and in bottle until it was ready to be sold. That policy changed with the new owners and the 2003 vintage. Due to the low level of demand for any 2011 Bordeaux wine being offered as a future, the director, Pierre Lurton issued a statement saying 2011 Chateau dYquem would not be offered as a future.

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Vintage 2011

The 2011 vintage is not easy to handle.

Smith Haut Lafitte not only makes great white and red wine from Bordeaux in Pessac Léognan, they are also at the cutting edge of technology. They were one of the first Bordeaux wine producers to begin using optical sorting, which came in handy with the difficult 2011 Bordeaux harvest. Fabien Teitgen, long-time general manager, joined us for a long detailed conversation about what happened at Smith Haut Lafitte for the 2011 Bordeaux vintage.

“In my opinion, 2011 is balanced with a low pH and a medium alcohol level. So for those who picked at the right time, their wines will be balanced, with good concentration and good freshness. This vintage is not so easy to handle. »

 

Château Cos d’Estournel, Saint-Estèphe, began its 2011 Bordeaux harvest on Monday, September 5.

Jean Guillaume Prats told us that 2011 set a modern record for an early start to their harvest at Château Cos d’Estournel. He added: “It was the second earliest harvest on record. To find an earlier date, we had to go back to 1893! » Although the precise date to begin picking was not set in stone, the original plan was not to begin their Bordeaux harvest on September 5. But due to a ferocious storm that swept through the region, the massive 2011 Bordeaux storm hit the northern Médoc, any hope of waiting has gone out the window. “We had initially planned to start around September 9, with the young vines. After the storm, we gave ourselves time over the weekend to assess the situation and make the appropriate decision: wait and see how it will evolve in the coming days depending on the weather. We are “lucky” that this vintage is extremely early. The damage in terms of phenolic maturity of the grapes should be very minor. If it was a later year, like 2008, 2009 or 2010, the effects would be much worse.

" said Prats

 

The day starts before sunrise

Château Haut Brion and Château La Mission Haut Brion began harvesting their young Merlot vines on August 29. It’s early for the First Growth domain. To give you an idea of when Haut Brion started picking its young Merlot vines in 2010, September 8. In this vintage, the harvest continued until October 9.

Between the two properties of Pessac Léognan, with red and white grapes to pick, they have a busy schedule. Harvesters begin their day working on the grapes for their Bordeaux white wine, often starting their day before sunrise.

Jean-Philippe Delmas explains why they harvest early in the morning: “The goal of picking white grapes early in the morning is to ensure that the fruit stays fresh. This helps the berries retain their unique, fresh flavors. This year, we picked our white grapes between 7 a.m. and noon. The reason is that at this time of the day, the skin is dry. There is nothing left of the dew of the night. »

Château Lafite Rothschild began harvesting Cabernet Sauvignon from their northernmost plots, located not far from Château Cos d’Estournel, on Friday September 2. 2011. This is one of the first harvests recorded for the property. You will read quotes from many Bordeaux wine producers that 2011 Bordeaux, for many châteaux, will be their earliest harvest on record since 1893! However, producers located in certain districts of Bordeaux have brought forward their harvest calendars even earlier than expected.

Due to the enormous deluge and rain in the northern Médoc, centered near the border of Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, to avoid possible rot problems, many châteaux in this vicinity decided to start picking sooner than they had originally planned. The most notable property is the famous Premier Cru, Château Lafite Rothschild. It is possible that the storm, which dropped half an inch of massive rain in a twenty-minute period, caused flooding in Lafite Rothschild's cellars.

“With our 2011 harvest, we harvested earlier because the cultivation of the vines was earlier than usual, due to the very hot spring. But the ripening weather conditions in summer were cool and cool, so the wine is of a cooler style than a late vintage. The pleasant weather conditions at the end of August and September were very good for phenolic maturity.” Fabien Teitgen from Château Smith Haut Lafitte.

Bordeaux 2011 /The earliest harvest recorded since 1893

 

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

32 tasting notes

Tasting note

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Written Notes

Crazy minerality to this, with lots of dried mango, pineapple and papaya on the nose. Botrytis-spice and nutmeg undertones. Full body, very sweet, with superb depth of fruit and richness. It goes on for minutes. Turns dense and concentrated on the palate. Speechless. Better in 2019

  • 98p

Pale gold colour. Lemon curd, grapefruit, honey, ginger and vanilla new oak. Sweet fruit -- dried apricot, lemon rind. Lovely richness, well concentrated, superb concentration, grapefruit, dried lemon, marzipan -- delicious. Fine crisp acidity. Finishes long and tangy. 94-96 points,

  • 96p

Yellow gold. Very focused nose of dried fruits with a delicate toasted note. Concentrated, fresh palate that is rigorous, dense and perfumed. Ethereal freshness imparts abundant mellowness, faultless quality oak and a hint of youthful sourness on the finish.

  • 96p

An early vintage. Early flowering, and started very early. A lot of freshness.’
Perfecto! Green yellow straw coloured and the nose is perfect – lemon lime custard aplenty. Interestingly, this seems almost delicate at first, before the oak kicks into gear. It’s bitter, biting, surprisingly acidic, ultra-long, warming and flirts between being too big and ripe but then also delicate. Love the lemon butter finish. This is magnificent and I love seeing the extra fruit here – makes it even more delicious. Sublime wine. 19.2/20, 97/100.

  • 97p

Pale golden. Rich, pineapples, lemon curd, some crème brulée, light lilies note nose, intense. Fresh acidity, fruity, pineapples, some spices, peach, rich and fruity, playful, layered, long finish. 95

  • 95p

Chateau d’Yquem 2011 99 points

What can be said here…  Compared to the 2001 (confirmed by Sandrine Garbay), this was an astoundingly fresh and complex wine, stratospheric in its flavour explosion in my mouth, and going the distance through the finish.  Even to the lay person this is an exceptional wine: thought provoking, smile inducing and exciting.  I mean this is a seriously cool wine.

  • 99p
Tasted three times - last time in April 2014. Consistent notes. This wine showed multiple botrytised aromas, a lot of sweetness and corresponding acidity, sophisticated touch, fabulous intensity, stunning balance, length and finish. Exceptional stuff.
  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Sauternes, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Inside Information

The 2011 has a clear silvery gold hue, perhaps not quite as deep as I recall the 2010 last year. The bouquet is very fragrant and well-defined, with scents of wild honey, honeysuckle and a touch of vanilla. It is a refined, sedate and beautifully focused bouquet that does not need to show off. The palate displays superb weight in the mouth, even though at first it seems almost understated. Yet there is clearly a high level of spicy, botrytized fruit with notes of honey, orange zest and a touch of mandarin. There is no explosion on the finish; the 2011 is rather a lesson in control, complexity and nuance. It is utterly seductive. Drink 2016-2040+.

The 2011 commenced with picking on September 6, the fourth earliest in its history, although they waited until September 12 to really get going in the vineyard. The harvest was over four tries until the October 5, peaking on the last day of the second trie on September 23. There is a very low level of volatility compared to the level of residual sugar, which at 144 grams per liter is almost the same as 2010

Score: 96/98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (200), April 2012
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