CHATEAU D'YQUEM 1er Cru Supérieur Sauternes 2021 Bottle

Description

The 2021 Château d'Yquem is a stunning expression of wine’s finesse and elegance, crafted from a remarkable vintage. With a blend of 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, it features a delicate richness perfectly balanced by vibrant acidity. The wine offers an alluring bouquet of tropical fruits mango, pineapple and hints of white chocolate, caramel, and spices. Critics praise its finesse, length, and harmonious structure: James Suckling awards it 100 points for its meticulous concentration and classic potential. Decanter scores it 98 points for its refined complexity and elegance, while Jancis Robinson gives 19 points, celebrating its impeccable balance and impressive depth. This wine is a complete and gratifying masterpiece, perfect for aging or enjoying now.

*****

JAMES SUCKLING ***** 100 Points *****
19 Apr, 2024 – Dreamy, subtle aromas of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes, but also fresh lemons and pears. Then there are caramel and tart tatin undertones with some bananas, pineapple, tangerines and other tropical fruit. Full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact, giving it a lightness even though it is really structured. The tannins are throughout the palate but blend in perfectly, giving it a solid presence, like a a diamond. It’s tight at the end, but you know that it will linger for ages, with a lightly chewy and intellectual finish. Touches of sweetness, cloves and bitterness to make it interesting. Dynamic. About 54,000 bottles made. Relatively small harvest. 148 g/L residual sugar.

DECANTER 98 points
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 16 Apr 2024) Part of Best St-Emilion 2023 wines tasted en primeur
Drinking Window: 2030 - 2050
High-toned aromatics, purple fruit, blackcurrant, wet stones and minerality on the nose, really quite scented and alive, floral, purple flowers, and ripe black fruit with freshness too. Supple and succulent, a good plushness here, not chalky or chewy but ripe and cool at the same time. Hints of dark chocolate, liquorice, blueberry and wet stone also gives the mineral accents. Silky but this wine has an amazing texture. Cool and classic, but there’s clear ripeness too. Almost thick, but refined. High acidity, great lift and zing - tannins are present and apparent, gently expanding around the mouth. It’s more serious than usual, a touch more firm with tension but equally it's structured with a long, mouthwatering finish. This will be lovely! 3.68pH.

VINOUS 96 points
Drinking Window 2030 - 2060
The 2021 Yquem was tasted in Amsterdam, the first wine poured at a lunch, thereby allowing me a longer period to examine it. Slightly burnished in hue, it has a very attractive bouquet with scents of dried quince, clementine, linseed and subtle candle wax, perhaps more discrete than usual, but certainly fresh and vibrant. The palate is medium-bodied and viscous on the entry, a Yquem with perhaps a lighter chassis than recent vintages, prioritizing poise and purity over horsepower— exactly the right approach in such a challenging season. It opens wonderfully in the glass, gaining more frangipane and kaki fruit scents, though it seems to have a lighter and more tensile finish than the 2020 or 2019. As such, I suspect that it will be comparatively approachable and, of course, delicious. Readers should note that I will probably re-taste the 2021 in Bordeaux during primeur.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 95 points
Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing
Drink Date: 2030 - 2050
The 2021 d'Yquem exhibits a complex bouquet of rose, exotic fruits and mandarin orange mingled with spring flowers, rose and crème brûlée, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless palate that's suave and layered, with a deep core and a long finish that's lent definition by delicate bitterness that offsets the 148 grams per liter residual sugar. This blend of 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc was matured, as usual, in all new barrels, but the new oak is perfectly integrated and barely noticeable.

JANCIS ROBINSON 19 points
Drink 2024 - 2044
Released 21 March 2024. One of the 'good if not great vintages', according to winemaker Lorenzo Pasquini. The 2021 growing season was very tough for viticulture, with frost, hail and mildew. Volume was low (they made 50,000 bottles). However, there was no rain in summer, with low temperature and cloud cover which helped retain acidity (which is a main characteristic of the vintage). Noble rot was homogeneous throughout September, with a long dry spell allowing for unrushed parcel selection. 'Delicacy and power', says Pasquini. Aged in 100% new French oak for 24 months. RS 148 g/l.
Beautiful primary fruit boasting tropical complexity: mango, pineapple. Saltiness, according to the winemaker – and there is definitely savoury contrast in there. The marvel of this wine is its completeness – the stitching is so fine between the sugar, acidity, rich fruit and length. Opens up in the glass, with white chocolate, caramel, clotted cream, mixed peel, five-spice. As prestigious as ever, and so gratifying to drink right now. (RH)