CHATEAU D'YQUEM 1er Cru Classe Superieur - Sauternes 2023 HALF

Description

Château d'Yquem is one of the most esteemed wine estates in the world, renowned for producing exceptional Sauternes, a sweet white wine from the Bordeaux region of France. Established in the 16th century, this illustrious estate is distinguished by its unique terroir, where clay and limestone soils, combined with a microclimate influenced by the Ciron and Garonne rivers, create ideal conditions for noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). This process enhances the grapes' natural sugars and acidity, resulting in incredibly luscious and complex wines.

The estate primarily uses two grape varieties: Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon contributes richness, honeyed notes, and a velvety texture, while Sauvignon Blanc adds freshness and vibrant acidity. Château d'Yquem’s commitment to quality is evident in its meticulous winemaking practices and strict selection of grapes, ensuring that only the finest fruit is used.

The wines are characterised by rich flavours, ranging from honey and apricot to citrus and floral notes, with a remarkable balance of sweetness and acidity that allows for exceptional ageing potential. Château d'Yquem holds the prestigious title of Premier Cru Supérieur from the Bordeaux classification of 1855, underscoring its unparalleled reputation. With centuries of tradition and expertise, d'Yquem continues to be a benchmark for dessert wines, captivating wine lovers and collectors around the globe.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 100 Points
Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing
Drink Date: 2026-2076
With 153 grams per liter of residual sugar—placing it among the 10 most concentrated vintages in the château’s history—the 2023 d'Yquem ranks among the finest wines bottled here under Lorenzo Pasquini’s direction. It unfurls from the glass with a complex, vibrant and remarkably pure bouquet of pineapple, guava, mango, confit citrus, beeswax and spices. Full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it combines formidable depth with perfectly judged control, built around a fleshy core of fruit, framed by lively acidity and a crystalline texture and culminating in an endless, refined and ethereal finish. Yquem’s natural power is here masterfully harnessed by the vintage’s freshness and tension, revealing an aesthetic of precision and vibrancy encountered only in the estate’s greatest years—made all the more remarkable by the fact that the château now achieves even higher levels of concentration than a decade ago, without any perceptible increase in sweetness on the palate.

JAMES SUCKLING 100 Points
Perfect aromas carry through to every milliliter of this wine, showing intense orange peel, honey, butterscotch, saffron, smoke and peat, with hints of coffee and dried apples. Full-bodied but weightless and silky, with an excellent balance of fruit, sweetness and spices. Some peanut brittle, dried oranges and lemons at the end. I can’t get over how wonderful this is now, but it can age forever. 154 g/L residual sugar. Drink or hold.
James Suckling, Senior Editor

VINOUS 99
Drinking window: 2030 - 2090
The 2023 Yquem, a blend of 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, contains 154 grams per litre of residual sugar—less than the 2022. As usual, the 2023 was matured in 100% new oak, mainly French, with a small percentage from Austria. The nose is so seductive that it should come with a warning sticker. Pure and mellow, it offers beguiling scents of wild honey, quince jelly, almond shavings and that signature hint of saffron destined to accentuate with age. It displays wonderful definition, though it does not have the “aromatic drama” of the previous vintage. The palate has exquisite balance and poise that belies the depth of this Yquem, though it is less exuberant, less ostentatious than the 2022. It is really the umami sensation that defines the 2023, how it caresses, almost soothes the grateful taste buds, vanilla and flecks of white chocolate lingering on the aftertaste. This will probably drink a little sooner than the 2022. If the 2023 does have a fault, it’s that it is so flattering in its flush of youth that it will be difficult to resist. Sublime.
Neal Martin, March 2026

DECANTER 96
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Bordeaux, 08 Jul 2020)
Drinking Window: 2020 - 2050
Things were more difficult in Sauternes than in the rest of Bordeaux in the 2000 vintage, with a brilliant first picking in early October that showed all the promise of the vintage, but with the later crop ruined by heavy rain. In the end Yquem made 20% of its usual yield, but the success of the earlier growing season comes through with luxuriously concentrated apricot and marmalade flavours, laced with bitter orange, lime zest, butterscotch, saffron and white truffles. 128g/l of residual sugar, with total acidity of 4.5. The team behind this wine included current winemaking director Sandrine Garbay, who had begun two years earlier in 1998, with the château already partly owned by Bernard Arnault of LVMH (he bought his first shares in 1996) but still headed up by director Alexandre de Lur Saluces, whose family had been at Yquem since 1875.