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Tasting Notes
Perfection again, with the monumental body and flavour of the vintage: but a magical winemaking touch avoids any heaviness and gives a crystalline Riesling-like purity of taste and texture which is thrilling! For me the most formally perfect Sauternes of the vintage and a glorious affirmation of the property's new style: as rich as ever but with more flexibility to express the best and most original aspects of the vintage
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Decanter
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Lively greenish gold. Very indulgent nose that sends a tingle down the spine. Great tang and life as well as richness. So pure and flirtatious – not one of the sweetest but beautiful balance and refreshment, without being an ‘aperitif style Sauternes’. Quite exceptionally persistent. Hints of blossom and real lift. Orange peel and real zest – great energy. Not heavy at all, This takes 2009 Sauternes to a new level. Extremely bright fruit. Long and rich. Not a fat style of Yquem. Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com
Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 2009 Chateau d’Yquem is one showstopper of a wine and perhaps it is only in a vertical that you realize this is up there among the legendary wines of the past – the 2001 included. It has a wonderful nose that expresses the Semillon component majestically: heady aromas of lemon curd, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that all gain momentum in the glass. The oak is supremely well-integrated. The palate is extremely well-balanced with an unctuous entry. You are immediately knocked sideways by the palpable weight and volume in the mouth, which is almost “bulbous,” with layer upon layer of heavily botrytized fruit. It builds to a spicy finish with hints of marzipan and pralines in the background that lend it an untrammeled sense of exoticism. The 2009 is utterly fabulous and decadent, a star that will blaze brightly and undimmed for many years. Drink now-2060+. Tasted March 2014. Jun 2014, www.robertparker.com
"The aromas are closed today, but the core is loaded with apricot, nectarine and orange notes, bolted by a citrus zest spine and backed by toasted almond and piecrust accents on the finish. A large-scale Yquem that shows the richness of the vintage.—Non-blind Yquem vertical (July 2014). Best from 2020 through 2050."
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About the producer
The undisputed finest sweet wine in the world, Château d'Yquem is the only Premier Cru Supérieur estate in Sauternes, classified in 1855. With a long history stretching back to the Middle Ages, the château is entwined with that of the Lur-Saluces family – who remain involved today.