Chateau d'Yquem 2009 (375ml) (7863)

Details

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: Bright gold-tinged lemon-yellow. Enticingly fresh aromas of white flowers, honey, orange and fresh apricot, with suggestions of coconut and candied orange peel. Enters the mouth suave and wonderfully pure, with nectar-like flavors of peach, orange and pineapple complicated by a hint of smoky botrytis. Though extremely rich and concentrated, laser-like acidity gives this remarkable Sauternes a seamless, penetrating, mineral quality on the extremely long, silky finish. Its superb inner-palate energy and near-perfect balance suggest that it will evolve very slowly and go on for decades. A very sleek and refined yet impressively concentrated Yquem that remains amazingly light on its feet. A great example not just of the vintage but of the Pierre Lurton style, and quite different from the more showy and opulent wines made under the direction of Alexandre de Lur Saluces. 97-100 Points

James Suckling: The length to this is exceptional with an intensity yet subtlety. Full and medium sweet with bright and exciting acidity. It's all in balance here. Creme brulee, pineapple, and papaya. Lasts so long on finish. It's so fabulous now. It will age forever but it's already a joy to taste, even drink. 98 Points

Wine Spectator: 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. 98 Points

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: Bright gold-tinged lemon-yellow. Enticingly fresh aromas of white flowers, honey, orange and fresh apricot, with suggestions of coconut and candied orange peel. Enters the mouth suave and wonderfully pure, with nectar-like flavors of peach, orange and pineapple complicated by a hint of smoky botrytis. Though extremely rich and concentrated, laser-like acidity gives this remarkable Sauternes a seamless, penetrating, mineral quality on the extremely long, silky finish. Its superb inner-palate energy and near-perfect balance suggest that it will evolve very slowly and go on for decades. A very sleek and refined yet impressively concentrated Yquem that remains amazingly light on its feet. A great example not just of the vintage but of the Pierre Lurton style, and quite different from the more showy and opulent wines made under the direction of Alexandre de Lur Saluces. 97-100 Points

James Suckling: The length to this is exceptional with an intensity yet subtlety. Full and medium sweet with bright and exciting acidity. It's all in balance here. Creme brulee, pineapple, and papaya. Lasts so long on finish. It's so fabulous now. It will age forever but it's already a joy to taste, even drink. 98 Points

Wine Spectator: 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. 98 Points

Reviews

WA 100

Wine Advocate

Pale to medium gold colored, the 2009 d'Yquem bursts from the glass with gregarious crème caramel, allspice, dried apricots, mandarin peel and pineapple upside down cake scents plus a fragrant undercurrent of fungi, acacia honey, candied ginger, musk perfume and frangipani. Full-bodied and full-on hedonic in the mouth, the rich, tightly wound layers are still amazingly youthful with bags of citrus sparks and an incredibly long, perfumed finish. Possessing a residual sugar of 157 grams per liter and 13.6% alcohol as well as a laser-focused line of freshness, the rock-solid structure and through-the-roof opulence here is simply mind blowing. Pure perfection.

JG 98-100

John Gilman "View from the Cellar"

The 2009 is clearly a return to the majestic brilliance of Yquem and the most magical young vintage of this wine that I can ever recall tasting. Its beauty in ’09 lies in its haunting elegance and refined complexity at such an early age, which seems to me to be the barometer by which Yquem should be judged, as power is never an issue with this great terroir. The bouquet is absolutely fabulous, as it soars from the glass in an almost delicate mélange of fresh-cut pineapple, tangerine, an exotic touch of banana, acacia blossoms, a gloriously complex base of chalky soil, orange zest, delicate notes of honeycomb, a bit of pink grapefruit and an esthery topnote of bee pollen. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very pure and remarkably light on its feet, with perfect focus and balance, superb acids and simply stunning length and grip. I hope the wine does not pick up too much oak from its stay in barrel, as while there will be no issue with the depth of this wine supporting its oak, to risk losing some of this kaleidoscopic complexity to wood tones would be near tragic. A magical Yquem and probably the finest wine made in Bordeaux in 2009.

RV 98-100

Wine Enthusiast - Roger Voss

Barrel sample. The aromas are so rich and powerful, with great ripe apricots. There are honey, spice and beautiful sweet spiced pears. This is an extraordinary wine in an extraordinary year in Sauternes.

Producer's Notes

Chateau d'Yquem