2001 Château d'Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note
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Honey, flowers, apricots, pineapples and spice might be what you initially notice. But it is the compelling balance between the incredible levels of richness, sweet honey-slathered yellow fruits and blazing acidity that rocks your glass! Still a baby, this is probably going to be a 100-year wine! 9,010 Views Tasted Aug 31, 2021OK, this is too young. But it is so incredibly good, who cares? The array of roasted nuts with cashews and almonds leading the pack were perfect with the roasted, overripe, sweet, honey-coated pineapple. vanilla, marzipan and apricots. Rich, sweet, intense and unctuous, but due to the bolt of racy acidity, the wine was never cloying or tiring to drink. Two of us managed to polish off a split on a hot afternoon. The only issue was, it was too bad we didn't have a full-bottle, so we could have enjoyed some the next day. 9,055 Views Tasted Apr 27, 2020Not even close to mature, but who cares? This is so good. Unctuous, fresh, concentrated, sweet and complex, the endless layers of ripe, very ripe, and overripe apricots, pineapples, and assorted tropical fruits all slather with honey is a show stopper! But that would not be possible without all of the wines concentration and the blazing bolt of acidity that gives the wine the fuel it needs to jump up, and keep on going. Drink this now, or leave it for your kids in 50 years, or your grandchildren in 100 years. It's that good! 10,391 Views Tasted Feb 18, 2019This rockstar wine never fails to please the palate and the senses in every way. Incredibly concentrated, yet light on its feet. Sweetness galore, but with the racy acidity needed to give it lift. The fruit has the beautiful, sense of purity and everything is slathered in honey. I need more! 10,483 Views Tasted Dec 24, 2016What can I say that hasn't already been said? Purity, intensity, freshness, density and complexity in spades. This is as good as a sweet wine gets. The scary thing is, it has not even budged towards maturity. Having tasted Yquem at 80 years of age, current owners will never see it. But who cares as this is damn delicious today? 11,366 Views Tasted May 12, 2015Take the ripest, juiciest pineapple you have ever seen, meaning today, just touching brings the juice out, tomorrow, it will begin falling apart. Place it in a hot pan filled with butter, brown sugar, honey and apricots for the aromas. Drizzle in the juice of a Meyer lemon to give it all the acidity it needs and sip slowly, to experience the full essence of its stunning, unctuous personality. The wine does not go softly into the good night as the finish remains for more than 60 seconds! 11,249 Views Tasted Oct 30, 2014This is a thrill a sip wine. It's so young and so beautiful in all its fresh, ripe, pineapple, floral, vanilla, creme custard, honey nut glory. The sweetness is perfect and the racy acidity takes it to another level from there. If you're over 50, start drinking it now for the pleasure. If you're under 30, save it for 30 years. 12,696 Views Tasted Dec 21, 2013If some artists or performers are known and described by only one name, Jimi, Picasso, Matisse, Madonna, Garbo, perhaps the only descriptor needed for this wine is 2001 d’Yquem. I know that works for anyone lucky enough to have tasted this nectar. The best vintage since 1975 for the estate is off the charts, in all the right ways! It blends intense, massive layers of pure, ripe, honey drenched fruits with bracing acidity give it a laser like focus that is found in few other wines. While it’s not close to maturity, drinking this now is a thrill a sip ride. If you lay down a few bottles for your kids, OK, make that your grandchildren, they will remember you fondly. 14,904 Views Tasted Mar 22, 2013It's funny. I taste this wine at least a few times a year and I seldom take notes, thinking I've already posted a current view on this sexy, sweet elixir. I was surprised to see only one note published. Time to fix that situation. If aromatics are your thing, the blast of fresh green apples, apricot, smoke, caramel, white peach, molasses and pineapple slathered in honey is the right place to start. Thick, rich, intense and packed with countless layers of ripe, and over ripe fruit, the wine ends with a dense, silky, fat, opulent finish. The zippy acidity keeps everything where it should be. Drink this now, or save for your kids, kids and let them taste their first 100 year old wine. 15,162 Views Tasted Dec 12, 2012This perfect Sauternes gets better every time I taste it. Thick, rich, ripe, extremely concentrated with honeyed, tropical fruit and the right jolt of racy acidity to give it lift and keep everything in balance. 14,817 Views Tasted Jun 12, 2009 |
When to Drink Chateau d'Yquem, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau d'Yquem can be enjoyed on the young side with no decanting. Of course, the wine is sweet, but there is so much, incredible, racy acidity, the wine always feels fresh, and never cloying, which makes it quite fun to enjoy young. With Chateau d'Yquem and frankly, all Sauternes, the temperature is more important than decanting.
Chateau d'Yquem is delicious on release. But d'Yquem does not reach full maturity for 35-50 years, or even longer in the best vintages! That is when the magic happens! But that is unrealistic for 99% of the world's wine drinkers. So, enjoy it on any special occasion that calls for it.
Serving Chateau d'Yquem with Wine and Food Pairings
Chateau d'Yquem is best served at 14 degrees Celsius, 57 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The wine will naturally, slowly warm in the glass, while it develops more aromatic complexities and fleshes out.
Chateau d'Yquem can be served with seafood dishes, especially shellfish, lobster, crab, and oysters on the half shell. Foie gras is a perfect pairing with its natural sweet, salty and savory characteristics. Chateau d'Yquem can also be paired with roasted chicken, veal, and pork dishes that are either spicy or prepared with a touch of sweetness.
Spicy Asian cuisine, raw fish, like sushi or sashimi, and cheese, both hard and soft also make great pairings with Chateau d'Yquem.
Chateau d'Yquem Dry White Wine
Chateau d'Yquem also produces a dry, white Bordeaux wine called "Y," which is pronounced (Ygrec). The wine is only made in select vintages. The first vintage for the production of dry, white wine at Chateau d'Yquem took place in 1959.
To make the dry white Bordeaux wine of d'Yquem, the fruit the estate uses does not only come from declassified grapes. Most of the berries are picked before the harvesting of the grapes for the production of Chateau d'Yquem has started.
When harvesting for Ygrec, the vines and grapes are chosen prior to harvest. However, while one bunch of Sauvignon Blanc on the vine is designated for Ygrec, the remaining bunch can be used for d'Yquem, if the necessary amount of noble rot develops.
For the Semillon used in Ygrec, the grapes are harvested just prior to the full development of noble rot.
Close to 80% of the parcels used to produce their dry white wine can change from vintage to vintage.
The blend of "Y" is normally close to 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon. Interestingly, this is almost the complete opposite of the grape blend that is placed in Chateau d'Yquem! Since 2000, it has become more common to see vintages of "Y," than in previous years.
This is due to an increase in production. However starting with 2005, Ygrec has been made in every vintage. Today, slightly less than 1,000 cases are produced of "Y" each year.
To produce the dry white Bordeaux wine from d'Yquem, the wine is vinified in stainless steel vats. In fact, in 2012, the estate added several new, gleaming, stainless steel for the vinification. There is no malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 10 months.
During its aging time, the wine is aged on its lees. This marks a major change in the wine, as previously, the wine was aged for up to 18 months in barrel before bottling.
Starting with the 2011 vintage, the chateau completely redesigned the label for "Y". The dry white wine of Yquem, "Y" is sold as a Bordeaux Superieur Blanc. Chateau d'Yquem does not produce a second wine. Instead, they declassify unwanted grapes or wine.
While the estate strives to make vintages of Chateau d'Yquem every year, that is not always possible. Chateau d'Yquem ended up declassifying the entire harvest and did not make wine in the following vintages, 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992, and 2012.
Even with as many as thirteen separate passes in the vineyards, as the grapes were not up to their high standard to produce a wine worthy of Chateau d'Yquem, they did not produce any wine in those years.
So, what does Chateau d'Yquem do with the declassified wine? In the past, declassified grapes that were not used in the production of their dry, white wine "Y", were sold off in bulk and used to produce a generic, Sauternes wine.
Today, declassified grapes are also used to produce a special blend of declassified d'Yquem that is only available to employees through internal sales at the property. The wine is not meant to be sold as a commercial product. The wine is classed as a generic AOC Sauternes wine.