2007 Château d'Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note

50998 Views

2007
97
Unctuous, and equally racy, this full, rich, deep glass of sweet pleasure hits all the right marks. Layers of ripe, fleshy, tropical fruits slathered in honey, along with roasted almonds, vanilla, coconut, candied orange rind, and overripe pineapples from start to finish. In a decade, this will be off the hook.

Unctuous, and equally racy, this full, rich, deep glass of sweet pleasure hits all the right marks. Layers of ripe, fleshy, tropical fruits slathered in honey, along with roasted almonds, vanilla, coconut, candied orange rind, and overripe pineapples from start to finish. In a decade, this will be off the hook.

4,476 Views   Tasted
Even in its infancy, it is impossible not to fall in love with this golden beauty. Lush, concentrated, sweet, opulent, fresh and loaded with all the rich, honeyed pineapples, tropical fruits, apricots and vanilla you need.

Even in its infancy, it is impossible not to fall in love with this golden beauty. Lush, concentrated, sweet, opulent, fresh and loaded with all the rich, honeyed pineapples, tropical fruits, apricots and vanilla you need.

6,129 Views   Tasted
So young, but equally delicious, it is impossible not to love this. Rich, concentrated, luscious fruits, lift and energy with a finish that delivers layers of tropical fruits, pineapple, white peach, honey, vanilla bean, apricot and spice.

So young, but equally delicious, it is impossible not to love this. Rich, concentrated, luscious fruits, lift and energy with a finish that delivers layers of tropical fruits, pineapple, white peach, honey, vanilla bean, apricot and spice.

6,154 Views   Tasted
WOW! At just 10 years of age, it's impossible not to be blown away by this wine. Rich, concentrated, unctuous and packed with multiple layers of sweet, ripe and and very ripe golden fruits, honey, flowers and vanilla. What makes it all work is the blazing acidity that keeps it all so fresh and vibrant. You can wait decades for full maturity, and it will be worth the wait. Or, you can just pop a cork and enjoy the thrill ride as young Sauternes are not much better than this.

WOW! At just 10 years of age, it's impossible not to be blown away by this wine. Rich, concentrated, unctuous and packed with multiple layers of sweet, ripe and and very ripe golden fruits, honey, flowers and vanilla. What makes it all work is the blazing acidity that keeps it all so fresh and vibrant. You can wait decades for full maturity, and it will be worth the wait. Or, you can just pop a cork and enjoy the thrill ride as young Sauternes are not much better than this.

4,413 Views   Tasted
I've often heard that you really cannot drink enough Yquem, can you? While I really believe that's true, I'm looking forward to the day we find out for sure. Sip after sip of laser focused, perfectly ripe, tropical fruit, citrus, apricots, vanilla, white peach and nectarine all slathered in honey with incredible levels of freshness made each sniff, swirl and swallow a treat. This is quite primary, but the fruit and textures are so gorgeous, it's difficult not to love the wine in your glass.

I've often heard that you really cannot drink enough Yquem, can you? While I really believe that's true, I'm looking forward to the day we find out for sure. Sip after sip of laser focused, perfectly ripe, tropical fruit, citrus, apricots, vanilla, white peach and nectarine all slathered in honey with incredible levels of freshness made each sniff, swirl and swallow a treat. This is quite primary, but the fruit and textures are so gorgeous, it's difficult not to love the wine in your glass.

8,224 Views   Tasted
Very sweet, powerful and concentrated, with fresh, lively, honey drenched tropical fruits, vanilla and floral notes. The wine has depth, complexity and length. Now, all it needs is a decade or two of bottle age.

Very sweet, powerful and concentrated, with fresh, lively, honey drenched tropical fruits, vanilla and floral notes. The wine has depth, complexity and length. Now, all it needs is a decade or two of bottle age.

6,319 Views   Tasted
I wish I could afford this elixir. It has all the right stuff with its racy personality and decadent layers of juicy, ripe, honey coated tropical fruits, spices, vanilla, nuts and coconut. The wine is perfectly balanced between sweetness and acidity, with freshness and a beautiful purity of fruit. It sort of reminds me of the 1989 d’Yquem in its youth, except that was only $75 a half bottle.

I wish I could afford this elixir. It has all the right stuff with its racy personality and decadent layers of juicy, ripe, honey coated tropical fruits, spices, vanilla, nuts and coconut. The wine is perfectly balanced between sweetness and acidity, with freshness and a beautiful purity of fruit. It sort of reminds me of the 1989 d’Yquem in its youth, except that was only $75 a half bottle.

6,377 Views   Tasted
Some wines, due to the fame of the marquee, light up the faces of eager tasters when they are opened. The list of wines deserving of those accolades is short and sweet. Speaking of sweet, at the top of the pyramid of the world's sweet is Chateau d'Yquem. With its track record of successful vintages, that's where it belongs. 2007 d'Yquem is another great success for the chateau! With a deep gold color, the nose explodes with honey, flowers, white peaches, nectarines, orange rind, vanilla custard, nuts and overripe pineapple. There is an intensity of flavor, multiple layers of sweet, ripe, honey drenched fruit and the perfect amount of acidity to give the wine ample lift keeping it fresh.

Some wines, due to the fame of the marquee, light up the faces of eager tasters when they are opened. The list of wines deserving of those accolades is short and sweet. Speaking of sweet, at the top of the pyramid of the world's sweet is Chateau d'Yquem. With its track record of successful vintages, that's where it belongs. 2007 d'Yquem is another great success for the chateau! With a deep gold color, the nose explodes with honey, flowers, white peaches, nectarines, orange rind, vanilla custard, nuts and overripe pineapple. There is an intensity of flavor, multiple layers of sweet, ripe, honey drenched fruit and the perfect amount of acidity to give the wine ample lift keeping it fresh.

8,906 Views   Tasted

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.

www.yquem.fr