Château d'Yquem - Sauternes 1er Cru Supérieur 2005 (750ml)
Price: $739.99
| Producer | Château d'Yquem |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Varietal | Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon |
| Vintage | 2005 |
| Sku | 205228 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Château d'Yquem Description
In 1993, Chateau d'Yquem celebrated 400 years of ownership by the same family. In 1593, the Sauvage family bought this estate which came into the Lur Saluces patrimony when Francoise Joséphine de Sauvage married Count Louis Amédée de Lur Saluces in 1785. Marquis Bertrand de Lur Saluces was one of the 20th century's most important personalities in the world of wine.
Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces has followed in his Uncle Betrand's footsteps since 1968. Highly motivated to perfect this prestigious product while respecting tradition, he is determined to offer maximum quality. All those who love this inimitable wine, from Jefferson to Pamela Harriman, former U.S. Ambassador, by way of great Duke Constantine, have approved this philosophy from vintage to vintage.
Yquem is the result of painstaking efforts by everyone who works on the estate. However, nature is the major factor in making the most of the rare soil of Yquem.
Discovering Chateau d'Yquem starts with the bouquet. Although not always very outgoing in young vintages, it is marked by fruit (apricot, mandarin, and occasionally tropical fruit) and oak (vanilla and toast aromas). Older vintages, on the other hand, have an extradordinarily complex fragrance as soon as the bottle is opened.
The bouquet is amazingly subtle, with hints of dried fruit (dried apricot, prune, stewed fruit, and marmalade), spice (cinnamon, saffron, and liquorice), and even flowers (linden blosson, etc).
The first impression of Chateau d'Yquem on the palate is always silky, and often sumptuous. It then fills out, "coating the palate". This wine has a strong, but never overbearing character, with great elegance and poise. It always maintains a balance between sugar and acidity (sweetness and freshness).
Wine Advocate: 98+ Points
The 2005 d'Yquem continues to drink beautifully today, evoking aromas of honey, saffron, vanilla pod, apricot, jasmine and orange peel. Full-bodied, sensual and juicy, it’s medium to full-bodied, with a seamless texture and a perfectly balanced palate, finishing fruity and racy. Although still a little closed and in a rather discreet phase, it has magnificent aging potential, and readers with bottles in their cellars should leave them to mature for 10 to 20 years.
Wine Spectator: 97 Points
This has a deliciously pure feel, with juicy, inviting green plum, ginger, heather, creamed pineapple and Jonagold apple flavors all melded together and gliding through the lengthy finish, which echoes with lilting flowers and dried citrus notes.
Vinous: 96 Points
The 2005 Yquem is limpid golden in hue. The bouquet is gorgeous, finely-tuned and precise with clear honey, vanilla pod and saffron, less of the almond that I have noticed previously. The palate is built around its exquisite poise, the acidity keeping this Yquem on its tip-toes. As I have noted before, it appears to be gaining in concentration and viscosity with age, lovely fig and tangerine notes combining with a slight nuttiness on the finish.
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