Château d'Yquem, 1er Grand Cru Classé, Sauternes, US SL, 2005
There are many outstanding sweet wines in Bordeaux 2005, but Yquem is in a class of its own: as Pierre Lurton showed us around the renovated chateau after tasting, I realised that the rich core of cinnamon and ginger-tinged honey lingered on my palate a full 15 minutes later! The nose is not very pronounced, preferring instead to invite exploration: cream and faint notes of coffee over a delicate array of soft fleshy white fruit and flowers; incredibly beautiful and balanced. Great intensity at the core on the palate, not immediately expansive but this gradually builds in power and richness: orange and ginger, cinnamon and rich peach, with great lingering freshness. An outstanding success of great balance that complements M. Lurton’s great Cheval Blanc.
critic reviews
Dried figs, saffron, white peaches, grilled pineapple, cumin, butterscotch, beeswax, blood orange, pink grapefruit, elegant with taut acidities that play with the lusicous, rich opulence of the core of this beautiful wine. 141g/l residual sugar, harvest began on September 19th right through to October 28, after the driest year since 1877. Last tasted in 2022.
A blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, with 141 grams per liter of residual sugar, the 2005 Yquem is pale to medium gold in color. It starts off reticent and slightly broody before spilling out of the glass with notes of applesauce, peach cobbler, and musk melon, giving way to powerful scents of candied ginger, jasmine tea, chamomile, and saffron, together with a touch of chalk. The palate is an atomic bomb of flavors, coating the palate with spicy apple and peach preserves, with beautiful tension, finishing very long with loads of mineral sparks. It's gone into a closed stage for now – you should cellar it a good 7-10 years longer.
Grilled almond, amaretto, intense mango and organge peel, concentrated and silky, this is a stunning Yquem from a vintage that worked across all styles of wine in Bordeaux. Plenty of biting lime juice and tart pineapple to balance out the luxurious texture, and at this point of its evolution, beeswax, tobacco and truffle notes are beginning to ascend. No need to drink this any time soon, there are decades ahead. 141g/l residual sugar, harvest began on September 19th right through to October 28, after the driest year since 1877.
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. Tasted at 67 Pall Mall in London.