critic reviews
The 2001 Yquem has a pale to medium gold color. The nose is a little closed to begin, slowly emerging with a complex array of notes of mango preserves, baked peaches, saffron, salted almonds, and candied ginger, followed by wafts of jasmine, honeycomb, and crème caramel. The palate is super-sweet, concentrated, and multi-layered, delivering wave after wave of opulent stone and tropical fruit flavors, supported by amazing tension and a satiny texture, finishing with epic length and lingering mineral notes. This is a wine I've tasted many times and it has never been less than the epitome of a Sauternes experience that is as cerebral as it is hedonic. The residual sugar is 150 grams per liter, which is on the high side, yet, incredibly, it wears this richness with such energy.
The 2001 Château d’Yquem at 20 years old: a legend? It certainly received much adulation on release. As a reminder, it was picked over five tries from September 18 to October 23 and has 150g/L of residual sugar. Limpid gold in color, as you would expect, it looks quite youthful for a Sauternes of this vintage. The intense, well-defined bouquet features dried honey, beeswax, quince and touches of Seville orange marmalade. The palate is beautifully balanced, powerful and extraordinarily harmonious, delivering layers of botrytized fruit. There is a crescendo toward the finish of compelling white peach and quince mixed with apricot, becoming spicier with aeration and revealing hints of crème caramel in the background. Absolutely regal. 13.6% alcohol.
I have had the very good fortune to taste the 2001 d'Yquem perhaps a dozen times since its release and have never been less than absolutely floored by its combination of poise, purity, precision and layer upon intricate, jaw-dropping layer of flavor nuances. It is among a very small clutch of incredible wines that crash through the 100-point ceiling and rocket beyond the stratosphere! A testament to that magic that can be created when an uncommonly great vintage for Sauternes brings out the best of an extraordinary vineyard and is skillfully, sensitively crafted, the 2001 is a true wine rarity that must be tried to be believed. Pale to medium lemon-gold, the nose is simply WOWan absolute show-stopper, delivering vibrant, youthful lime cordial, pink grapefruit and lemon meringue pie scents followed up by suggestions of chamomile tea, saffron, cassis and nutmeg plus wafts of marzipan, crushed rocks and beeswax. The palate is beyond-belief intense, offering a myriad of decadent citrus fruit preserves and earthy/mineral-inspired nuances, instilling incredible depth, all punctuated by profound freshness and finishing epically long and exquisitely delicious. The alcohol this vintage is 13.6%, while the residual sugar is a whopping 150 grams per liter, beautifully balanced by a total acidity of 4.5 grams per liter of H2SO4. Obviously, the longer readers are willing to cellar this, the more they will get of that ethereal tertiary complexity/experience. This said, for those who love great Sauternes in its youthful/primary flushes, even at this very early stage in its evolution, the multifaceted 2001 d'Yquem will not disappoint.