Chateau d'Yquem 2023 - 375 ml

Originating from France in the Bordeaux region, specifically within the Sauternes appellation on the Left Bank of the Garonne river, Château d'Yquem Premier Cru Supérieur 2023 375ml represents a transcendent, opulent, and legendary expression of classic noble rot sweet wine in a half bottle format. Managed under the stewardship of Pierre Lurton and estate manager Lorenzo Pasquini, Château d'Yquem stands alone as the sole estate awarded Premier Cru Supérieur status in the historic 1855 Sauternes Classification. Sourced from the château's high-altitude gravelly clay and limestone slopes, where unique microclimatic morning mists generated by the Ciron stream promote the development of Botrytis cinerea (noble rot), the winemaking philosophy demands painstaking hand harvesting in multiple selective passes (tries) to gather only fully botrytized grapes. Barrel fermented and aged in 100% new French oak for up to 30 months, this 375ml half bottle release offers an ideal format for intimate dining while ensuring extraordinary concentration, electric acidity, and infinite cellaring longevity.

Wine Description

The wine presents a brilliant, luminous pale golden yellow colour with intense amber and greenish-gold reflections along the rim. An exquisite, highly complex bouquet opens with noble aromas of orange marmalade, candied apricot, dried mango, and yellow peach, interwoven with seductive notes of acacia honey, white truffle, toasted brioche, candied ginger, saffron, and subtle toasted oak spice. On the palate, it is full bodied, unctuous, and profoundly concentrated, delivering rich flavours of dried stone fruit, citrus curd, and honeyed spice, all perfectly counterbalanced by a piercing, mouthwatering core of natural acidity that prevents any sense of heaviness. Framed by a satiny, coat-the-mouth texture and vibrant mid-palate energy, it concludes with an extraordinarily long, persistent finish marked by lingering orange peel, exotic spice, and a clean mineral lift. Composed of a blend dominated by Sémillon alongside Sauvignon Blanc, this 2023 half bottle release offers an optimal drinking window of 2028–2075+. Stylistically, it combines the aromatic brightness and freshness of the 2023 vintage with Château d'Yquem's unrivaled power, complexity, and botrytis purity.