Château d'Yquem 2005

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. Best from 2015 through 2045. 12,000 cases made.

The summer heat that led to such outstanding wines from Bordeaux in 2005 was not ideal for Sauternes, as the onset of botrytis was fairly late and sporadic. Also the hot conditions kept acidity on the low side. Nonetheless d'Yquem made a finely balanced wine, with discreet apple and apricot aromas that are still reticent. It's suave, textured and very concentrated, with elegant oak and no overbearing viscosity or heaviness. Very long, it will keep well, but may not be among the very greatest Yquems.

What an incredible nose of flowers, honey, spices such as clove, and sandalwood. With time, decadent aromas of apple tart and crumble develop. Full and very round on the palate, this is medium sweet with a velvety texture. Flavors of honey, apple and pear tart appear on the long finish. This is so beautiful, hard not to drink now but will greatly improve with more time. 140 grams of RS.

The 2005 Yquem is limpid golden in hue. The bouquet is gorgeous, finely tuned and precise with clear honey, vanilla pod and saffron, with less almond than I’ve noticed previously. The palate is built around its exquisite poise, the acidity keeping this Yquem on its tiptoes. As I’ve noted before, it appears to be gaining in concentration and viscosity with age, with lovely fig and tangerine notes combining with a slight nuttiness on the finish. Tasted at 67 Pall Mall in London.

This treat offers everything you could want in a sweet wine with countless layers of honey-slathered, vanilla-tinted ripe and overripe tropical fruits, roasted nuts, and apricots. Rich, luscious, and also bright, crisp, vibrant, and racy, this is so good now that it is impossible to put down your glass. But it is only going to get better from here with additional years of bottle age. That is part of the magic and allure of Chateau d'Yquem! Drink from 2022–2070.

Intense yellow with golden highlights. What a wine! Ideally, I should buy 10 cases so that my grandchildren’s great-grandchildren can still enjoy some. An intense, complex bouquet. Pineapple, lemon, peach, apricot, orange zest, and so on—in short, the whole package is there. Intense attack. The palate is almost perfect, with pronounced sweetness but also racy acidity. These two components are simply made for each other and will likely spend the next centuries together. At moments like this, you seriously wonder whether the rating scale should be expanded… because this wine is simply outsized. An endlessly long finish, which fits perfectly with the whole concept. The successor to the 1811? I checked with a calculator. It should still be going strong in 2215! As for when this Yquem can be enjoyed, I can only say that it is actually already outstanding now.

One of the largest harvests of Yquem with around 150,000 bottles. In normal years, about 130,000 bottles are filled there. In smaller vintages, only 60,000. 80% Semillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The most intense yellow of all Sauternes, showing the first, delicate golden highlights. Sweet, concentrated, multi-faceted bouquet, smelling of freshly spun honey, light malt, cooked apricots, but also hints of dried fruit in the form of light sultanas; despite the enormous sweetness, the wine shows a citrusy and mineral freshness; on the second nose, a touch of Cointreau, mandarin peel and ripe lemons emerges like a very delicate perfume. A big sip for a gigantically creamy, silky mouthfeel, with melt, finesse and perfectly integrated acidity at the highest level, a finely distributed play of acidity; the fruit is very ripe and shows very fine nuances of tropical fruit, alongside mirabelle plums, light apricots and white peach; a hint of pineapple in the long, dramatic finish. Those who still look for faults even in the greatest wines will be disappointed: the wine is simply perfect! Its most brilliant maturity will probably not be experienced by those who buy it en primeur. A small consolation, however, is that such brilliant Yquem already reveals almost all of its boundless beauty at an earlier stage. For Pierre Lurton, an année d’anthology. One could not hope for better conditions. Rapidly ripened berries, then a cool autumn that supported the acidity. Slow but balanced botrytis. No rotten berries so no negative harvest had to be carried out. No rain at the wrong moment. Harvests always when desired. In short, all the cycles a Sauternes winegrower wishes for, but unfortunately does not always have.

Silky, dense, creamy, opulent, complex bouquet, dried apricots, mango, saffron, passion fruit, honey, mint, chalk, fine botrytis. Dense, multi-layered, creamy, fruity, lavish palate with rich, varied aromas, a velvety, tight structure, fresh fruit, very good acidity, long, dense finish. 20/20 2025 - 2100

Grilled almond, amaretto, intense mango and orange peel, concentrated and silky, this is a stunning Yquem from a vintage that performed across all styles of wine in Bordeaux. Plenty of biting lime juice and tart pineapple to balance the luxurious texture, and at this point in its evolution, beeswax, tobacco and truffle notes are beginning to rise. No need to drink this any time soon; there are decades ahead. 141g/l residual sugar, harvest began on September 19 and ran through to October 28, after the driest year since 1877.

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.

An elegant exuberance. Indulgent and refreshing, intense and chiselled, the contrasts melt into harmony. Its immediacy is deceptive; its potential is great. A magnificent composition.

Straw in color, the nose is discreet for the moment. The palate is dense, elegant, with lovely length—an unusual elegance for Yquem—with a slight touch of oak. The wine will benefit from five more years of cellaring and ushers in a new, more refined and elegant era. 13.5% and 141 g/L. Acidity 3.66 g H2SO4.

Subtle yet intense bouquet with notes of pineapple, lemon, and graphite. As it opens up, it reveals notes of peach and mandarin zest. On the palate, Yquem 2005 stands out for its breadth, creamy character, and persistence. You can clearly sense a kind of time bomb with immense power in reserve. An Yquem remarkable for its youth, grandeur, and complexity.

Golden yellow color with green highlights. An intense, delicate, subtle, deep, complex, and noble nose with no impression of sweetness. A dreamlike texture from the very first sip, where silky smoothness coats the entire palate, with deep flavors combining white and red fruits. Airy, precise, and unique in profile, the wine finishes magically and irresistibly. A great white wine.

This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture is velvet, but with a spicy bite to it. Apricot, honey and marzipan all contribute to a wine that will age over decades.