Description
Château d’Yquem 2021, Sauternes’ legendary Premier Cru Supérieur. 94 points, Wine Spectator.
Château d’Yquem is the only Sauternes ranked Premier Cru Supérieur in 1855, and the 2021 is 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, aged in new French oak and finished with 148 grams per liter of residual sugar. Spring brought frost, hail and mildew, but a cool summer preserved acidity, and rain in mid-September and early October spread noble rot before three weeks of cool, sunny weather concentrated the grapes, picked in successive passes between September 30 and October 30. Yields were only 8 hectoliters per hectare, and about 54,000 bottles were made. James Suckling (100 points) found it “full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact,” with a presence he likened to a diamond. Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Independent (97 points) suggests drinking it from 2026 to 2056, though it will keep far longer. 13.9% ABV, 750ml.
