How to describe this wine other than too young, too sweet and just right?
When the 18 years old Francois I. invited Leonardo to the French royal court, he assigned the genius to the design of royal parties. 500 years later, Paris is the world’s top cultural and tourist destination, the Mona Lisa is the most famous art piece and the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world.
François I. was too young, too sweet but royally right.
95 points
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
At Chateau d’Yquem. It’s hard not to be completely satisfied when you’re chillin at a private picnic table overlooking the estate vineyards and grubbin on stinky cheese whilst sipping on one of the best recent vintages of the beloved Yquem (easy kids, I know you all love 2001, but…). Dried apricot, unripe peach, white flowers, jasmine, candied lemon and orange rind, and the slightest kiss of honey make for a fresh and lively execution of flavor. Not syrupy. Not cloying. Instead, the dance across the palate is flawless; both airy and saturating. The perfect balance of viscosity and acidity.
The heat that day was dug in like an Alabama tick, so it was a struggle to focus on the wine at times (Well, I mean, as much as it is a struggle when you’re at Yquem). But alas, we managed to persevere :)
Drink now and over the next, I dunno, 100 years…?!…
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasting at Château d'Yquem. Clear gold. Aromatic nose. Peach, apricots, jasmine, honeysuckle, acacia. Pleasant sweetness. Very young and fresh character. Good acidity. Long lingering finish. Winemaking style focuses on the freshness, which makes dÝquem stand out.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
First time having a young (<10 years old) d'Yquem, had it at the Chateau itself. Sheer youthful vibrancy, dancing notes of fresh apricots, floral nose of honey suckle - in fact, tastes in my opinion, better than the older d'Yquems I've had. What a remarkable experience
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened for a friend's bday dinner; this was exquisite stuff; youngest Yquem I've ever tried so maybe that plays a role, but I was blown away by this; the nose was exquisite with a fabulous fresh orange zest note along with pineapple, honey, jasmine, and vanilla. The freshness on the nose was really nice. The palate showed a beautiful elegance that just sang and everything seemed right where it needed to be. This for me was markedly more enjoyable than a 2015 and a 2013 recently drank. Not sure how it will age, but the elegance and fresh citrus note were absolute winners for me.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lovely balance with a silky texture. Medium-bodied with integrated sweetness and lots of classic mineral intensity. Not an overly sunny, ripe wine but rather minerally and very fine. Tasted at Chateau. 93+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Château d'Yquem dinner with Sandrine Garbay (Restaurant Zoldering, Amsterdam, NL): An early year with huge noble rot, grapes came in with potential alcohols of up to 26% ABV. Similar in style to the 2019 but a bit more powerful, explosive perfume, tropical and floral but also perhaps a bit more vegetal, fresh and beautifully silky-sweet, very approachable, perfectly integrated savoury oak, excellent resonance and length. An effortless combination of power and elegance.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Served after the 19 the 17 felt like it had just started to close up a tad compared to the younger sibling. A serene and complete d'Yquem at this juncture but wait up now to visit this (decade +).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine Spectator 40th Anniversary; 10/21/2021-10/23/2021 (Marriott Marquis): Generally I've struggled more with this wine since we did a full evening tasting and it was just a lot and kindof a sugar rush. In this instance though where it's a touch of sweet among a lot of big reds it was really welcome and lovely. The wine lingers forever on your tongue. Beautiful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Young bright yellow color, at opening white chocolate the dominant element on the sinewy nose, on the palate white chocolate and mousse notes on a wonderfully tense mid-weight fruit that is driven more by detail than power, fine long finish with lime zest and plenty of acids, over the course of two hours it grew in stature displaying marzipan and mandarin orange notes, honeysuckle and hints of treacle, yet always it retained its more elegant and tensile character, this beauty is cut very much in the vein of the great 1997 though potentially even a bit racier, as with that vintage this is not a powerhouse Yquem but one that best displays all the glorious details that make Yquem so very great, if you prefer the bigger vintages then 2016 might be a better bet, but for me this is really a wonderful vintage almost at the level of 2015, much nuance yet to come but given the detail it is already showing this is even more approachable than usual in its early days.
(****)+, 2030++
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Perfection...so young...blown away upon opening with a nose which filled up all my senses. This is after having a 14 Harlan which was great but not like this wine. Will need all my patience to not open the other 17's.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clearly one of the great vintages of d'Yquem of all time, this stunner is off the hook from the initial sniff. Roasted apricots, overripe pineapple, vanilla, mango, marzipan and creme caramel all topped with honey keeps you focused on the wine. If that isn't enough when the wine crosses your palate, the weight, volume, intensity and richness discovered in the layers of honey-slathered tropical fruits, vanilla and apricot. What makes everything work is the razors edge of acidity that gives the wine the necessary lift. Like all great wines, you can enjoy this young, but if you have the patience, or young children to gift this to, this will be markedly better in 20 or more years.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
An Embarrassment of Riches: Dinner at Chez Dalluge (Dave & Desi's Place, Somewhere in Western MN): Light gold color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. 75% Sauv Blanc/25% Semillion. First time drinking this wine and it was pretty mesmerizing. There is an inital sense of oak and petrol on the nose followed by a headspinningly complex array of tropical fruit notes from passion fruit and lychee to gooseberry and tangerine. There's also a nice white floral aspect to the nose with some lemon grass too. The palate is near full bodied, yet maybe just feels like there's more volume from the coating almost oily texture, yet it remains balanced and lithe with crisp acids. There's the same fruit complexity on the palate with the passion fruit and lychee out front, then goosberry and lemon grass, butterscotch and oak notes round it out on a very long finish. 94+ to 95pts.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
An amazing vintage for Yquem Liquid gold Smaller production - 1st vintage for total organic farming Golden sweet velvet in the mouth, a pleasure to taste
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Crisp notes of vanilla, marzipan, pineapple, mango, orange rind, flowers, and candied apricot are right there, as soon as wine the moves from the bottle to your glass. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, fresh, sweet, ripe and zippy. There is length, purity and precision. The lingering pineapple, apricot and sweet, lemon curd on your palate gets life from the jolt of racy acidity that runs down the middle. This is a top vintage for Chateau d'Yquem that is defined by its vibrant, freshness.
What made 2017 so good, is the speed in which the sugar levels reached maximum potential. The harvest took place September 26 - October 13. The wine was made from blending 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc, reaching 13.6% with sugars hitting 48 G/L. The Grand Vin was made from 40% of the harvest.
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
11/4/2023 - tastefuldrop Likes this wine: 95 Points
How to describe this wine other than too young, too sweet and just right?
When the 18 years old Francois I. invited Leonardo to the French royal court, he assigned the genius to the design of royal parties. 500 years later, Paris is the world’s top cultural and tourist destination, the Mona Lisa is the most famous art piece and the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world.
François I. was too young, too sweet but royally right.
95 points
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2023 - csimm wrote: 97 Points
At Chateau d’Yquem. It’s hard not to be completely satisfied when you’re chillin at a private picnic table overlooking the estate vineyards and grubbin on stinky cheese whilst sipping on one of the best recent vintages of the beloved Yquem (easy kids, I know you all love 2001, but…). Dried apricot, unripe peach, white flowers, jasmine, candied lemon and orange rind, and the slightest kiss of honey make for a fresh and lively execution of flavor. Not syrupy. Not cloying. Instead, the dance across the palate is flawless; both airy and saturating. The perfect balance of viscosity and acidity.
The heat that day was dug in like an Alabama tick, so it was a struggle to focus on the wine at times (Well, I mean, as much as it is a struggle when you’re at Yquem). But alas, we managed to persevere :)
Drink now and over the next, I dunno, 100 years…?!…
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2023 - Dithiolium Likes this wine: 97 Points
Tasting at Château d'Yquem. Clear gold. Aromatic nose. Peach, apricots, jasmine, honeysuckle, acacia. Pleasant sweetness. Very young and fresh character. Good acidity. Long lingering finish. Winemaking style focuses on the freshness, which makes dÝquem stand out.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2023 - glassofhans Likes this wine: 95 Points
First time having a young (<10 years old) d'Yquem, had it at the Chateau itself. Sheer youthful vibrancy, dancing notes of fresh apricots, floral nose of honey suckle - in fact, tastes in my opinion, better than the older d'Yquems I've had. What a remarkable experience
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2023 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:
Opened for a friend's bday dinner; this was exquisite stuff; youngest Yquem I've ever tried so maybe that plays a role, but I was blown away by this; the nose was exquisite with a fabulous fresh orange zest note along with pineapple, honey, jasmine, and vanilla. The freshness on the nose was really nice. The palate showed a beautiful elegance that just sang and everything seemed right where it needed to be. This for me was markedly more enjoyable than a 2015 and a 2013 recently drank. Not sure how it will age, but the elegance and fresh citrus note were absolute winners for me.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/15/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely balance with a silky texture. Medium-bodied with integrated sweetness and lots of classic mineral intensity. Not an overly sunny, ripe wine but rather minerally and very fine. Tasted at Chateau. 93+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2022 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 97 Points
Château d'Yquem dinner with Sandrine Garbay (Restaurant Zoldering, Amsterdam, NL): An early year with huge noble rot, grapes came in with potential alcohols of up to 26% ABV. Similar in style to the 2019 but a bit more powerful, explosive perfume, tropical and floral but also perhaps a bit more vegetal, fresh and beautifully silky-sweet, very approachable, perfectly integrated savoury oak, excellent resonance and length. An effortless combination of power and elegance.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/10/2022 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 94 Points
Served after the 19 the 17 felt like it had just started to close up a tad compared to the younger sibling. A serene and complete d'Yquem at this juncture but wait up now to visit this (decade +).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/21/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Wine Spectator 40th Anniversary; 10/21/2021-10/23/2021 (Marriott Marquis): Generally I've struggled more with this wine since we did a full evening tasting and it was just a lot and kindof a sugar rush. In this instance though where it's a touch of sweet among a lot of big reds it was really welcome and lovely. The wine lingers forever on your tongue. Beautiful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/23/2021 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
Young bright yellow color, at opening white chocolate the dominant element on the sinewy nose, on the palate white chocolate and mousse notes on a wonderfully tense mid-weight fruit that is driven more by detail than power, fine long finish with lime zest and plenty of acids, over the course of two hours it grew in stature displaying marzipan and mandarin orange notes, honeysuckle and hints of treacle, yet always it retained its more elegant and tensile character, this beauty is cut very much in the vein of the great 1997 though potentially even a bit racier, as with that vintage this is not a powerhouse Yquem but one that best displays all the glorious details that make Yquem so very great, if you prefer the bigger vintages then 2016 might be a better bet, but for me this is really a wonderful vintage almost at the level of 2015, much nuance yet to come but given the detail it is already showing this is even more approachable than usual in its early days.
(****)+, 2030++
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2021 - Rupesh wrote: 100 Points
Perfection...so young...blown away upon opening with a nose which filled up all my senses. This is after having a 14 Harlan which was great but not like this wine. Will need all my patience to not open the other 17's.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Clearly one of the great vintages of d'Yquem of all time, this stunner is off the hook from the initial sniff. Roasted apricots, overripe pineapple, vanilla, mango, marzipan and creme caramel all topped with honey keeps you focused on the wine. If that isn't enough when the wine crosses your palate, the weight, volume, intensity and richness discovered in the layers of honey-slathered tropical fruits, vanilla and apricot. What makes everything work is the razors edge of acidity that gives the wine the necessary lift. Like all great wines, you can enjoy this young, but if you have the patience, or young children to gift this to, this will be markedly better in 20 or more years.
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/20/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points
An Embarrassment of Riches: Dinner at Chez Dalluge (Dave & Desi's Place, Somewhere in Western MN): Light gold color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. 75% Sauv Blanc/25% Semillion. First time drinking this wine and it was pretty mesmerizing. There is an inital sense of oak and petrol on the nose followed by a headspinningly complex array of tropical fruit notes from passion fruit and lychee to gooseberry and tangerine. There's also a nice white floral aspect to the nose with some lemon grass too. The palate is near full bodied, yet maybe just feels like there's more volume from the coating almost oily texture, yet it remains balanced and lithe with crisp acids. There's the same fruit complexity on the palate with the passion fruit and lychee out front, then goosberry and lemon grass, butterscotch and oak notes round it out on a very long finish. 94+ to 95pts.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/7/2019 - Litt12 Likes this wine: 97 Points
An amazing vintage for Yquem
Liquid gold
Smaller production - 1st vintage for total organic farming
Golden sweet velvet in the mouth, a pleasure to taste
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/2/2019 - mintywine30 wrote: 94 Points
It smells like honey. It tastes like honey. The legs are medium. There is moderate sediment in the bottle.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Crisp notes of vanilla, marzipan, pineapple, mango, orange rind, flowers, and candied apricot are right there, as soon as wine the moves from the bottle to your glass. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, fresh, sweet, ripe and zippy. There is length, purity and precision. The lingering pineapple, apricot and sweet, lemon curd on your palate gets life from the jolt of racy acidity that runs down the middle. This is a top vintage for Chateau d'Yquem that is defined by its vibrant, freshness.
What made 2017 so good, is the speed in which the sugar levels reached maximum potential. The harvest took place September 26 - October 13. The wine was made from blending 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc, reaching 13.6% with sugars hitting 48 G/L. The Grand Vin was made from 40% of the harvest.
6 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment