2023 Ch D’Yquem Sauternes Half Bottle 375ml, Bordeaux

With 154 grams per litre of residual sugar—placing it among the 10 most concentrated vintages in the château’s history—the 2023 d'Yquem ranks among the finest wines bottled here under Lorenzo Pasquini’s direction. It unfurls from the glass with a complex, vibrant and remarkably pure bouquet of pineapple, guava, mango, confit citrus, beeswax and spices. Full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it combines formidable depth with perfectly judged control, built around a fleshy core of fruit, framed by lively acidity and a crystalline texture and culminating in an endless, refined and ethereal finish. Yquem’s natural power is here masterfully harnessed by the vintage’s freshness and tension, revealing an aesthetic of precision and vibrancy encountered only in the estate’s greatest years—made all the more remarkable by the fact that the château now achieves even higher levels of concentration than a decade ago, without any perceptible increase in sweetness on the palate. Drink 2026 - 2076.

100 points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate

Perfect aromas carry through to every millilitre of this wine, showing intense orange peel, honey, butterscotch, saffron, smoke and peat, with hints of coffee and dried apples. Full-bodied but weightless and silky, with an excellent balance of fruit, sweetness and spices. Some peanut brittle, dried oranges and lemons at the end. I can’t get over how wonderful this is now, but it can age forever. 154 g/L residual sugar. Drink or hold.

100 points James Suckling

Power, freshness, depth, after the extremes of 2021 and 2022, this walks the line between the two, exceptional, mandarin, quince, mirabelle plums, white truffle, fresh fruit and confit fruit, a vibration of slate and steel, opulent but slices closed on the finish. The botrytis came early and quickly in 2023. Francis Mayeur in final vintage as consultant, after many years as inhouse winemaking team, Lorenzo Pasquini director. 154g/l residual sugar, 3.85ph, harvest September 14 to October 11.

100 points Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Château d’Yquem sits alone at the summit of Sauternes, the only estate classified Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. Its history stretches back centuries, with the Lur Saluces family shaping the property for generations before LVMH became majority owner in 1999. Few wines demand such obsessive vineyard work. Each vine is visited repeatedly during harvest, with individual berries picked only when noble rot has reached precisely the right stage.

Yquem’s vineyards occupy the highest point in Sauternes, with a mosaic of gravel, clay and limestone soils and the autumn mists necessary for Botrytis cinerea. Tiny yields and numerous picking passes produce extraordinary concentration, but great Yquem is never simply about sweetness. Its acidity, fragrance and savoury complexity are what allow it to age for decades.

Luminous gold with apricot, white peach and candied citrus tumbling into pineapple, quince and orange blossom. Saffron, ginger, acacia honey and vanilla emerge with air, joined by beeswax and a gentle toasted almond note. The palate is sumptuous and intensely concentrated, yet brilliant acidity cuts through the richness. Apricot preserve, citrus marmalade and tropical fruit gradually give way to saffron, honey and spice, finishing remarkably long, fresh and composed.

Foie gras is the traditional partner, but Yquem deserves a little more imagination. Roquefort with fresh pear and walnuts is magnificent, as are lobster with saffron butter, roast scallops with cauliflower purée or a gently spiced apricot and almond tart. It can also be poured entirely on its own after dinner, when there is nothing else competing for attention. Few wines are better equipped for the job.

Cellaring: Drink from 2028 to 2080 and potentially well beyond.Château d'Yquem Sauternes has apricot, citrus, saffron and honey with sumptuous richness, brilliant freshness and extraordinary depth.