Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes 2023 Pre-Arrival 750ml
ETA: EARLY WINTER OF 2026
100 Points! With 153 grams per liter 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. - Yohan Castaing, RobertParker.com
100 Points! 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. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
100 Points! Perfect aromas carry through to every milliliter 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. - James Suckling
Château d’Yquem.
The only estate ever classified as Premier Cru Supérieur in the historic 1855 Classification, Yquem represents the absolute pinnacle of Sauternes. Its vineyards sit on a unique rise of gravel, clay, and limestone soils perfectly positioned where the cool mists of the Ciron meet the warmer Garonne River. This fragile microclimate creates the ideal conditions for Botrytis cinerea — noble rot, the magical process that concentrates the grapes and gives birth to one of the most profound wines in the world.
And now we have the 2023 Château d’Yquem, a vintage that is already being hailed as one of the estate’s modern masterpieces.
The critics didn’t hesitate.
Three perfect 100-point scores from Wine Advocate, James Suckling, and Jane Anson, plus 99 points from Vinous.
This is a monumental Yquem.
The 2023 growing season pushed the vineyard teams to the limit. A tropical spring created vigorous growth, followed by an intensely hot summer. But when the weather shifted in early autumn, conditions aligned perfectly for the development of noble rot. The harvest unfolded with remarkable precision between September 14th and October 11th, with pickers making multiple passes through the vineyard selecting only the perfectly botrytized berries.
The finished wine carries around 154 grams per liter of residual sugar, placing it among the most concentrated vintages in the château’s history. Yet what defines the 2023 is not simply its richness — it’s the remarkable freshness, balance, and energy that runs through the wine.
The blend is 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, aged in 100% new oak barrels, the traditional élevage that has long defined Yquem’s unmistakable style.
In the glass, the wine is spectacular. Aromas leap from the glass with roasted rhubarb, lilac blossom, citrus confit, honey and beeswax. The palate builds layer after layer of pineapple, guava, apricot, mandarin marmalade and dark plum, wrapped in a velvety texture with almond cream and spice.
Despite its concentration, the wine feels lifted and precise, finishing with a long, crystalline persistence that seems to float on the palate.
It is the miraculous expression of noble rot at its highest level — a wine that will slowly reveal its full complexity over the coming decades.
| Color | White |
|---|---|
| JA Score | 100 |
| JS Score | 100 |
| LPB | 100 |
| VM Score | 99 |
| Grapes | Semillon |
| Style | Dessert / Fortified |
| Vintages | 2023 |
| Sizes | 750ml |
