2005 Chateau Yquem 750ml

97 POINTS

Wine Spectator

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.

97 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

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.

96 POINTS

Peter Moser - Falstaff

Medium golden yellow, silver reflections, fresh orange zest, tangerine fillets, pleasant honey blossom, white flowers, a multi-faceted bouquet. On the palate elegant, balanced sweetness, integrated acidity, fine caramel touch, white peach, delicate wood savouriness on the finish, seems mineral and still very young, there is still enormous certain ageing potential for improvement to be found.

96 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

Fermentation for Chateau d’Yquem’s famous sweet wine is natural, using ambient yeasts in the cellar. The wine is sulphured then sent to barrel to hang out for a couple of years. Oak is 100% new. Since 2007, d’Yquem has been protecting their wines against oxygen in the winemaking process, so they don’t move the wine around much from barrels and get them to bottle with minimal movement. This is one of the last releases produced in the ‘older way’ of winemaking. Price is for 750ml bottle. Smoky notes, honeycomb, candle wax, pretty-floral-characters, ripe apples, bruised apples, ginger, biscuit, lanolin. Very complex perfume. Mellowing. Supple flow across the palate, has a gingery spice character notable, slick honey texture, lick of bergamot with a flash of chewiness in cold tea tannin, finishes with light, lacy acidity and a drizzle of golden syrup sweetness. Even, lovely, refined wine.

95 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

94-96 Barrel sample. So pure, it is almost a straight line of ripe, honeyed fruit and dense spices. There are flavors of marmalade and ripe pear, and steely, tight acidity. As always, the best.

95 POINTS

James Suckling

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.

94 POINTS

Stephen Brook - Decanter

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.