Chateau d'Yquem 2023 375mL

100 POINTS

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

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

Yohan Castaing - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

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.

100 POINTS

James Suckling

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.

99 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The nose is so seductive that it should come with a warning sticker. Pure and mellow, it offers beguiling scents of wild honey, quince jelly, almond shavings and that signature hint of saffron destined to accentuate with age. It displays wonderful definition, though it does not have the aromatic drama of the previous vintage. The palate has exquisite balance and poise that belies the depth of this Yquem, though it is less exuberant, less ostentatious than the 2022. It is really the umami sensation that defines the 2023, how it caresses, almost soothes the grateful taste buds, vanilla and flecks of white chocolate lingering on the aftertaste. This will probably drink a little sooner than the 2022. If the 2023 does have a fault, it’s that it is so flattering in its flush of youth that it will be difficult to resist. Sublime.