2009 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes 750 ml

Exaggerate about Yquem? Impossible

Here’s a basic rule: When someone refers to a wine as “the Nectar of the Gods,” regard that person with extreme skepticism. Unless they’re talking about Château d’Yquem. It’s one of the few wines which hyperbole doesn’t quite do justice. Take this quote from writer Frédéric Dard, who says the impression of Yquem is like “the silence that follows a piece by Mozart, in which the listener remains suffused with the music.” For any other wine, that might be overkill. But Yquem truly is a wine for which exaggeration doesn’t seem to be possible.

Although the name Château d’Yquem says it all, the method by which this inimitable wine is made deserves to be studied. It’s made only when the Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that grow on the fog-shrouded estate are perfectly infected (or blessed) with botrytis cinerea. Four groups of pickers scour the vineyards in multiple passes, selecting individual berries that are both properly botrytized and have attained maximum concentration. Within the hour, the grapes arrive in the cellar, where they are pressed multiple times. They are then fermented and aged in new oak barrels, and the wines that continue to develop satisfactorily will be topped off twice a week and racked a stunning fifteen times. Rigorous, ruthless blind tastings determine the final blend. 

What results is a golden elixir that has earned its infinite praise, and remains the world’s ideal of sweet wine. The 2009 Yquem delivered on the finest Sauternes vintage this millennium, and it’s a wine that Wine Advocate praised to the heavens, calling it “pure perfection” and “simply mind blowing.” Proof that you don’t need a lot of words to describe Yquem. You just need the right ones.