2009 Château d'Yquem Sauternes (375 mL) Half-Bottle

Wine Advocate has reported on nearly 60 vintages of Château d’Yquem, dating back to the 1811 bottling (yes, two centuries ago, not a typo). An astonishing number of these wines have earned 96 points or higher—but surprisingly, only six hold perfect 100-point scores from the publication.

The 2009 is one of them. In fact, Advocate summarized this golden nectar as “pure perfection.”

That was no fluke. TWO separate critics from Advocate gave this wine a flawless 100-point rating—five years apart—and in their 2014 assessment, they said, “The 2009 Chateau d’Yquem is one showstopper of a wine and perhaps it is only in a vertical that you realize this is up there among the legendary wines of the past.” 

Yquem is perhaps the most revered wine on the planet because of the unique conditions and extraordinary effort required to make it. Autumn mists at the property encourage the grapes to form what the French call pourriture noble—“noble rot”—which aids evaporation and concentrates flavors. 

The vineyard crew selectively picks each row an average of six times before harvest is complete, and yields are minuscule—just nine hectoliters per hectare. Grapes are gently pressed three times before getting transferred to 100% new oak barrels, where the wine ages for three years before bottling. 

Perhaps Yquem’s most famous visitor arrived in 1784, when Thomas Jefferson journeyed to Sauternes. Upon his return to Monticello, he wrote, “This is the best white wine of France.” He ordered 250 bottles of the 1784 Château d’Yquem for himself—and a few more for future President Washington. 

When you cellar or sip a bottle of Yquem, you’re participating in one of the most sacred traditions in wine.