Château d’Yquem 2023 is a sweet white wine from Sauternes, produced by Château d’Yquem in Bordeaux and classified as Premier Cru Classé de Sauternes. Its blend comprises 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The Wine Advocate and James Suckling award it 100/100, while Jancis Robinson rates it 18/20. Critics describe a dense and silky wine, where the richness of ripe fruit, candied citrus, honey, and spices balances with vibrant freshness and a very long finish. Enjoy from 2026 to 2076 according to The Wine Advocate, and up to 2050 according to Jancis Robinson.
Château d’Yquem is an estate in Sauternes, in the Gironde, whose 113-hectare vineyard is planted with Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The château is the only estate classified as Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 classification. LVMH has been the majority shareholder since 1999.
Owner
LVMH (actionnaire majoritaire)
Maître de chais
Toni El Khawand
Surface (ha)
113.00 ha
Production (average bottles per vintage)
80 000 bouteilles/an
Histoire du domaine
The history of winemaking at Yquem has been documented since 1593, when Jacques Sauvage acquired the rights to the estate. In 1785, Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem married Count Louis-Amédée de Lur-Saluces, bringing the estate into the Lur-Saluces family. Having been widowed in 1788, she managed the estate and played a part in its development for over six decades. In particular, she had the first wine cellar built in 1826 and developed the practice of ageing wine in barrels. In 1855, Château d’Yquem was awarded the unique distinction of Premier Cru Supérieur in the Sauternes and Barsac wine classification. The de Lur Saluces family subsequently retained ownership of the estate until LVMH became the majority shareholder in 1999. Pierre Lurton took over as managing director in 2004 and remains chairman of the château. Lorenzo Pasquini, who joined in 2020 as operations director, has become the estate’s managing director. Toni El Khawand, recruited in 2021, has held the position of cellar master since 2022.
Critiques professionnelles
Notes & cotations
The Wine Advocate100/100+
Reviewed by
Yohan Castaing
Published
Drink Date
2026-2076
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.
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.
Gorgeous wine just released with a fabulous combination of richness and freshness. This is the vintage they choose to serve as an aperitif with their very creative canapés (including caviar, langoustines and foie gras) at Château d’Yquem. A wine to persuade wine lovers to try Sauternes as an aperitif once again.
