2001: The greatest Yquem of the past 57 years.
$1375.00 a Bottle - Only 12 Bottles Available
2001 The Critic Scores & Reviews
A brilliant, sweet wine that tops out on my scale, the 2001 Château D'Yquem is now fully mature yet still vibrant and pure, with an incredible nose of honeyed marmalade, caramelized tropical fruits, rising bread, marzipan, and lavender. Incredibly complex, full-bodied, and unctuous on the palate, it's one of those rare wines that can deliver incredible richness and decadence while staying pure, light on its feet, and perfectly balanced. A wine that every wine lover should taste once in their life, it should be just about immortal.
100 Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Pale to medium lemon-gold, the nose is simply WOW—an absolute show-stopper, delivering vibrant, youthful lime cordial, pink grapefruit and lemon meringue pie scents followed up by suggestions of chamomile tea, saffron, cassis and nutmeg plus wafts of marzipan, crushed rocks and beeswax. The palate is beyond-belief intense, offering a myriad of decadent citrus fruit preserves and earthy/mineral-inspired nuances, instilling incredible depth, all punctuated by profound freshness and finishing epically long and exquisitely delicious. The alcohol this vintage is 13.6%, while the residual sugar is a whopping 150 grams per liter, beautifully balanced by a total acidity of 4.5 grams per liter of H2SO4. Obviously, the longer readers are willing to cellar this, the more they will get of that ethereal tertiary complexity/experience. This said, for those who love great Sauternes in its youthful/primary flushes, even at this very early stage in its evolution, the multifaceted 2001 d'Yquem will not disappoint.
100 Points Lisa Perrotti Brown, The Wine Advocate
You may ask: what is the point? Another perfect score for the 2001 d'Yquem. Oh well, why not? This bottle, served blind, reinforced the sheer unadulterated brilliance of this legendary Sauternes now at 15 years old. Doesn't time fly. It seems to be aging at a glacial pace, hardly changed since I last tasted it. The nose is like the throbbing engine of an Aston Martin Vantage, ready to go. It is so packed with intensity, perhaps a little more resinous than I recall, but with almost crystalline delineation. The palate is perfectly balanced and laden with botrytis, not as unctuous or as rich as say, the 2009 d'Yquem, yet with heavenly focus and a crescendo of flavors that take your breath away: acacia honey, yellow plum, white peach and orange sorbet. The startling things is ... this is just the opening act.
The 2001 Château d’Yquem is undoubtedly one of the greatest Sauternes ever made and has near limitless potential longevity. It is kaleidoscopically complex and incredibly powerful, with simply staggering balance, precision and detail. On the nose it is utterly beguiling, offering intricate layers … The palate achieves levels of richness and intensity very rarely possible, with laser like acidity. Hedonism providing remarkable levity and drive through to the brilliantly long, multi-layered finish. Once tried, the 2001 is never forgotten.
Hedonism Wines
“The greatest young Yquem I have ever tasted from bottle. So balanced and refined, showing the pedigree that only this Sauternes estate can deliver.” … It's a monumental wine from an extraordinary vintage. I scored it a perfect 100 points in a blind tasting on Thursday. The sweet white wines from Sauternes have already testified to the quality of the 2001 vintage. …But Yquem is in a class by itself. If it were possible to give a wine more than 100 points, this would be a candidate. … Yesterday, I tasted the 2001 Yquem blind against a range of other 2001s, … Yquem left them standing still. This is the greatest young Yquem I have ever tasted from bottle. … remains lively and exciting. … The winemakers at Yquem says it's their greatest modern wine ever. They have not exaggerated. … The château produced about 10,000 cases in 2001, almost half the production of a normally outstanding year such as 1990 and 1989.
Lurton, 47, and the estate's head cellar master Francis Mayeur, 46, say that the 2001 Yquem is a benchmark for the property and will take its place as a classic in the same light as legendary vintages of the last century, including 1967, 1959, 1947 and 1921.
That's why I score it 100 points.
100 Points, James Suckling 2005
The Yquem context.
“Confession: I am a Chateau d’Yquem zealot.
I believe that in more years than any other wine it is vying
for my worldwide greatest wine of the vintage. I have tasting
notes on more than 400 bottles – back into the 1890s vintages.
About one half of the 15 perfect scores that I have
given (about 1 every 3 years) are from this Chateau. I have given
perfect scores to 1967, 1975, 1983, 1989, 1990 and this 2001. I
taste the world’s great wines virtually weekly … and this 2001
Chateau d’Yquem is the greatest wine that I have tried in recent
years.
John Henry Jens
There are 10,000 cases of this perfect sweet white Bordeaux. ... This large-scaled, youthful Yquem appears set to take its place among the most legendary vintages of the past and will age effortlessly for 75+ years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2100+.
100 Points Robert M. Parker, Jr. , The Wine Advocate
… Shows such amazing balance and intensity. Crazy finish. Hints of vanilla and apple purée. One of the greatest Yquems ever. All about purity here.
100 Points James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
What a marvel this wine is. … Such intensity and tension. Great richness and creaminess combined with extreme liquid excitement. Stunning.
20/20 Points Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com 2015
The greatest young Yquem I have ever tasted from bottle. … So balanced and refined, showing the pedigree that only this Sauternes estate can deliver.
100 Points Wine Spectator
Irrespective of points, it is simply one of the most magnificent wines of any kind that can pass your lips.
100 Points Neal Martin, Vinous.com
“Yes, yes, yes … Unctuous and harmonious. The aftertaste just goes on and on and on. A feted Sauternes that completely justifies the hype. Exceptional. Its evolution over the next century will be a wonder to behold.”
100 pts, Neal Martin in 2006 (robertparker.com)
“Just a perfect Yquem – absolutely flawless. The palate has perfect balance, vibrant acidity … Incredibly length, this is just an exceptional Yquem born a legend.”
100 pts, Neal Martin in 2007 (robertparker.com)
For a Château that rarely, if ever, produces a bad wine, Yquem has truly surpassed itself with its 2001. It is quite simply sensational. The nose literally jumps from the glass with dazzling and complex aromas … The palate is super-concentrated with layer upon layer of ….. The length is phenomenal......you can still taste it five minutes later. This honestly may be the greatest Yquem ever.
Farr Vintners, April 2002