Geoffrey Binder, JJ Buckley, March 2012

Vibrant light gold color. Shows high-toned aromas of lemon peel, toasted coconut, spice, and Madagascar vanilla bean. Good weight on entry and a rich, palate-coating texture with flavors of creme brulee, lemon custard, ripe pineapple, and a nice complement of botrytis spice. A moderate perception of sweetness gives way to focused, refreshing acidity. Though still very young and taut, this shows good depth with well-delineated flavors and excellent potential.

96 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, February 2012

Tasted single blind against its peers. The Yquem 2008 is easy to spot in a blind line-up: it is (to quote Tina Turner) simply the best. It has a subtle, delicate but very pretty bouquet with fine definition and astounding minerality. The palate is beautifully poised, tense and tightly coiled on the entry and then it just explodes in the mouth with pure, unbridled, joyous botrytized fruit struck through with a silver thread of acidity. It displays exemplary tension and freshness, along with great persistency in the mouth. This is an outstanding Sauternes 2008 and another impressive Yquem. Tasted January 2012. -Neal Martin

95 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, May 2012

Bright light gold. Ripe cling peach, fresh apricot, spices, coconut, minerals and white flowers on the nose, with a note of vanillin oak emerging with air; subdued but wonderfully pure and precise. At once thick and light on its feet, showing an utterly seamless texture and compelling sweetness but also lovely inner-mouth tension thanks to its suave acidity and underlying minerality. The new oak element is in harmony with the wine's fruit already. Really dusts the palate on the back end and builds inexorably. The explosive finish leaves behind a perfumed spice character. The clear star in my 2008 tasting.

94 points,

Wine Spectator, January 2012

Beautiful lemon cream, chamomile and fried pineapple notes, with a refreshing, almost floral edge running along as well. Creamy coconut and green plum notes fill in on the finish, which has admirable length. A restrained, lighter style, with lovely precision. Drink now through 2035. 10,000 cases made. -JM

About Winery

Château d'Yquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur (Fr: "Great First Growth" or "Great First Vintage") wine from the Sauternes, Gironde region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves.

In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Château d'Yquem was the only Sauternes given this rating, indicating its perceived superiority and higher prices over all other wines of its type. Wines from Château d'Yquem are characterised by their complexity, concentration and sweetness. A relatively high acidity helps to balance the sweetness. Another characteristic for which Château d'Yquem wines are known is their longevity. In a good year, a bottle will only begin to show its qualities after a decade or two of cellaring and, with proper care, will keep for a century or more, gradually adding layers of taste and hitherto undetected fruity overtones.

Since 1959, Château d'Yquem has produced a dry white wine called Ygrec (Fr: the letter "Y"), made from an equal proportion of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is not produced in every vintage.

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