Wine Advisor
d'Yquem 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Picked predominantly over 10 days from October 14, the 2010 d’Yquem has 141gms/L residual sugar and pH 3.80. It is a slow-burner, the nose understated at first but unfurling with each passing moment with subtle scents of freshly sliced apricots, Clementine, clear honey and white flowers. There is an underlying minerality that really defines this bouquet. The palate is similar to the nose, revealing hidden facets with almost each swirl of the glass – orange blossom, limestone, white peach and honeysuckle. This is such a precise d’Yquem; it is after you have swallowed the wine that one comprehends just how brilliant it is.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Such are the risks of tasting blind. Against its peers, the brilliance that Chateau 2010 d’Yquem showed from barrel seems to have become lost. This is still a wonderful Sauternes wine, yet this showing suggests that is it not “best in class”. The nose demands coaxing in the glass compared to its peers, but it is worth the patience as it unfurls to reveal quince, beeswax and honeysuckle aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous entry and well-judged acidity. There is a touch of orange peel lining the citrus fruit, with an effervescent finish that lingers long in the mouth. This is an excellent d’Yquem, but it needs to keep an eye on the competition. Drink 2018-2035+.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Pale to medium lemon-gold colored, the 2010 d'Yquem is just now starting to strut its stuff with gregarious scents emerging of underripe mangos, fresh pineapples, poached pears and candied peel plus nuances of waxed lemons, fungi, musk perfume and wet clay. Wonderfully poised, the seductively intense fruit is offset by beautiful freshness, supporting layer upon layer of savory nut and baked-bread notions with the tantalizing exotic fruits coming through on the long, long finish. For number crunchers: 13.5% alcohol, 138 grams per liter residual sugar, and total acidity is 3.6 grams per liter H2SO4. Tempting to drink now, I’m sensing there are still a lot of latent nuances to be revealed here. So—to get that full Yquem experience—I’d give it another five years in bottle, at least, and drink it over the next 40+ years.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Pale to medium lemon-gold color, the 2010 d'Yquem has retreated into its shell at this youthful stage, offering spritely suggestions of lemon curd, lime cordial and green mango with wafts of honeysuckle, spice cake, sea spray and beeswax plus a hint of gingerbread. The palate really comes through with super intense, tightly wound citrus, savory and mineral layers carried by a laser-precise backbone of freshness, finishing with crazy persistence that lingers a full three minutes and then some. This is going to be a very exotic, opulent Yquem!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Served from an ex-chateau bottle. Consistent notes compared to the sample tasted blind at Southwold, the 2010 Chateau d’Yquem does not quite live up to the billing it showed out of barrel. Certainly it does not possess the concentration of the 2011, the elegance or the symmetry. However, there is fine minerality on the nose and great transparency. The palate is fresh and harmonious, with a fine bead of citrus fruit and a penetrating, spicy finish that offers white peach and honeysuckle notes, yet does not possess anything close to the peacock’s tail of the magnificent 2009. Still, this is a fine Yquem. Drink 2017-2040+. Tasted March 2014.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Exhibiting notions of saffron, pineapple, apricot, exotic fruits and spices, the 2010 d'Yquem is full-bodied, broad and enveloping, perfectly balanced with controlled power and a deep, fleshy core of fruit enhanced by bright acids. It has stunning aging potential despite a slight touch of volatile acidity. Residual sugar: 138 grams per liter.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Deep yellow with a golden tinge. Intense aromas of very ripe tropical fruit, beeswax, honey and raisin are lifted by a strong mineral edge. Very fresh, rich and sweet on entry, then extremely light on its feet, with refined flavors of ripe citrus, mango, papaya, honey and saffron complicated by tangy botrytis. A very bright and focused Yquem, with lively acidity and a long, smooth, floral finish. Boasts impeccable balance and lovely precision. This terrific Yquem is very stylish but less massively opulent than vintages like 1989 and 1983.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Yquem has an attractive bouquet with marmalade, caramelized pear, orange pith and light puff pastry notes. It just needs a little more delineation. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, lightly spiced and impressive focus. Like the aromatics, I would have just liked a little more precision on the finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
About the Producer
Chateau d'Yquem is located in the north-eastern part of the Sauternes wine producing village in the Bordeaux region of France and is one of the most prestigious chateaux in the Graves Sauternes appellation. It was named a Premier Cru Superieur in the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac Classification, the only Bordeaux chateau to be awarded this distinction. At the end of the 19th century, a barrel of wine was bought by the Grand Duke Constantine for 20,000 gold francs, a news story that grabbed the headlines and made Château Djinn famous at home and abroad. At the end of the 20th century, the French luxury goods giant Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH) bought a majority stake in Château Djinn for a large sum of money and became the majority shareholder, thus opening a new chapter in the development of Château Djinn. Château Djinn has 113 hectares of vineyards, of which only 100 are in constant production. Every year, 2-3 hectares of old vines are pulled out of the vineyard and the land is left fallow for a year, while the newly planted vines do not produce any grapes for the first 5 years of the vintage. The vineyard has a top soil of pebbles and coarse gravel, which absorbs heat very well, and a subsoil of clay, which has good water storage capacity. The vineyard is planted with 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyard is pruned to reduce yields by pruning and controlling the size of the canopy to increase the flavour concentration of the fruit. During the harvest season, the winery employs a large number of people to hand-pick the ripest grapes and those that have been properly infested with noble rot. The harvest is usually carried out in 5 or 6 rounds and is very rigorous. The picked grapes are sent to the winery within an hour, after which the grapes are pressed for 3-4 rounds, increasing the sugar content and quality of the juice with each pressing. The fermentation takes place in oak barrels, only new barrels made of good quality oak, during which the wine is closely monitored and its condition is regularly analysed. The finished wine is aged separately for 6-8 months, after which the winemaker blends the wine in the following spring and discards those wines that do not meet the requirements. The blended wine is then matured in the cellars for 20 months, during which time the barrels are refilled twice a week and the wine is decanted 15 times to remove the coarse sludge, while the fine sludge is removed by a clarification process. At the end of the maturation, the winemaker conducts a blind tasting to re-qualify the wine and determine the final percentage of the blend for the Grand Cru. Château d'Yquem, Sauternes, France, the main wine of Château d'Yquem, is known for its complex, concentrated and rather sweet taste, with crisp acidity and a well-balanced sweetness, and its excellent ageing potential. The wine has excellent potential to age for a century or more in some vintages, and with time the aromas and flavours become more complex and attractive, with the wine gradually changing colour from bright straw yellow to golden brown, amber and caramel. The wine has received full 100 points from Robert Parker and his team for the 1811, 1847, 1945, 2001, 2009 and 2015. The estate also produces a secondary wine, Chateau d'Yquem "Y", Bordeaux, France, which is a powerful dry It is a powerful dry white wine, usually made from Sauvignon Blanc and a small amount of Semillon, with an average annual production of around 10,000 bottles, usually with an alcohol content of 14% and a very rich and balanced nose and flavour, with a subtle sweetness.
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