2011 Chateau Yquem 15000ml

99 POINTS

Wine Spectator

A lovely, creamy, tropical style, with mango, papaya and guava notes lending a caressing feel, while singed almond and warm piecrust accents blossom through the lush finish. Just when you think that's all there is, toasted coconut, fig, orange blossom and persimmon details kick in, lending length and dimension. The finish is ridiculously long.

98 POINTS

Peter Moser - Falstaff

Medium greenish yellow in colour with golden reflections. On the nose, fine nuances of lanolin, pineapple and fresh peach, light caramel, a touch of juicy apricot and hint of fine oak. The full-bodied palate is elegant, with perfectly integrated fruit expression redolent of ripe yellow tropical fruit, mineral, underpinned by fine acidity, perfectly balanced, has youthfulness, length, and enormous ageing potential. A prime example of the new, even more precise style at Yquem, which dispenses with every little beauty spot.

98 POINTS

Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

This beautiful Sauternes offers intense aromatics packed with overripe pineapple drenched in honey, roasted nuts, apricots, nectarines, white peach, flowers, orange rind and honey in the complex perfume. Thick, rich and intense, with the viscosity of motor oil, along with tropical fruit dripping with honey and the perfect amount acidity to give this elixir life, 2011 Chateau d’Yquem is majestic. I do not think it’s quite at the same level of quality as the legendary 2001, but it’s not that far off. 98-99 Pts

98 POINTS

James Suckling

Crazy minerality to this, with lots of dried mango, pineapple and papaya on the nose. Botrytis-spice and nutmeg undertones. Full body, very sweet, with superb depth of fruit and richness. It goes on for minutes. Turns dense and concentrated on the palate. Speechless. Better in 2019.

98 POINTS

James Suckling

Crazy minerality to this, with lots of dried mango, pineapple and papaya on the nose. Botrytis-spice and nutmeg undertones. Full body, very sweet, with superb depth of fruit and richness. It goes on for minutes. Turns dense and concentrated on the palate. Speechless. Better in 2019.

98 POINTS

Ian D'Agata - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Luminous golden yellow.  Cool, pure aromas of white peach, honeyed mango, guava nectar, white flowers and saffron are complicated by elements of crushed stone and spicy lemony botrytis.  Suave and intensely flavored, with mineral-spiced apple, mango, passion fruit and grapefruit flavors offering outstanding purity, precision, and depth.  The brisk but harmonious acidity gives this great Sauternes a penetrating quality and provides a powerful spine to the very deep flavors, making it seem less opulent than it really is.  This Yquem has the depth of the 2007 but boasts even greater purity and focus.  Finishes bright and extremely long, with repeating suggestions of white flowers and lemony botrytis.  Though it lacks the depth of the 2001 or the opulence of the 2009 at a similar stage of development, this is one of my favorite young Yquems ever:  it will age spectacularly well.

98 POINTS

Falstaff

Medium yellow-green in colour with silver reflections. On the nose, attractive aromas of yellow tropical fruit, fresh physalis, ripe peach, fine honey, some saffron, and subtle tangerine zest. The palate is elegant, with fine sweetness, subtle caramel notes, very harmonious, with well-integrated wood spice, fine acidity, mineral and persistent, with a pleasant touch of honey on the powerful finish. Has a brilliant career ahead of it and still has upward potential.

TAST

Encore une fois le sommet absolu du millésime à Sauternes, avec un équilibre entre sucre et alcool idéal, une sensation de rôti parfait du raisin, une longueur impressionante et une autorité de saveur et de texutre inimitable. 19-20/20