March 19, 2025
Yquem 2022 - a historic 100-point vintage
New Release: Yquem 2022
100 Points - James Suckling
“A perfect Yquem again after the 2021, which is fresher and more refined than the 2022. The perception of sweetness is super-knit. Lots of botrytis […] Wow. The second most concentrated Yquem after 1945, according to the winemaker. About 160 grams of residual sugar. So approachable now, but better in five or six years. It will live forever.”
Regarded as the finest sweet wine estate in the world, Château d'Yquem has a history dating back to 1593. Located in Sauternes, it was the only estate classified as Premier Cru Supérieur in 1855, a testament to its unrivalled quality. Yquem’s meticulous selection process ensures exceptional richness, balance, and longevity. With its luscious complexity and legendary ageing potential, each bottle represents the pinnacle of Sauternes winemaking.
Château d'Yquem’s unique terroir is fundamental to the exceptional quality of its wines. The estate’s 113 hectares of vineyards sit on a plateau with gravel, clay, and sand over limestone, providing excellent drainage, a crucial factor in the development of Botrytis cinerea, the noble rot that defines Sauternes. Morning mists from the Ciron and Garonne rivers create the perfect conditions for botrytis, concentrating the grapes’ sugars and flavours. Hand-harvested in multiple passes, only the finest berries are selected before being fermented and aged in new oak barrels, producing wines of extraordinary depth, complexity, and longevity.
The 2022 Château d'Yquem is a historic vintage, earning 100 points from James Suckling and standing among the estate’s finest releases. A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, it is the first certified organic Yquem and features 160 g/L of residual sugar, the second-highest level since the legendary 1945 vintage. Despite its richness, the wine remains incredibly balanced and fresh, thanks to a perfect interplay of acidity, sweetness, and minerality.
Expressing exotic fruit, saffron, orange marmalade, and wild honey, the 2022 d’Yquem is both powerful and refined, revealing layers of citrus zest, toasted spices, and floral notes. Aged for 24 months in new oak barrels, it has silky texture, depth, and remarkable length. With exceptional harmony and structure, it is already seductive and approachable, yet promises to age gracefully for decades, ensuring its place among Yquem’s most collectable vintages.
Released today at €300* In Bond per bottle. We have availability of 1x75cl and 3x75cl OWC. If you’d like other size like half bottles or magnums, please reply to the email with your request.
Chateau d'Yquem 2022
€300* In Bond per bottle
100 Points | James Suckling
A perfect Yquem again after the 2021, which is fresher and more refined than the 2022. The perception of sweetness is super-knit. Lots of botrytis, with turmeric, saffron, cream, roasted meringue, pine nuts, spices and dried mangoes. This is a powerful, seductive and lush wine. Ornamented and richer this year than 2021, but there is so much charm and harmony. Long and spicy, with a hint of petrol at the end. Wow. The second most concentrated Yquem after 1945, according to the winemaker. About 160 grams of residual sugar. So approachable now, but better in five or six years. It will live forever.
98 Points | Vinous, Neal Martin
The 2022 Yquem is a blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc with 160 g/L residual sugar and a total acidity of 5.39 g/L. It is the first certified organic vintage for the estate and has the lowest level of total sulphur ever: 234 g/L, high within the sphere of wine but comparatively low for Sauternes. The 2022 was aged for 24 months in new barrels that underwent slightly less drying than those used for red wines in order to retain some green tannins. Given the growing season, the 2022 Yquem has a surprisingly understated bouquet that demands coaxing. Scents of orange pith, passion fruit and quince are exquisitely defined, a hint of chamomile dancing around in the background. The palate is medium-bodied. Given the high level of residual sugar, what is surprising is that the 2022 does not seem a weighty or texturally unctuous Yquem, yet there is an intensity and concentration that is arresting. Vivid flavours of clementine, wild honey, quince and tangerine that effortlessly combine. The acidity almost nonchalantly counters the sensation of residual sugar, so it feels less than it actually is, the scintilla of salinity toward the finish tempting you back for more. This is a marvellous and quite cerebral Yquem for which patience is required.
98 Points | Wine Advocate, Yohan Castaing
A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2022 d'Yquem is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. Exhibiting a remarkably delicate, complex and energetic bouquet of rose, confit citrus, exotic fruits and orange marmalade, it's full-bodied, dense and deep with a pristine balance enhanced by a fleshy core of fruit, bright acids and beautiful, gastronomic bitterness and dry extracts that segue to a long, ethereal, delicately perfumed and refined finish. Lorenzo Pasquini and his team have perfectly understood the vintage by privileging the third tries, fully exposed to Botrytis cinerea, in the blend, bringing density and precision along with an energetic and splendidly balanced interplay of bitterness and sweetness. Residual sugar levels reach 160 grams per liter, marking it as the second-highest since the iconic 1945 vintage.