Château D'yquem 0,75L - 2018/2022

Château d'Yquem 2022 is described as a "solar", historic vintage, marked by exceptional concentration due to the intense heat and extreme drought of that year. Released in March 2025, it stands out for having the highest residual sugar since the legendary 1945 vintage.

The Wine Advocate
RP 98

Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing

A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2022 d’Yquem is a strong contender for wine of the vintage. It offers a remarkably delicate, complex, vibrant bouquet of rose, candied citrus, exotic fruit and orange marmalade. Full-bodied, dense and deep, with impeccable balance reinforced by a succulent fruit core, bright acidity, a lovely food-friendly bitterness and dry extract leading to a long, ethereal, delicately perfumed, refined finish.

Lorenzo Pasquini and his team understood the vintage perfectly by favouring third pickings in the blend, fully exposed to Botrytis cinerea, bringing density and precision along with an energetic, beautifully balanced interplay of bitterness and sweetness.

Residual sugar reaches 160 grams per litre, the second highest since the iconic 1945 vintage.

Published: 16 January 2025.

Château d'Yquem is in the Sauternes region, with 113 hectares of vineyards on soils rich in pebbles and gravel, making it warm and dry, ideal for sweet wines. The style of these wines is hard to describe, offering a myriad of well-balanced, complex flavours that build even more harmony over time.

Marked by an exceptionally hot, dry summer, the superb Château d'Yquem 2018 shines with purity and airy elegance, confirming its iconic status among the Grands Crus Classés of Sauternes.

With refinement and subtlety, Château d'Yquem 2018 reveals the complexity of an aromatic palette full of “nuances” and purity. Fresh white fruit and floral fragrances give way to exotic fruit flavours evoking mango, vanilla and beeswax. On the palate, Château d'Yquem 2018 offers the pleasure of a complex liqueur, with tasty notes of exotic fruit, candied fruit and a pinch of caramel. Brilliant purity and elegance; the texture keeps the delicacy that defines the Yquem style thanks to lovely, vibrant acidity whose energy stretches the length into a finish bursting with freshness. A superb Château d'Yquem, complex and distinctive, promising great Sauternes development.