Monday Bonus Newsletter 3-23-2020

 
“Chateau d’Yquem is arguably the most prestigious sweet wine in the world” –James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
 
“What Nature bestowed in 2015 is everything you could possibly desire in a Sauternes” –Neal Martin, Wine Advocate
 
2015 Chateau d’Yquem is looking like one of the two best wines the estate has produced this century (trailing, perhaps by a hair, the 2001).  In other words, it’s a monumental wine—a true collector’s icon and one of the most complex wines produced anywhere in the world in 2015. We’ve sold out half bottles of the liquid gold, but have the much rarer “large formats” in stock—750’s and (more impressively) magnums of this legend.  Only a very tiny percentage of d’Yquem is bottled in large formats, so securing any, much less three magnums, is a feat.
 
In Stock Now:
 
Chateau d’Yquem, Sauternes 2015 750ML ($499.95) $379 special, 16 bottles in stock now
Chateau d’Yquem, Sauternes 2015 1.5L ($1,099.95) $879 special, 3 magnums in stock now
Wine Advocate 100 points “Following a very long harvest stretching nearly two months, the 2015 Château d’Yquem came in at 13.9% alcohol and 144 grams per liter of residual sugar, sporting a pH of 3.65 and six grams per liter of tartaric acid. None of these numbers, however, even remotely begin to tell you how profound this wine is. The nose opens with electric notes of ripe pineapples, green mango, orange blossoms and lemon tart with hints of fungi, lime zest, crushed rocks and jasmine. The freshness on the palate is just astonishing, permeating and lifting layer upon layer of tropical fruits and earthy notions, all encased in a sumptuous texture and culminating in a very, very long, mineral-tinged finish. Truly, this is a legendary vintage for d’Yquem. I’ve been conservative with my drinking window here, and I would not be at all surprised if our descendants are drinking this vintage well into the next century.-LPB”
James Suckling 99-100 points “This is an incredible young Yquem that is so vinous like a great vintage of Montrachet but then on the palate it turns to Yquem with spice, dried fruit and mushroom as well as sweet fruit. Last for minutes. Acidity is all there giving it a dynamic vibrance that jolts your senses. Special wine. It has a little more than than 140 grams of residual sugar, less than the legendary of 2001. But is very close in greatness. Let’s wait and see.”
Antonio Galloni 98 points ” The 2015 d’Yquem is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Just as alluring from bottle as it was from barrel, the 2015 is a wine that engages all of the senses, from the intellectual to the more hedonistic. Lilting notes of pineapple, mint, orange peel and white flowers grace the palate, but it is the wine’s sense of balance and total harmony that impress most. In 2015, Yquem had its earliest start to the harvest since 1893. Even so, the winemaking team did a magnificent job of preserving freshness. The 2015 was fermented in 100% new oak, and residual sugar is 145 grams per liter, but great wine is never about numbers. Above all else, the 2015 Yquem is a wine of energy and class. Don’t miss it!”
Wine Enthusiast 96-98 points “Barrel Sample. This wine is ethereal. It certainly offers attractive honey and bitter orange flavors but also a fresh character that gives the wine lift and crispness. It is, of course, going to age magnificently, although it is so delicious and refreshing now.”

 

Vinopolis is an independent wine shop in Portland that opened in 2004. Our goal has always been to offer the finest, broadest, and largest selection of wines at the best prices to our customers in Portland, in Oregon, across the West Coast, and throughout the United States. Thank you for reading and for continuing to support our team at Vinopolis.

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