The 2009 is one of them. In fact, Advocate summarized this golden nectar as pure perfection.

That was no fluke. TWO separate critics from Advocate gave this wine a flawless 100-point ratingfive years apart, we might addand the earlier assessment from 2014 is worth quoting as well:

The 2009 Chateau dYquem is one showstopper of a wine and perhaps it is only in a vertical that you realize this is up there among the legendary wines of the past.

This is not just as good as wine gets: Its as good as a sensory experience gets. Were thrilled to have landed just 60 half-bottles, straight from the chteau, for our members. Its a legendary wine that will last and develop in your cellar for your entire lifetimeand perhaps beyond.

Yquem is perhaps the most revered wine on the planet because of the unique conditions and extraordinary effort required to make it. The soils at Yquem lie on undulating slopes and comprise clay, gravel, and a deep bed of limestone. The autumn mists at the property encourage the grapes to form what the French call pourriture noblenoble rotwhich aids evaporation and concentrates flavors.

The vineyard crew passes through and selectively picks each row an average of six times before the harvest is complete, and yields are minusculejust nine hectoliters per hectare. The grapes are gently pressed three times before getting transferred to 100% new oak barrels, where the wine ages for three years before bottling.

Perhaps Yquems most famous visitor arrived in 1784, when Thomas Jefferson journeyed to Sauternes. Upon his return to Monticello, he wrote, This is the best white wine of France. He ordered 250 bottles of the 1784 Chteau dYquem for himselfand a few more for future President Washington.

When you cellar or sip a bottle of Yquem, youre participating in one of the most sacred traditions in wine. You owe it to yourself to take part.