97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

The 2005 d'Yquem has 141 g/L of residual sugar and an alcohol of 13.3%. Medium straw-gold color, it sashays out with vivacious, spritely candied peel, honeyed lemon, and grapefruit oil scents, leading to hints of dried apricots, toasted almonds, allspice, chamomile, and creme caramel. Full-bodied and full-on unctuous, it has a lively backbone injecting energy to all that richness and a decadently spicy finish that just won't quit. No one would blame you for wanting to drink this now - it's so tantalizingly good - but if you can cellar this a further 5-7 years, your patience will be rewarded with layers beyond your wildest dreams. It should keep until 2065 and beyond.

97 Wine Spectator

"This has a deliciously pure feel, with juicy, inviting green plum, ginger, heather, creamed pineapple and Jonagold apple flavors all melded together and gliding through the lengthy finish, which echoes with lilting flowers and dried citrus notes. Best from 2015 through 2045. 12,000 cases made. - JM"

97 Wine Enthusiast

This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture is velvet, but with a spicy bite to it. Apricot, honey and marzipan all contribute to a wine that will age over decades.

96 Neal Martin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Tasted at the property 12 months on from my last visit, my note for the Château d'Yquem 2005 is almost exactly the same. I feel that there is still just a little new oak to be resolved on the nose. But the palate is extremely well balanced, perhaps just a little nuttier than I remember from 12 months ago, with hints of white chocolate and crème brûlée just appearing on the finish. This needs another decade, but it is a very serious Yquem in the making. Tasted April 2015.

96 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2005 Yquem is limpid golden in hue. The bouquet is gorgeous, finely-tuned and precise with clear honey, vanilla pod and saffron, less of the almond that I have noticed previously. The palate is built around its exquisite poise, the acidity keeping this Yquem on its tip-toes. As I have noted before, it appears to be gaining in concentration and viscosity with age, lovely fig and tangerine notes combining with a slight nuttiness on the finish.