The aromas are closed today, but the core is loaded with apricot, nectarine and orange notes, bolted by a citrus zest spine and backed by toasted almond and piecrust accents on the finish. A large-scale Yquem that shows the richness of the vintage.--Non-blind Yquem vertical (July 2014). JM

The length to this is exceptional with an intensity yet subtlety. Full and medium sweet with bright and exciting acidity. It's all in balance here. Creme brulee, pineapple, and papaya. Lasts so long on finish. It's so fabulous now. It will age forever but it's already a joy to taste, even drink.

Young, rich, opulent, silky, fresh, vibrant, full, and deep, with enough blazing acidity to allow all the layers of vanilla and honey-coated orange and yellow tropical fruits to bathe your palate again and again with this stunning, sweet treat. OK, so this is still obviously young, and primary, but it is such a delicious experience now, that it was impossible to put my glass down. Patience might be a virtue. But there are times when patience is over rated.

The 2009 d'Yquem is a vintage that I have awarded perfect scores to in the past however, neither bottles merit that on this occasion. The first bottle feels scalped, so much so that a second bottle is checked. This has a very refined and sophisticated bouquet with wild honey, brioche, vanilla pod and light orange blossom aromas, beautifully refined. The palate is very well defined with fine acidity, very elegant in style with pure botrytised fruit and superb acidity on the finish. Ah...that is more like it. However, on this occasion it does not quite hit the high notes. - vinous.com, March 2019
Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 2009 Chateau d’Yquem 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 – the 2001 included. It has a wonderful nose that expresses the Semillon component majestically: heady aromas of lemon curd, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that all gain momentum in the glass. The oak is supremely well-integrated. The palate is extremely well-balanced with an unctuous entry. You are immediately knocked sideways by the palpable weight and volume in the mouth, which is almost “bulbous,” with layer upon layer of heavily botrytized fruit. It builds to a spicy finish with hints of marzipan and pralines in the background that lend it an untrammeled sense of exoticism. The 2009 is utterly fabulous and decadent, a star that will blaze brightly and undimmed for many years. Drink now-2060+. Tasted March 2014. 100 points

Mid gold; intense, beautifully clear cut nose of honey, subtle new oak, raisins, intense and persistent; very rich, very sweet, and vital in its supporting acidity; liqueur-like in its concentration and viscosity of texture, yet completely without heaviness; and behind the sugar an exceptionally energetic raciness, a constant underlying frisson of energy within the enveloping, silky coating; pure honey, raisin, gently citrussy orange and tangerine base flavours enlivened by the exotic spice and complexity of botrytis; enormously tenacious flavour as one explores it, keeps it, lets it rest on the palate. An exceptionally refined and delicate richness, and a presence, as an aftertaste, that can be measured in minutes. The richest, sweetest, most succulent Yquem I have tasted. In my view finer than the1990, richer than the 1989, more fine spun than 2003 - all comparisons made by the château. Whether it will measure up to the 2001 it will be interesting to see; for the moment it seems more obviously opulent, less taut, more liqueur like in texture, though time in barrel will give it even more complexity, definition, resonance. A wonderful expression of Sauternes, which will be a delight from the moment it is bottled I should imagine. 2018-50+

In comparison to the 2010 vintage, the 2009 d'Yquem is more concentrated with a stunning "rôti," the consequence of noble rot in French. Developing a powerful, complex bouquet with aromas of pineapple, apricot, saffron, flowers, spices and orchard fruits, it’s dense and concentrated, full-bodied and layered with a crystalline texture complicated by notes of white truffles that reveal a racy, endless and a superb finish concluding with a pristine harmony. Readers with bottles in their cellars will have to be patient before opening this masterpiece with 155 grams of residual sugar. Drink 2023 - 2080. 100pts Yohan Castaing
Pale to medium gold colored, the 2009 d'Yquem bursts from the glass with gregarious crème caramel, allspice, dried apricots, mandarin peel and pineapple upside down cake scents plus a fragrant undercurrent of fungi, acacia honey, candied ginger, musk perfume and frangipani. Full-bodied and full-on hedonic in the mouth, the rich, tightly wound layers are still amazingly youthful with bags of citrus sparks and an incredibly long, perfumed finish. Possessing a residual sugar of 157 grams per liter and 13.6% alcohol as well as a laser-focused line of freshness, the rock-solid structure and through-the-roof opulence here is simply mind blowing. Pure perfection. 100pts Lisa Perrotti-Brown

A blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, with 155 grams per liter of residual sugar, the 2009 Yquem has a pale to medium straw-gold color. It waltzes out with gregarious notions of key lime pie, orange blossoms, and juicy white peaches, followed by suggestions of ginger ale, wet pebbles, and allspice. The big, concentrated, decadently rich palate is fantastically balanced, with a laser-precise line of freshness cutting through the tightly wound layers, finishing very long, with loads of citrusy sparks.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent Sept 2023