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Château d'Yquem is botrytised Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc picked in successive passes at a yield of about 9 hl/ha, aged around 30 months in new oak. Production ranges from nothing (1992, 2012) to around 100,000 bottles. Its secondary-market prices have moved less than the red first growths' in both directions.
- Made by
- Château d'Yquem
- Style
- SweetSémillon, Sauvignon Blanc
Bordeaux first growth
A red from one of the five top-ranked estates of Bordeaux. Every barrel is new, the grapes are picked by hand, and the wine waits more than a year and a half before bottling.
Good years and bad
One square for each year. The darker the square, the better the weather was for the grapes. Tap a year to read about it.
The essentials
The wine and its economics
Château d'Yquem is botrytised Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc picked in successive passes at a yield of about 9 hl/ha, aged around 30 months in new oak. Production ranges from nothing (1992, 2012) to around 100,000 bottles. Its secondary-market prices have moved less than the red first growths' in both directions.
Every year in a tableHow each year was rated, and the price the producer first asked
| Vintage | How the year was rated | Release price |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Very Good | — |
| 2022 | Exceptional | — |
| 2021 | Mixed | — |
| 2020 | Excellent | — |
| 2019 | Excellent | — |
| 2018 | Excellent | — |
| 2017 | Good | — |
| 2016 | Exceptional | — |
| 2015 | Excellent | — |
| 2014 | Very Good | — |
| 2013 | Difficult | — |
| 2012 | Good | — |
| 2011 | Good | — |
| 2010 | Exceptional | — |
| 2009 | Exceptional | — |
| 2008 | Very Good | — |
| 2007 | Mixed | — |
| 2006 | Very Good | — |
| 2005 | Exceptional | — |
| 2004 | Good | — |
| 2003 | Mixed | — |
| 2002 | Good | — |
| 2001 | Very Good | — |
| 2000 | Excellent | — |
| 1999 | Good | — |
| 1998 | Very Good | — |
| 1997 | Mixed | — |
| 1996 | Excellent | — |
| 1995 | Very Good | — |
| 1994 | — | — |
| 1993 | — | — |
| 1992 | — | — |
| 1991 | — | — |
| 1990 | Exceptional | — |
What does this wine cost to make?Our estimate: $28–$95 a bottle
We estimate it costs about $28 to $95 to make one bottle of a wine like this. The price in the shop is far higher because the land is scarce, the name is famous, and many hands take a share on the way to you.
| Component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Imputed land cost | $11.34 | $43.88 |
| Vineyard operations | $3.31 | $10.24 |
| Oak barrels | $0.56 | $1.61 |
| Winemaking labour and cellar work | $2.50 | $5.00 |
| Cellar aging | $1.20 | $2.96 |
| Bottle, closure, label, case and bottling | $4.90 | $13.40 |
| Winery overhead | $3.00 | $7.00 |
| Financing over the aging period | $1.61 | $10.89 |
| Estimated winery production cost | $28.42 | $94.98 |
Recent auction resultsWhat bottles of this wine fetched when collectors sold them
| Sale date | Vintage | House and sale | Per bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 1996 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 290 | ≈$2,315 with premium |
| Sep 2026 | 2017 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 41 | ≈$131 with premium |
| Sep 2026 | 2017 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 40 | ≈$138 with premium |
| Sep 2026 | 2015 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 39 | ≈$4,299 with premium |
| Sep 2026 | 2009 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 38 | ≈$772 with premium |
| Jul 2026 | 2011 | Christie'sThe Cellar of an Obsessive Collector Part III: Online (sale 24946) · lot 47 | ≈$669 with premium |
| Jul 2026 | 2001 | Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 1207 | $500 with premium |
| Jul 2026 | 2003 | Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 1206 | $188 with premium |
| Jun 2026 | 1998 | Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 126 | ≈$287 with premium |
| Jun 2026 | 1990 | Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 125 | ≈$341 with premium |
| Jun 2026 | 1997 | Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online Day 2: Featuring a Collection Direct from González Byass (sale 25045) · lot 778 | ≈$537 with premium |
| May 2026 | 1990 | Christie'sThe Remarkable Continental Cellar of the Célérier Family (sale 24812) · lot 334 | ≈$331 with premium |
The detailsClassification, grapes, bottle sizes and the rest
Comparable wines
Compare →Wines from the same appellation or region that collectors weigh against this one.
Château Cheval Blanc
Saint-Émilion's Cabernet Franc first growth: about 8,000–10,000 cases from 39 hectares beside Pomerol, sold through the Place de Bordeaux.
Château Haut-Brion
The smallest first growth by production and the most Merlot-heavy, from a vineyard inside the Bordeaux suburbs.
Château Lafite Rothschild
The grand vin of Lafite: the most traded first growth of the 2000s and the wine that defined the Bordeaux bubble and its collapse.
Château Latour
The grand vin from the Enclos — 47 hectares around the château — released only when the estate judges it ready since it left en primeur with the 2011 vintage.
Château Lynch-Bages
The fifth growth with the deepest secondary market below the first growths — large production, every vintage traded.
Château Margaux
The grand vin of Château Margaux: roughly 130,000 bottles from a third of the crop, 100% new oak, and a modern reputation built on 1982, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2015.
Sources
- Château d'Yquem, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.