Château d'Yquem stands as the undisputed king of dessert wines, holding the unique Premier Cru Supérieur classification in Sauternes since 1855—a distinction shared by no other wine estate in Bordeaux—and consistently producing the world's most coveted and expensive sweet wine from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes affected by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). The estate's obsessive pursuit of perfection includes hand-selecting individual grapes through multiple harvest passes (sometimes up to 11 separate pickings), using only fruit with the ideal concentration of noble rot, and aging the wine in new French oak barrels for up to three and a half years, resulting in production so limited that each vine produces barely one glass of wine. Yquem's legendary aging potential spans centuries, with wines from the 1800s still drinking magnificently today, displaying an extraordinary evolution from fresh honeyed fruit to complex flavors of caramel, spice, dried fruits, and exotic florals that represent the pinnacle of what dessert wine can achieve.