Chateau d'Yquem

Number four on our top ten list is Chateau d'Yquem, a sweet white wine producer from the southern Bordeaux sub-region of Sauternes. Chateau d'Yquem was the only winery given the status of Premier Cru Superieur (translated "Superior First Growth") in the 1855 Official Bordeaux Classification, the same classification that granted chateaux like Margaux first growth status. The wines of d'Yquem, made up of Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, are widely prized for their complexity, concentration and honey-like sweetness. In great vintages and when stored properly, the wines of d'Yquem can age for a century or more. In 1996 famed wine critic Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave a 100-point rating to a bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem.

The grapes for this wine come from a 250-acre plot, prized for its susceptibility to Botrytis Cinerea, often called "the Noble Rot." Botrytis is a fungus that attacks the grapes resulting in an ultra-rich, ultra-concentrated, ultra-sweet grape. Because Botrytis doesn't happen everywhere, or even every year, the wines made from this fungus are rare and, in turn, expensive. At d'Yquem these infected grapes are picked berry by berry as workers select the perfect grapes with each pass through the vineyard. On average, only 65,000 bottles of Chateau d'Yquem are produced each year. Today the winery is owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, one of the largest business groups in France. A bottle of 2009 Chateau d'Yquem futures is selling for about $550 at auction