Definition: Yquem (château d')

The most prestigious and renowned wine in the Sauternes region. Belonging to a beautiful^17th-century manor house, the estate has always remained in the hands of the same family, first the Sauvages, then the Lur-Saluces, until its acquisition in 1999 by Bernard Arnault.

Praised by wine lovers around the world for centuries, Château d'Yquem is no longer just a wine, but a myth, carefully and passionately maintained.

Located on a small hill, this 103-hectare estate (80% Sémillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc) benefits from an exceptional microclimate and terroir. The vineyard, which has no fewer than 150 different plots of soil, is pampered throughout the year: each vine receives an average of 50 treatments per year. Selection is particularly rigorous at Yquem: it is often said that a single vine produces only one glass of wine. The harvest is carried out in at least four stages (up to seven in 1997!) in order to pick the grapes at perfect maturity, i.e. when they are affected by noble rot. The wine is aged for up to 42 months in new barrels. Year after year, the scores awarded to this nectar hover around the top of the classifications.

Frédéric Dard, author of incomparable texts on Yquem, did not hesitate to place Yquem and Mozart on an equal footing:

"Guitry said that after Mozart, the silence that followed was still Mozart.
After a sip of Yquem, the moments that follow are always Yquem."

On tasting, Yquem wine displays aromas of peach, pineapple, coconut, nutmeg and cinnamon, supported by nuances of toast, caramel and vanilla from new oak. With their exceptional richness and concentration, Yquem wines boast extraordinary ageing potential.

The years without Yquem in the 20th century:
The quest for perfection that has characterised the work carried out by the Lur-Saluces family at Yquem from generation to generation led them to downgrade the entire production when the ultimate quality was not achieved. As a result, Yquem was not produced on numerous occasions during the 20th century: in 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, for example, and more recently in 1992. It should be noted that this decision could be taken during or even at the end of the ageing period, which is one of the reasons why, until very recently, Yquem was not sold en primeur. What will happen now? Let us bet, or at least hope, that the new owners will be keen to maintain the myth and keep quality at its highest level.
While Yquem is considered the king of sweet wines, insiders know that in certain years, when conditions allow, the château produces "Y", a great dry white wine from Sauternes. "Y" comes from the same exceptional terroir and the same vines as its illustrious elder. It benefits from the same high-quality cultivation methods, but differs in terms of harvesting and production conditions.
The decision to produce "Y" is based on the deliberate choice to thin out certain Sauvignon plots at the start of the harvest or to pick overripe Sémillon grapes during the harvest. This explains the small quantities and irregularity of this production: there have only been twenty-three vintages of "Y" since the first in 1959!
Sauvignon and Sémillon are blended in equal proportions. Light pressing, fermentation and ageing on lees in barrels, a third of which are new, with regular stirring during the minimum twelve months of ageing, give this wine all its power, reflecting the estate's potential.

Yquem and poetry

"The apotheosis of taste" by Frédéric Dard:

"My flesh will never forget certain women's bodies. When the pain of living takes hold of me, music rises in my soul, music whose title I have forgotten and which would be that of tears if tears made a sound. As for my sense of taste, so constantly solicited, assaulted, confused, enchanted, dishonoured, neglected, there is only one reference because there can be no other: Château d'Yquem."

I have known for ages that to celebrate the high mass of Yquem, there must be three: the bottle, a friend and oneself. But it must be a friend of great vintages, a friend capable of fully appreciating the divine beverage.

"An exquisite nobility, descending upon you like a light – Yquem is also light. Light that can be drunk!"

Yquem by Richard Olney:

"A wine for celebrations, birthdays and parties. It is a wine for any ritual occasion and – better still – for those occasions that have no other reason for being than to bring together friends bound by a shared passion for good food."

"The problem is that we have no criteria for comparison: Yquem, the yardstick by which other Sauternes are measured, is its own benchmark. In desperation, we often refer to honey, almonds and peaches, but that is simply because we have never tasted anywhere else the quality of sweetness or fruitiness that we find here."

Yquem 1874?

René Gabriel, a specialist in Bordeaux wines, had this to say about the famous bottle he tasted: "This 1874 Haut-Sauternes from Prince Napoleon's cellar is a masterpiece, worthy of 'greatest majesty'."

This refers to Prince Napoleon, who lived from 9 September 1822 in Trieste to 18 March 1891 in Rome, and was a general and Prince of Moncalieri.

"

This wine had a greenish-brown colour with a copper-gold rim. Its bouquet was a cocktail of pear, grilled banana, fig syrup, aged Malaga and freshly ground Arabica coffee, with a hint of fresh mint on the finish, more than baroque on the nose.

Conclusion: "This 'Napoleon Sauternes' had the class of a truly great Yquem 20/20!"