| Chateau d'Yquem The Taste of Pure Gold |
In the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Château d'Yquem was given the unique and unsurpassable rank of
Premier Cru Supérieur, ahead of all other Sauternes, indicating its perceived superiority and ability to command
by far the highest prices. The wines of Château d'Yquem are characterised by their complexity, concentration and
longevity. In a good year, a bottle will only begin to show its qualities after a decade or two of cellaring and with
proper care, will keep for a century or more, gradually adding layers of taste and hitherto undetected overtones.
The site has been home to a vineyard since at least 1711 when the estate was owned by Léon de Sauvage
d'Yquem. In 1785 it passed to the Lur-Saluces family when Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d'Yquem married
Count Louis-Amédée de Lur-Saluces, the godson of Louis XV and Lady Victoire de France. Monsieur
Lur-Saluces died three later, and his widow then focused her energy on sustaining and improving the estate;
indeed, the Château at it is now stands is largely due to her work, as well as that of her descendants, who ran
the property for over 200 years and whose name remains on the label to this day.
While envoy to France, Thomas Jefferson visited the château and later wrote, "Sauterne. (sic) This is the best
white wine of France and the best of it is made by Monsieur de Lur-Saluces." Jefferson ordered 250 bottles of the
1784 vintage for himself, and additional bottles for George Washington. However, at that time the technique of
allowing noble rot to infect the grapes had not yet been discovered, so the wine Jefferson was drinking was
effectively a different sweet wine. Remarkably, the size of Château d'Yquem was, however, the same in 1788 as it
is today.
For most of the 20th century the Château was run by the Marquis Bernard de Lur-Saluces who developed and
enhanced its reputation until his death in 1968. Since 1996, Château d'Yquem has been owned by the French
luxury goods giant LVMH, who bought 51% of the Château from the family of the Comte Alexandre de
Lur-Saluces after a bitter family feud.
In 2006 a 135-year "vertical" (containing every vintage from 1860 to 2003) was sold at auction in London for $1.5
million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a single lot of wine
The vineyard extends to 113 hectares between the villages of Sauternes and Fargues, though only around 100
hectares are in production at any time. The vines consist of around 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc,
though the latter's productivity means that the proportions are more equal in the final wine. Yquem's success
stems largely from the site's susceptibility to attack by Botrytis cinerea, the "noble rot" which is at the heart of all
the great sweet wines of Bordeaux.
The harvesting is carefully timed, and the pickers pass through each row of vines at least a half dozen times to
ensure that only the best grapes are selected. The resulting yield is never more than 900 litres per hectare,
compared to the usual 2,000 to 3,000 litres in Sauternes. The grapes are pressed three times and transferred to
oak barrels for maturation over a period of three and a half years.
On average, only 65,000 bottles are produced each year. In a poor vintage, the entire crop is deemed unworthy of
bearing the Château's name; this happened 9 times in the 20th century (1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964,
1972, 1974, 1992).
Chateau d'Yquem from fine vintages has an extraordinarily long life, bottles of 100 years and older may be found
in excellent condition if properly kept. The wines from the very greatest vintages - 1847, 1869, 1921, 1937, 1959,
1967, 1989 - seem to be almost immortal.
Premier Cru Supérieur, ahead of all other Sauternes, indicating its perceived superiority and ability to command
by far the highest prices. The wines of Château d'Yquem are characterised by their complexity, concentration and
longevity. In a good year, a bottle will only begin to show its qualities after a decade or two of cellaring and with
proper care, will keep for a century or more, gradually adding layers of taste and hitherto undetected overtones.
The site has been home to a vineyard since at least 1711 when the estate was owned by Léon de Sauvage
d'Yquem. In 1785 it passed to the Lur-Saluces family when Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d'Yquem married
Count Louis-Amédée de Lur-Saluces, the godson of Louis XV and Lady Victoire de France. Monsieur
Lur-Saluces died three later, and his widow then focused her energy on sustaining and improving the estate;
indeed, the Château at it is now stands is largely due to her work, as well as that of her descendants, who ran
the property for over 200 years and whose name remains on the label to this day.
While envoy to France, Thomas Jefferson visited the château and later wrote, "Sauterne. (sic) This is the best
white wine of France and the best of it is made by Monsieur de Lur-Saluces." Jefferson ordered 250 bottles of the
1784 vintage for himself, and additional bottles for George Washington. However, at that time the technique of
allowing noble rot to infect the grapes had not yet been discovered, so the wine Jefferson was drinking was
effectively a different sweet wine. Remarkably, the size of Château d'Yquem was, however, the same in 1788 as it
is today.
For most of the 20th century the Château was run by the Marquis Bernard de Lur-Saluces who developed and
enhanced its reputation until his death in 1968. Since 1996, Château d'Yquem has been owned by the French
luxury goods giant LVMH, who bought 51% of the Château from the family of the Comte Alexandre de
Lur-Saluces after a bitter family feud.
In 2006 a 135-year "vertical" (containing every vintage from 1860 to 2003) was sold at auction in London for $1.5
million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a single lot of wine
The vineyard extends to 113 hectares between the villages of Sauternes and Fargues, though only around 100
hectares are in production at any time. The vines consist of around 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc,
though the latter's productivity means that the proportions are more equal in the final wine. Yquem's success
stems largely from the site's susceptibility to attack by Botrytis cinerea, the "noble rot" which is at the heart of all
the great sweet wines of Bordeaux.
The harvesting is carefully timed, and the pickers pass through each row of vines at least a half dozen times to
ensure that only the best grapes are selected. The resulting yield is never more than 900 litres per hectare,
compared to the usual 2,000 to 3,000 litres in Sauternes. The grapes are pressed three times and transferred to
oak barrels for maturation over a period of three and a half years.
On average, only 65,000 bottles are produced each year. In a poor vintage, the entire crop is deemed unworthy of
bearing the Château's name; this happened 9 times in the 20th century (1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964,
1972, 1974, 1992).
Chateau d'Yquem from fine vintages has an extraordinarily long life, bottles of 100 years and older may be found
in excellent condition if properly kept. The wines from the very greatest vintages - 1847, 1869, 1921, 1937, 1959,
1967, 1989 - seem to be almost immortal.
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Unquestionably the greatest vintage of the 20th century, Yquem in particular being legendary. Following the hottest summer since 1893,
grapes were harvested with a tremendously high sugar content which after fermentation resulted in high levels of alcohol and residual sugar.
Ch d’Yquem
A colossus. Perhaps the most staggeringly rich Yquem of all time, certainly since the towering 1847. A word of advice: do not be put off by
the dark colour. This is correct and the same applies to a slightly lesser extent with Yquem 1929 and 1937. I am of course spoiled. But it is
my job; and I have had the privilege and pleasure of tasting – of drinking (even I do not spit out the ’21 Yquem) the wine – at last count –
over 30 times, from magnums as well as bottles... most have been unforgettable. One thing that I have noticed is that the differences are
more due to bottle variation rather than the wine’s evolution which, at least for the past 30 or so years seems to be relatively static.
Rather than give a blow by blow account I propose to mention two tastings and three fairly recent dinners, the first in Germany at Peter
Ziegler’s tasting, in the eighth and final ‘flight’. It was placed between the 1893 and 1945 Yquems, ending with von Schönborn’s
Marcobrunner feinste TBA. I gave the 1893 and 1921 equally high marks...Coincidentally Christian Sveaas’ dinner in 1996, which opened
with the 1893, ended with a superb (6-star) 1921. At the Rodenstock Yquem marathon in 1998 I gave it my highest marks, fractionally
above 1869 and 1937 (out of a total of 125 vintages tasted that week). It was voluptuous at Josh Latner’s dinner at the Lanesborough Hotel
in London, January 2000 and, when last encountered it was sheer perfection.
Finally I shall endeavour to describe the elements and variations in appearance, nose and taste. Certainly not dark, but in my last five notes
varying from fairly deep, at best a warm amber-gold, on one occasion reminding me of an old oloroso sherry, on another Bual Madeira-like,
with a pronounced apple-green rim. The bouquet, very rich, honeyed of course, peachy, barley sugar (boiled and spun sugar), intense yet
fragrant ‘custard cream’, crème brûlée yet again, but very true. On the palate from sweet to very sweet, depending I think on context,
unquestionably rich, powerful, even assertive, great length and intensity, and supported by life-preserving acidity. One of life’s sublime
experiences.
*****
Here are the well-known French wine expert Michael Dovaz's tasting notes on this wine:
Today the robe of Château d’Yquem 1921 is dark mahogany. A heady mixture of aromas of citrus and plum, honey, vanilla scented
candied apricots precede the basic creamy, smooth, subtle texture and a mouth as long as it is harmonious. It is an ageless masterpiece.
And here is the precise vintage report for the 1921 harvest at Chateau Yquem:
In the spring, a sharp frost attacked the vine as it was sprouting. A lot of heat was then needed to obtain the perfect ripening and hoped-for
concentration upon maturity. In 1921, conditions were just right. After the usual mid-August storm, the fine weather returned and continued
until the fall, without being affected by the morning mists rising from the Garonne and the Ciron. The vines had never been watered so little,
hence the unparalled richness and concentration of the grape juice. The pickers began work on September 13, and spent 39 days in the
vineyard passing along each row five times. The ideal balance of 14-15 degrees of alcohol plus six degrees of potential alcohol (120 grams
of sugar per litre) was easily obtained.
grapes were harvested with a tremendously high sugar content which after fermentation resulted in high levels of alcohol and residual sugar.
Ch d’Yquem
A colossus. Perhaps the most staggeringly rich Yquem of all time, certainly since the towering 1847. A word of advice: do not be put off by
the dark colour. This is correct and the same applies to a slightly lesser extent with Yquem 1929 and 1937. I am of course spoiled. But it is
my job; and I have had the privilege and pleasure of tasting – of drinking (even I do not spit out the ’21 Yquem) the wine – at last count –
over 30 times, from magnums as well as bottles... most have been unforgettable. One thing that I have noticed is that the differences are
more due to bottle variation rather than the wine’s evolution which, at least for the past 30 or so years seems to be relatively static.
Rather than give a blow by blow account I propose to mention two tastings and three fairly recent dinners, the first in Germany at Peter
Ziegler’s tasting, in the eighth and final ‘flight’. It was placed between the 1893 and 1945 Yquems, ending with von Schönborn’s
Marcobrunner feinste TBA. I gave the 1893 and 1921 equally high marks...Coincidentally Christian Sveaas’ dinner in 1996, which opened
with the 1893, ended with a superb (6-star) 1921. At the Rodenstock Yquem marathon in 1998 I gave it my highest marks, fractionally
above 1869 and 1937 (out of a total of 125 vintages tasted that week). It was voluptuous at Josh Latner’s dinner at the Lanesborough Hotel
in London, January 2000 and, when last encountered it was sheer perfection.
Finally I shall endeavour to describe the elements and variations in appearance, nose and taste. Certainly not dark, but in my last five notes
varying from fairly deep, at best a warm amber-gold, on one occasion reminding me of an old oloroso sherry, on another Bual Madeira-like,
with a pronounced apple-green rim. The bouquet, very rich, honeyed of course, peachy, barley sugar (boiled and spun sugar), intense yet
fragrant ‘custard cream’, crème brûlée yet again, but very true. On the palate from sweet to very sweet, depending I think on context,
unquestionably rich, powerful, even assertive, great length and intensity, and supported by life-preserving acidity. One of life’s sublime
experiences.
*****
Here are the well-known French wine expert Michael Dovaz's tasting notes on this wine:
Today the robe of Château d’Yquem 1921 is dark mahogany. A heady mixture of aromas of citrus and plum, honey, vanilla scented
candied apricots precede the basic creamy, smooth, subtle texture and a mouth as long as it is harmonious. It is an ageless masterpiece.
And here is the precise vintage report for the 1921 harvest at Chateau Yquem:
In the spring, a sharp frost attacked the vine as it was sprouting. A lot of heat was then needed to obtain the perfect ripening and hoped-for
concentration upon maturity. In 1921, conditions were just right. After the usual mid-August storm, the fine weather returned and continued
until the fall, without being affected by the morning mists rising from the Garonne and the Ciron. The vines had never been watered so little,
hence the unparalled richness and concentration of the grape juice. The pickers began work on September 13, and spent 39 days in the
vineyard passing along each row five times. The ideal balance of 14-15 degrees of alcohol plus six degrees of potential alcohol (120 grams
of sugar per litre) was easily obtained.
Chateau d'Yquem 1921 en magnum
Chateau bottled. This was the last year the Count Lur
Saluces sold any wine in cask. Many of the surviving 1921
bottles are bottled by Van der Meulen in Belgium – these
are inferior to the chateau-bottled versions.
The dark colour (in reality a dark amber gold) is
exaggerated by the flash photography, but is absolutely
typical and characteristic of this vintage. 1921 is the
darkest of all Yquems, followed interestingly enough
probably by the 1847 which has a similar colour, although
fractionally lighter.
SOLD
Chateau bottled. This was the last year the Count Lur
Saluces sold any wine in cask. Many of the surviving 1921
bottles are bottled by Van der Meulen in Belgium – these
are inferior to the chateau-bottled versions.
The dark colour (in reality a dark amber gold) is
exaggerated by the flash photography, but is absolutely
typical and characteristic of this vintage. 1921 is the
darkest of all Yquems, followed interestingly enough
probably by the 1847 which has a similar colour, although
fractionally lighter.
SOLD
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Chateau d'Yquem 1921
Another bottle showing the
typical dark colour of the
vintage.
SOLD
Another bottle showing the
typical dark colour of the
vintage.
SOLD
Chateau d'Yquem 1959
SOLD
SOLD
Chateau d'Yquem 1929
SOLD
SOLD