Château d’Yquem

The history of Château d’Yquem is like a novel, an epic saga full of events and colorful personalities spanning more than 4 centuries. Château d’Yquem was almost English. During the Middle Ages, in fact, the estate belonged to the King of England, who was also Duke of Aquitaine at the time. In 1453, southwest France was once again brought under the dominion of the French crown by Charles VII and has stayed French ever since. A century and a half later, in 1593, a descendent of a local noble family, Jacques Sauvage, was given feudal tenure over Yquem. The Gironde department archives, as well as those of the château, show that special winegrowing practices and late harvesting already existed at this time. A few years later, the Sauvage family built the château and patiently set about constituting the present-day vineyard, plot by plot. The family became full owners of Yquem in 1711, during the reign of Louis XIV (by which time they had received noble status). In 1785, Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem married Count Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces. 3 years later, in 1788, the count died after a riding accident. His young widow thus became the head of the family and showed extraordinary acumen in managing the estate. The wine was already much appreciated by famous connoisseurs of the period, such as Thomas Jefferson. A staunch opponent of the excesses of the French Revolution who was thrown into prison on two occasions, Françoise Joséphine managed to hold on to the family property and make Yquem prosper. She built a new wine cellar in 1826 with her steward Garos – an audacious step at the time – transforming the estate into a true business and developing its international reputation. It was during her time as head of Yquem that the method of picking in several passes was perfected.

Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces, Françoise-Joséphine’s grandson, took his role as manager of Yquem very much to heart, rather than simply taking possession of the family estate, which had become mythical by this time. In 1855, in posthumous recognition of the tremendous accomplishments of “the lady of Yquem”, the estate was designated the one and only premier cru supérieur in the famous classification made at the request of Emperor Napoléon III.

Yquem went through a long period of prosperity in the latter half of the 19th century. People all over Europe went to great lengths to search out the wine. Great Duke Constantine, brother of the Tsar of Russia, made the headlines by paying 20,000 gold francs for a barrel of Château d’Yquem – an unheard of price at the time. Japan, which opened up to foreign trade during the Meiji dynasty, also discovered the pleasures of Yquem. After Romain-Bertrand’s death, his son, Marquis Amédée de Lur-Saluces, took over, followed by his younger brother, Eugène. This phase of Yquem’s history ended with 2 dramatic events: the phylloxéra crisis and the First World War. In 1914, Yquem played a role in the war. The château was transformed into a military hospital while Marquis Bertrand de Lur-Saluces, son of Eugène, became an officer in the trenches, in keeping with the family tradition. At the end of the war, at age 30, he took over managing the estate and continued in this capacity for a momentous half-century. Bertrand was a man of character and a staunch guardian of the Yquem philosophy. He was opposed to chaptalization and courageously defended the family estates, even during the dire recession of the 1930s. President of the Union des Crus Classés de la Gironde for forty years, he was instrumental in determining many legal aspects of the Sauternes appellation. He was also one of the leading proponents of château bottling to guarantee authenticity. An enlisted officer in the Second World War, Bertrand de Lur-Saluces was captured and held prisoner for 2 years. However, he was fortunate enough to return to his beloved estate as soon as he was freed. He did much to develop Château d’Yquem, particularly as regards its international impact, until his death in 1968.

Childless and anxious to protect the future of Château d’Yquem, Bertrand de Lur-Saluces took measures in anticipation of his demise. In 1966, he designated one of his brother Amédée’s sons, Alexandre de Lur-Saluces, to take over managing the estate.

The young count did not have an easy time at first. He had to deal with a series of bad vintages, a profound crisis in the Bordeaux wine trade, and an impressively high inheritance tax that threatened d’Yquem’s survival. The estate was saved thanks to rigorous management and the excellent 1975 vintage, on the heels of 3 disastrous ones. Several fine vintages during the 1980s made it possible to put things back on an even keel and make new investments. Production slowly increased over 15 years, as did quality and technical expertise. At the end of the 20th century, thanks to the impetus of Bernard Arnault, Château d’Yquem – a veritable monument, and among the greatest wines of France – was acquired by LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton. This marked a new chapter in the château’s history.

Since then, he has continued to promote the estate’s authenticity, its openness to modernity, and the expertise of the winemaking team.

Viticulture: Fertilizer is exclusively organic and used sparingly; only 20 hectares are fertilized per year. This compost maintains the soil’s natural equilibrium while keeping it from becoming too rich or fertile, as this would prevent the vines from producing wines of character. Chemical weed killers are never used. The soil undergoes regular cycles of manual work: earthing up twice a year, unearthing twice a year, and countless other vineyard operations. The vines are severely pruned in early winter to limit yields and encourage maximum ripeness. Château d’Yquem’s 20 female vineyard workers are each assigned specific plots, so they become familiar with virtually each vine. Among other duties, they are responsible for green pruning operations such as bud pruning as well as tying up and removing side shoots. The final touch before the vintage is leaf thinning on the eastern side of some 700,000 vines so the grapes dry more quickly in the morning while continuing to protect the western side most exposed to rain.

Harvest: Château d’Yquem’s goal is to obtain musts with 20° potential alcohol (360 grams of sugar per liter). It is a daring gamble to obtain such concentration naturally, implying a long wait with the very real risk that the entire harvest may be lost as winter approaches. An increase from 18 to 20° alcohol decreases the volume of juice by an average of 50%. This largely accounts for Yquem’s extraordinarily low yields (9 hectoliters per hectare on average). Grapes have been harvested the same way at Château d’Yquem for centuries. The pickers scour the entire vineyard for grapes that are both botrytised and have attained maximum concentration. There are an average of 5 or 6 passes per vintage, spread over 6 weeks.

Vinification: It takes no more than 1 hour for grapes picked at Château d’Yquem to arrive at the cellar. Pressing takes into account the texture and fragility of the fruit. The grapes are pressed 3 or 4 times at Yquem. As opposed to other white wines, the sugar content and quality increase with each pressing. The first pressing in a pneumatic wine press produces 75% of the total juice, with about 19° potential alcohol. The second yields 15% of the total juice, with about 21° potential alcohol, while the third can reach up to 25°. The hard cake of pomace is then broken up, destemmed, and put through a low-capacity vertical press. Wines from the various pressings are blended before barrel fermentation. Unusually in Sauternes, fermentation at Yquem takes place in barrel to maintain maximum control over this most delicate and mysterious part of winemaking. Only new barrels are used each year. These are made with the finest stave oak from forests in the eastern part of central France. Each individual barrel is closely monitored, and the château’s in-house laboratory carries out regular analyses. The most active musts finish fermenting in just two weeks. However, others can take up to six weeks. Fermentation stops naturally in all instances. The alcohol content at Château d’Yquem varies from 12.5° to 14.5° according to the sugar content of the must. The ideal figure is 13.5° with 120 to 150 g/l of g/l of residual sugar.

Aging: Wine made from grapes picked on the same day is aged separately for 6 to 8 months. A preliminary blend is made from selected batches in the spring following the harvest. After taste tests and laboratory analyses, wines not up to the château’s strict standards are set aside. The barrels that have been retained are then moved to the aging cellar where they will stay for 20 months. Every barrel is topped up twice a week. This consists of adding wine to fill up the airspace created by evaporation at the top of the barrel. Furthermore, every barrel is racked 15 times to remove heavy lees. Light sediment in suspension is removed by a process called fining. The rigorous selection process continues in the cellar. Towards the end of barrel aging, a rigorous selection takes place at blind tastings. This will determine the final blend of Château d’Yquem.

Bottling: The wine is bottled during the third winter after the harvest, under the best possible technical conditions using 54 mm corks, the only length suitable for a wine of such great aging potential. Once the wine is bottled, it is then labelled. The capsule and label match the wine’s color. Bottles are then wrapped in white silk paper and delicately put into wooden cases. These are stamped with the château coat of arms, sealed, and ready to be shipped and age in the cellars of wine lovers around the world.

Tasting Notes: Yquem tells a unique story… It starts with the bouquet. Although not always very outgoing in young vintages, it is marked by fruit (apricot, mandarin, and occasionally tropical fruit) and oak (vanilla and toasty aromas). Older vintages, on the other hand, have an extraordinarily complex fragrance as soon as the bottle is opened, with hints of dried fruit (dried apricot, prune, stewed fruit, and marmalade), spice (cinnamon, saffron, and liquorice), and even flowers (lime blossom, etc.). The first impression of Château d’Yquem on the palate is always very silky, and often sumptuous. It then fills out, “coating the palate”. This fine wine has a strong, but never overbearing character, with great elegance and poise. It always maintains a balance between sugar and acidity (sweetness and freshness). A touch of bitterness can also contribute to the overall harmony. Château d’Yquem’s aftertaste is legendary, and it tells another story, which lasts and lasts…

Serving Suggestions: Certain connoisseurs consider it outrageous to drink a young Yquem and believe that opening such a monumental wine before its thirtieth birthday is tantamount to a sacrilege. Others, on the contrary, think that Yquem can be enjoyed at all stages in its life.

2006 Reviews: “…beeswax and lanolin merging with honeyed fruit, dried quince and marzipan. The palate is medium-bodied, viscous, a dash of spice on the entry with very good weight in the mouth. There is still that lovely saltiness on the finish that leaves you begging for another sip…” –95pts, Wine Advocate

2005 Reviews: “…the palate is extremely well balanced, perhaps just a little nuttier than I remember from 12 months ago, with hints of white chocolate and crème brûlée just appearing on the finish.”-96pts, Wine Advocate

Overview: Y (pronounced “ee-grek” in French) is a rare wine. It is made from the same outstanding terroir and the same vines as Château d’Yquem.

Grape Varieties: The final blend is made after tasting. It usually consists predominantly of Sauvignon Blanc and a few lots of Sémillon.

Harvest: Although work in the vineyard is every bit as meticulous, the grapes are picked and the wine made in a different way. Y was formerly made at the end of the harvest, with the last bunches left on the vines. These grapes, affected to varying degrees by Botrytis cinerea, but never with more than 15% potential alcohol, resulted in a very unusual wine. This explains why it has always been produced in small quantities and on an irregular basis since 1959. Y changed starting in 1996, but without compromising its unique character, to be more in tune with the times by displaying the qualities of freshness and crispness – essential for a modern great white wine. It was decided in 2004 to make Y every year. It is thus by deliberate choice that the winemakers now harvest certain plots of Sauvignon Blanc at the beginning of the vintage, making sure to pick perfectly ripe bunches. These are completed by Sémillon grapes picked just at that fleeting stage when the grapes have reached maximum ripeness, botrytis has just appeared, and the skins have turned a pinkish colour. This is the precise moment when this grape variety’s tannins are soft enough for the aromatic potential of the best plots of clay soil to come through.

Vinification: The wine receives close attention all during fermentation: light, precise pressing as well as temperature-controlled must racking and alcoholic fermentation in a new aesthetically pleasing, state-of-the-art vat room set aside just for this wine.

Aging: The end of fermentation and aging on the lees take place in barrels. Only one third of these are new, and the lees are regularly stirred (bâtonnage) for 10 months.

Annual Production: 10,000 bottles/year