Château d'Yquem
Buy wines from Château d'Yquem
If the Latin expression "first among equals" applies to a wine estate, then it applies to Château d'Yquem, which is the only one to hold the title "Premier Grand Cru Classé Supérieur".
Unlike some hidden vineyards in Bordeaux, particularly in the Sauternes and Barsac appellations, Château d'Yquem is not difficult to find. The 16th century building is located at the highest point of the appellation, surrounded by 110 hectares, 100 of which are planted with vines. Of these, 80% are Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc.
Château d'Yquem has always had the reputation of being a little better than all the other Sauternes châteaux. This was already the case in the days of the later US President Thomas Jefferson, who, as a great wine lover, visited the château for the first time in 1790. At that time, the château had only been owned for five years by the Lur Saluces family, who had married into the Sauvage family, who had owned the château since 1593.
Between 1996 and 2009, the Lur Saluces gradually sold the world-famous wine estate to Bernard Arnault and his LVMH Group, who continued to run the estate as they wished, while the Lur Saluces retired to their second Sauternes wine estate, Château de Fargues. Pierre Lurton, the „Ducasse des Vins“, who also runs Château Cheval Blanc, has managed the estate since 2004. Sandrine Garbay has been producing the wines since 1998 and, in addition to the Vin de Garde, there are no sweet second or third wines, but since 1959 there has been a dry version called „Y d'Yquem“, which accounts for around 40% of the total production and is made from around 25% Sémillon and 75% Sauvignon Blanc. They can afford to bottle only the really good vintages and not bring the others onto the market at all. The classic sweet wines contain an average of around 125 grams of sugar per litre. The botrytised grapes often ferment for up to six weeks in new barriques, in which they are also matured. The best vintages have the potential to last a century or more.
© Images: Château d'Yquem
