Château d'Yquem

Château d'Yquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur (Fr: "Superior First Growth") wine from the Sauternes, Gironde, region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves. In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Château d'Yquem was the only Sauternes given this rating, indicating its perceived superiority and higher prices over all other wines of its type. Yquem's success stems largely from the site's susceptibility to attack by "noble rot" (a particular kind of infestation by Botrytis cinerea).

Wines from Château d'Yquem are characterised by their complexity, concentration and sweetness, which is balanced by relatively high acidity. With proper care, a bottle will keep for a century or more, and the fruity overtones will gradually fade and integrate with more complex secondary and tertiary flavours.

Since 1959, Château d'Yquem has also produced a dry white wine called Ygrec (the name of the letter "Y" in French), made predominantly from Sauvignon blanc and a few lots of Sémillon. It was originally produced only in select years; since 2004 it has been produced every year.[1][2]

History

Since 1968

After the 1968 death of the Marquis Bernard de Lur-Saluces, the château was run by Comte Alexandre de Lur-Saluces, a minority (7%) owner. The Comte inherited a typical annual production of 66,000 bottles a year.[6] After the 1973 oil crisis, demand fell and prices plummeted. The price of a bottle of d'Yquem dropped to 35 francs; prices began to rise only in the 1980s.[6]

Under the Comte's leadership, "tractors replaced horses, collapsing cellars were renovated, and unused acreage was planted", with production in good years reaching 100,000 bottles and sales about $10 million.[6]

Following a bitter family feud and the decision of Eugene de Lur-Saluces (Alexandre's other brother) to sell part of his 47% share of the business. On 28 November 1996, the French luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton announced that it would be buying 55% of Château d'Yquem from the family of the Comte Alexandre de Lur-Saluces for about $100 million.[6] The Comte challenged the sale in court for over two years,.[6] In December 1998,the Bordeaux Court of Appeals confirmed previous decisions permitting LVMH to acquire 38 percent of the Sauternes estate.

On 17 May 2004, the Comte retired and was replaced by the current managing director of Château Cheval Blanc, Pierre Lurton. The Comte had been known for being particularly dedicated towards maintaining quality, going so far as to reject an entire batch of the wine if he did not like the results of a randomised testing.

In 2006, a 135-year vertical collection (containing every vintage from 1860 to 2003) was sold by The Antique Wine Company in London for $1.5 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a single lot of wine.[7] Also that year, Dior and Château d'Yquem together created a skin care product made from the sap of the Yquem vines.[8]

In July 2011, an 1811 bottle of Château d'Yquem sold for £75,000 ($117,000) at The Ritz Hotel, London to a private collector, Christian Vannequé, to become the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold.[9][10]

winery name	Château d'Yquem
coordinates	44.5447°N, -0.3287°W
wine region	Sauternes, Gironde
appellation	Sauternes
area	126 ha
signature wine	Château d'Yquem (prestige) Ygrec (dry white, since 1959)
varietal1	Sémillon
varietal2	Sauvignon blanc
website	yquem.fr

History

Since 1968

Production

Vintages

See also

External links

References