The iconic Château d'Yquem

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. Three 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.

Today, Château d'Yquem released its 2018 vintage.  It also released its 2019 Y (Ygreac), a dry white wine made from the same outstanding terroir and the same vines as Château d'Yquem. 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 we 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.  (credit: Château d'Yquem)

Château d'Yquem 2018 is offered at $313.75 per 750ml bottle.

Château d'Yquem Y 2019 is offered at $138 per 750ml bottle.

Tasting Notes

“An intense and glossy wine, full of satin-textured apricot and white peach flavours. There are exotic fruits of pineapple and mango but winemaker Sandrine Garbay has kept a focus on fresher flavours of lime zest and citrus that balance out the natural richness and concentration. Pretty closed right now, but there is power and balance here, an excellent Yquem.” Jane Anson (Decanter) Ratings: 97

Winemaker's Notes

“The weather for the 2019 vintage was characterised by a cool, wet spring, followed by very hot conditions lasting from June until mid-August. The heatwave enabled the vines to catch up with somewhat delayed growth and led to very quick ripening. Thanks to these conditions, we began the 2019 harvest of Y relatively early. We picked the grapes used to make our great dry white wine between the 26th of August and the 5th of September when a perfect balance between richness and freshness was achieved, guaranteeing a quality vintage."