View Your Order
Château d'Yquem
Château d'Yquem is often described as the greatest sweet wine in the world.
This most famous of all Châteax belonged to the English crown from 1152 to 1453. It then passed into the hands of Charles VII, King of Frace. In 1593 Jacques de Sauvage acquired tenant's rights to the royal property and in 1711 his descendents purchased the fiefdom of Yquem. In 1785 is passed into the hands of the Lur-Saluces family.
The property has been run with passionate care by succeeding generations, although LVMH (owners of Moët & Chandon in Champagne), purchased a majority shareholding in 1999 (after three years of acrimony between members of the Lur-Saluces family).
Alexandre Lur-Saluces lost his independence, but won a handsome contract to remain in his former home. He is still very much in charge.
The tries tradition was kept alive at Yquem when it was long forgotten by other noble Châtea. Like Petrus, one of Yquem's "secrets" is its pickers. They are all skilled; they know what to pick and, just as important, what to leave.
The gap between tries can vary from three days to several weeks. Housing and feeding 120 pickers for several weeks of inactivity is not cheap.
In 1972 the harvest consisted of 11 tries spread over 71 days. In that year no wine was sold as Yquem. This is not to say that Yquem's fastidious attention to selection and quality does not pay off in some poor vintages. But in good years, because of the strict selection in the vinyard, the amount of wine that is finally used is as high as 80 to 90 per cent.
The wines are matured for up to 42 months with 100 per cent new oak. The wine represents the ultimate in richness, complexity, and class.
White Wine from Château d'Yquem:
| Château d'Yquem OWC (1988) |
1988
|
£249.65 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Château d'Yquem OWC (2001) |
2001
|
£342.55 |
|