Description

Château d’Yquem is a mythical wine.

It was born on the ancient estates of the Marquises of Lur Saluces, in an area of the Sauternes region that is impossible to miss because of its dominant position. Like much of the noble land of the Bordeaux region in the center of the property, surrounded by wonderful golden vineyards of Sémillion and Sauvignon, stands the château, built in the 15th century in a fascinating style somewhere between rural architecture and feudal severity.

The property was in the Lur Saluces family until 2004, when it was bought by luxury multinational Louis Vuitton. Of the property’s 118 hectares, 113 are occupied by vineyards. The particular layout of the vineyards allows prodigious development of noble rot, like nowhere else in Sauternes. When wines were classified in France in 1855 according to their quality, Yquem could not be included among the premier crus, that is, among the best, simply because it was a span above them. It was then thought, a very rare case for French oenology, to classify it as a premier cru superieur.

The uniqueness of this wine, however, lies not only in the microclimate in which it is born: over the years, in fact, great care has been taken to select the Sémillion and Sauvignon vines, which all come from the estate. In addition, the harvest, which takes place in late autumn, is carried out with maniacal care by the workers, who choose only those berries attacked by noble rot, selecting them one by one.

The mold consuming the water in the berry allows the concentration of substances, especially sugars, which will be the basis of the exquisite sweetness of the wine. Both fermentation, which can last naturally for up to six months, and aging take place in barrels. In the barrel the wine rests until the fourth winter after the harvest and then it will finally see the light for bottling.