The château d’Yquem

The château d’Yquem is a Bordeaux wine estate of great renown. The château produces the greatest sweet wine with international renown. It only produces great vintages for the sake of excellence. It also produces a white wine called “Y”.

History of the château

In the Middle Ages, the château d’Yquem belonged to the King of England, then Duke of Aquitaine. And it was with the attachment of the region to the crown of France that the château took on its current nationality. From 1593, Jacques Sauvage was granted the simple tenure rights of Yquem. A few years later, the family built the château and created the vineyard that we know today. Finally, in 1711, ennobled under Louis XIV, the family became the full owners of the estate. The descendants fought during the Revolution to preserve the family heritage and to make the Yquem property prosper.

During the second half of the 19th century, the château experienced a long period of prosperity. All of Europe rushed to taste the wine. The brother of the Tsar of Russia caused a stir in the press by buying a barrel of Yquem for 20,000 gold francs. An incredibly high price for the time. The great era ended with two tragic events: the phylloxera crisis and the Great War. In 1914, the château was used as a military hospital while the men of the family were in the trenches. As soon as the conflict ended, the Marquis Bertrand de Lur-Saluces took over the management of the estate. He ensured the development and quality of the château’s wines until 1968, the year of his death.

Modernity and redemption

Although he had no children, Bertrand de Lur-Saluces appointed one of his brother’s sons, Alexandre de Lur-Saluces, to take charge of the château. Upon his arrival, Alexandre de Lur-Saluces combined bad years with the trading crisis, which weakened the château d’Yquem. Rigorous management and a very good year in 1975 saved the estate. The 1980s allowed the château to recover with successive good harvests.

At the end of the 20th century, Bernard Arnault acquired the Château d’Yquem with the LVMH group.

Acknowledgement

In 1855, the wine estate rose to the rank of one and only Premier Cru Supérieur in the classification established at the request of Napoleon III as part of the Universal Exhibition.

Terroir and grape varieties

The vineyard covers 113 hectares but only about a hundred are in production since each year two or three hectares of old vines are pulled up and left fallow for a year. When they are replanted, it takes at least 5 years before they can produce grapes that meet the very strict criteria of Yquem. This constantly leaves 12 hectares dormant.

The two grape varieties in the vineyard are the rich 75% Sémillon which provides structure and volume and the early and less regular 25% Sauvignon which completes the aromas and finesse of the wine.