Château d'Yquem Sauternes 1er Cru Classé Supérieur 1966

Details

A key sweet wine in the Sauternes region, Château d’Yquem belonged to the English crown in the Middle Ages, a privileged partner of the Bordeaux region in the wine trade. A century and a half after the return of Guyenne to French control, the winemaking fortunes of Château d’Yquem accelerated: in 1593, Jacques Sauvage obtained tenure of the estate, which was already distinguished by its cutting-edge farming practices. However, Jacques Sauvage’s descendants would not fully enjoy these lands until the early 18th century, when, ennobled by Louis XIV, they took the name Sauvage d’Yquem.

The marriage in 1785 of Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem to Count Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces marked the entry of this old Bordeaux family into the prestigious Sauternes estate. After the death in 1851 of the long-widowed "Dame d'Yquem," her grandson Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces inherited a vineyard with an established reputation, propelled even higher by the 1855 classification (the only Premier Cru Supérieur). From then on, Château d'Yquem was invited to the tables of the greatest, who spent lavishly to indulge in this precious nectar: ​​in 1859, Grand Duke Constantine, brother of the Tsar, paid the prodigious sum of 20,000 gold francs for a barrel of Yquem wine.

The world's most famous sweet wine, Yquem, became the property of the LVMH group, headed by businessman Bernard Arnault, in 1999. The château is now managed by Pierre Lurton, who also heads Château Cheval Blanc in Saint-Émilion. Before him, Alexandre de Lur Saluces, from 1967 to 2004, wrote some of the finest pages in the history of the only Premier Cru Classé Supérieur in 1855, following in the footsteps of his ancestors.

This wine is perhaps the most consistent Bordeaux wine of the past hundred years. Even in small vintages and difficult periods, Yquem has held its own, even in its incomparable aging. It owes this consistency to a unique and diverse terroir, the epicenter of the appellation, which reacts to the development of botrytis like no other, but also, of course, to the people who understood and highlighted its qualities. While Yquem may not necessarily impress in its youth, it irrevocably widens the gap between itself and its neighbors after a few years of aging. Tasting an older vintage from the château remains an experience that every sweet wine lover should have at some point in their life.