Due to its unique quality, Château d'Yquem has become the ultimate benchmark for sweet white wines.

The prestigious 100 hectare vineyard has ideal sun exposure and an exceptional terroir made up of gravel soil on a clay subsoil.

The yields are extremely low, to the point where one vine produces just one glass of Château d'Yquem!

Winemaking at Yquem is so meticulous that, after three years aging, only the best barrels are sold under the Yquem name. If the overall quality of a given vintage is judged insufficient, the entire crop is rejected and there is no Yquem that year, which was the case in 1992, 1974, and 1972.

Since the 80s, Château d'Yquem has improved even further, increasingly attaining a purity and finesse that older vintages achieved only periodically.

Château d'Yquem's style is a combination of finesse and power. The bouquet features an extremely wide range of aromas. The delicate flavours unfold beautifully on the palate, culminating in a long, complex aftertaste. Tasting a great vintage of Yquem is a unique experience that every wine lover should enjoy at some point in their life.

The estate also produces "Y", a wine made when the deliberate decision is taken to pick certain plots of Sauvignon grapes at the beginning of the vintage and overripe Sémillon grapes later on. This accounts for the small quantities and irregular production. There have only been about twenty vintages of "Y" since the early 1960s.

In the Bottle

From 1999, when Yquem was acquired by the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) group, until the phenomenal 2001 vintage, the transition was ensured by the previous owner, Alexandre de Lur Saluces.

Although the 2001 d'Yquem is legendary, 2003 and 2005 are also of exceptional quality and (still) relatively affordable. As for the previous decade, 97 and 95 Château d'Yquem are immensely sweet, while the 1988-1989-1990 d'Yquem trilogy is close to perfection. Further back, 1975 and 1967 Yquem represent the quintessence of sweet wines, but have, unfortunately, become rare and extremely expensive. However, lovers of Château d'Yquem would probably make a huge sacrifice to obtain a few bottles of these wines.

-

Yquem, Y d'Yquem