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Producing wine at the top classified growth in Sauternes is always an extremely demanding proposition.
The selection process takes place every step of the way at Yquem, from the vineyard to the cellar. The best example of this is the meticulous way the grapes are harvested, in several waves, selecting only individual grapes (rather than whole bunches) affected by Botrytis cinerea. This microscopic fungus works a marvellous alchemy, adding special aromas and flavours that utterly transform the wine.
Without botrytis there can be no Château d'Yquem!
This philosophy of extremely careful selection continues in the cellar, where the wine is aged for three years in new oak barrels.
In the last analysis, yields amount to just one glass of wine per vine. This infinitely complex, extraordinarily aromatic, nectar can only be made in years when nature cooperates with man.
Château d'Yquem is owned by the luxury group LVMH and headed by Pierre Lurton who also heads Château Cheval-Blanc.
With Lurton, 47, LVMH ushers in a dynamic winemaker and manager from an old Bordeaux family. Lurton is known for his savvy reading of market trends, respect for terroir and experience with the New and Old worlds.
Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH (who also ownes Cheval-Blanc personally with Albert Frère), said Lurton would open Yquem to "modernity" while also respecting its traditions.
Lurton becomes the only Bordelais to head two châteaus out of the region's top nine estates: the five first-growths (Haut-Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton-Rothschild); St.-Emilion's two premiers grands crus classés A (Cheval-Blanc and Ausone); Sauternes' only premier cru supérieur (Yquem), and the best of Pomerol (Pétrus).
"Yquem is the most mythical of all wineries in the world," Lurton said. "But it's a sleeping beauty; it doesn't make you dream like it used to."
  
Facts & Figures
Area under vine
113 hectares
Production
60,000 bottles
Soil
Gravel mixed with sand topsoil upon a water retentative clay sub-soil.
Grape varieties
80% Semillon
20% Sauvignon Blanc
Vinification and Aging
The botrytis affected grapes are passed through a special crusher that only pinches the skins. Three pressings are made. The third, producing the smallest percentage of volume produces the highest concentration of sugar. Fermentation takes place in barrels, located in a building heated for this. The fermentation stops spontaneously when the botrytis and/or the alcohol has killed all the yeast. The selected wines are blended and spend 42 months in new oak barrels.
  
Wines available
All wines sold by BDXV come direct from Bordeaux and have been stored at the Chateaux or in professional storage facilities since the time of bottling. BDXV’s wines have never ever been in the hands of private collectors. This gives you the customer the highest level of quality guarantee that the wines you buy have been stored in optimal conditions since the time they were bottled.
Chateau Yquem 2005, EUR POA*
Score: (96-100) points. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2100.
Robert Parker: 95-98 points
Robert Parker notes not released.
Jancis Robinson: 20/20 points
Yield of 12 hl/ha – almost record high levels! Quite deep gold. Wonderfully deep nose – never smelt anything as intense and glorious as this! Extraordinary!!! Deep yet lively. Exciting depth of pear juice and zest – tangerine peel too. Great astringency. 2001 was more concentrated. This is more transparent. Lovely dancing stuff, but already in the super-nuanced Yquem idiom. Lighter than some vintages but with great lacy complexity. Wonderful green, lively notes and some real explosiveness – 13.5 per cent. Energy drink! Coiled like a taut spring.
Chateau Yquem 2001, EUR POA*
Score: 100 points. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2100.
Robert Parker: 100 points
There are 10,000 cases of this perfect sweet white Bordeaux. The 2001 Yquem reveals a hint of green in its light gold color. While somewhat reticent aromatically, with airing, it offers up honeyed tropical fruit, orange marmalade, pineapple, sweet creme brulee, and buttered nut-like scents. In the mouth, it is full-bodied with gorgeously refreshing acidity as well as massive concentration and unctuosity. Everything is uplifted and given laser-like focus by refreshing acidity. This large-scaled, youthful Yquem appears set to take its place among the most legendary vintages of the past, and will age effortlessly for 75+ years.
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