750ml

Product information

Château d’Yquem 2017

Semillon from Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

$980

Closure: Cork

Description

In this wine more than any other art, science & nature collide! River mists, offer humidity, day time sunshine’s heat and drying power create weather that can offer the perfect conditions for Botrytis, and, the eye of the pickers select only the best grapes.

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Why is this Wine so Yummy?

WEATHER CONDITIONS

The early part of winter was cold and very dry. Warmer temperatures and rain returned in February and the weather in March led to a quick start to vegetative growth. The most significant event of spring 2017 occurred in late April when frost struck to a degree that had not been seen since 1991. Miraculously, the temperature did not go below the freezing point at Château d’Yquem. Only a few vines on the fringes suffered, with little effect on the crop. In early May, a period of fine warm weather set in, with periodic showers. The summer of 2017 was the 4th hottest since 1897. The growing season was a good month ahead of average, an advance that reached a peak on about the 20th of June.

GROWING SEASON

Early bud break meant the vine growth had a head start that was barely affected by the week of frost in late April. Thanks to the ensuing ideal weather conditions, the growing season started up again unabated, with periodic (and desirable) spring showers. Beginning in May, it was necessary to adapt work in the vineyard to keep pace with the frenetic vine growth. The first flowers appeared on the 15th of June and véraison (colour change) began on the 6th of July. The effects of this highly unusual weather were apparent by early August. The Sémillon grapes already had 12.6° potential alcohol, while Sauvignon Blanc had 13.6-14° and a total acidity of 8.5 grams per litre …

THE HARVEST

A new record was set at Yquem! Picking of grapes to produce 2017 Y began earlier than ever before, on the 16th of August. Both grape varieties were uniformly ripe in late August and in perfect condition. The need for rain became essential at this point for the development of botrytis. Fortuitously, 65 mm of precipitation fell from the 1st to the 16th of September and maximum temperatures dropped to 21°C. This wet period was a wonderful opportunity for Yquem because noble rot spread evenly. However, it also represented a danger – if the rain continued, it would practically ruin the entire crop. Fortunately, the rain stopped and a new long anticyclonic phase set in. This was ideal for drying the grapes and inducing concentration at a pace so quick as to be almost violent. The teams of pickers took part in a race against the clock in order to keep sugar levels down to a reasonable level. How paradoxical! The strategy was to pick at just the right amount of concentration, giving priority to the best plots, even if this called for “sacrificing” grapes in certain other plots… Fully-botrytised, extremely highquality fruit with manageable sugar levels brought in during this 11-day sprint, lasting from the 26th of September to the 9th of October, accounted for the lion’s share of the crop. The harvest ended on the 11th, 12th, and 13th of October in plots that had been “voluntarily overlooked”. The grapes from these plots were extraordinarily rich, with easily more than 25° potential alcohol.

OVERVIEW

2017 was a year with total botrytis and tremendous concentration that called for very specific sorting techniques to stay within the parameters defined by Yquem. To summarise, 2017 is a very great success, worthy of the finest vintages ending in “7”. Sémillon 75% – Sauvignon 25%

About Château d’Yquem

In 1993, Château d’Yquem [dee-kem] celebrated 400 years of ownership by the same family. In 1593, the Sauvage family bought this estate which came into the Lur Saluces patrimony when Francoise Joséphine de Sauvage married Count Louis Amédée de Lur Saluces in 1785. Marquis Bertrand de Lur Saluces was one of the 20th century’s most important personalities in the world of wine.

Count Alexandre de Lur Saluces has followed in his Uncle Betrand’s footsteps since 1968. Highly motivated to perfect this prestigious product while respecting tradition, he is determined to offer maximum quality.

Yquem is the result of painstaking efforts by everyone who works on the estate. However, nature is the major factor in making the most of the rare soil of Yquem.

Drinking d’Yquem

👶🏻👴🏻Uncommonly rich and fresh, the wines of Château d’Yquem can be enjoyed either young or old.

🌡Young vintages of Yquem are best enjoyed on the cool side (9°C), while it is preferable to serve older ones at a higher temperature (12°C).

🧀🦆The Sauternes is enjoyed throughout the meal in Bordeaux. One of the more common dishes to serve it with is Foie Gras at the beginning of a meal. Yquem’s powerful aromas and flavours go together with blue cheeses or an old Comté. To take off, you might wish to try quail, duck, or other poultry. You won’t regret the trip.
🕯Sauternes can be incredibly long-lived. Bottles of Yquem from before the turn of the last century are still drinking well.

In 1790, Thomas Jefferson ordered thirty dozen bottles of Yquem for George Washington and himself.

Sauternes

Sweet and unctuous but delightfully charming, the finest Sauternes typically express flavours of exotic dried tropical fruit, candied apricot, dried citrus peel, honey or ginger and a zesty beam of acidity.

Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle are the grapes of Sauternes. But Sémillon’s susceptibility to the requisite noble rot makes it the main variety and contributor to what makes Sauternes so unique. As a result, most Sauternes estates are planted to about 80% Sémillon. Sauvignon is prized for its balancing acidity and Muscadelle adds aromatic complexity to the blend with Sémillon.

Botrytis cinerea or “noble rot” is a fungus that grows on grapes only in specific conditions and its onset is crucial to the development of the most stunning of sweet wines.

In the fall, evening mists develop along the Garonne River, and settle into the small Sauternes district, creeping into the vineyards and sitting low until late morning. The next day, the sun has a chance to burn the moisture away, drying the grapes and concentrating their sugars and phenolic qualities. What distinguishes a fine Sauternes from a normal one is the producer’s willingness to wait and tend to the delicate botrytis-infected grapes through the end of the season.

Harvest at Château d’Yquem

Château d’Yquem is renowned for its absolute mastery of selective harvesting in waves. This technique is dictated by the gradual development of Botrytis cinerea, also known as “noble rot”. The fungus colonizes the grape and causes water to evaporate through the skin of the fruit. This change of state is widely feared, but can transform the grapes into “drops of gold” given the right climate conditions. With the effects of noble rot, the sugar and juice of the grapes become highly concentrated, well beyond ordinary ripeness.

The sugar levels inside the grapes become more concentrated, far in excess of normal ripening: 18-30° potential alcohol, i.e. 300-600 grams of sugar per litre!

Château d’Yquem’s goal is to obtain musts with 20° of potential alcohol for the must, with 360 grams of sugar per liter. Pickers must ensure that the fruit is at the correct stage of Botrytis development, and on average they carry out 5 or 6 selections over six weeks. This risky process involves a long wait, with late and extended harvests as well as a high risk of losing the crop as winter approaches, and a reduction of around 50% of the total juice volume. As a result, yields are very low at Yquem, on average 9 hectoliters per hectare, and is one of the reasons for its consistently outstanding quality.

It takes one vine to produce one glass of Yquem.

Grapes have been harvested the same way at Château d’Yquem for centuries. At vintage time, the château’s work force increases by 200 pickers, divided into four groups. They scour the entire vineyard for grapes that are both botrytised and have attained maximum concentration. Harvesting at Yquem calls for picking in several passes.

Botrytis cinerea behaves differently depending on the plot, the bunch of grapes and even individual berries. Pickers select only the ripest, most “rotten” fruit. Any grapes that fall short of these criteria are left for the next pass. There are an average of five or six passes per vintage, spread over six weeks. However, in certain years, when the harvest starts in October and does not end until December, it is necessary to go through the vineyard more than 10 times – despite the risk that the vintage may not be worthy of the Yquem name.

Winemaking at Château d’Yquem

It takes no more than one hour for grapes picked at Château d’Yquem to arrive at the cellar. Pressing takes into account the texture and fragility of the fruit.

The grapes are pressed three or four times at Yquem. As opposed to other white wines, the sugar content and quality increase with each pressing. The first pressing in a pneumatic winepress produces 75% of the total juice, with about 19° potential alcohol. The second yields 15% of the total juice, with about 21° potential alcohol, while the third can reach up to 25°. The hard cake of pomace is then broken up, destemmed, and put through a low-capacity vertical press. If the harvest is very small, we use these same vertical presses exclusively, without recourse to pneumatic presses. Wines from the various pressings are blended before barrel fermentation.

Yquem is usually 75-80% Sémillon overing richness, full flavours, and, oppulence. The remain 20-25% Sauvignon Blanc adding acid, freshness, and, vibrancy. A similar blend to the Dry White No.1 table wine from Yarra Yering.

Unusually in Sauternes, fermentation at Yquem takes place in barrel to maintain maximum control over this most delicate and mysterious part of winemaking. Only new barrels are used each year. These are made with the finest stave oak from forests in the eastern part of central France. Each individual barrel is closely monitored, and the château’s in-house laboratory carries out regular analyses. The most active musts finish fermenting in just two weeks. However, others can take up to six weeks. Fermentation stops naturally in all instances. The alcohol content at Château d’Yquem varies from 12.5° to 14.5° according to the sugar content of the must. The ideal figure is 13.5° with 120 to 150 g/l of g/l of residual sugar.

Wine made from grapes picked on the same day is aged separately for six to eight months. A preliminary blend is made from selected batches in the spring following the harvest. After taste tests and laboratory analyses, wines not up to the château’s strict standards are set aside. The barrels that have been retained are then moved to the ageing cellar where they will stay for twenty months. Every barrel is topped up twice a week. This consists of adding wine to fill up the airspace created by evaporation at the top of the barrel. Furthermore, every barrel is racked fifteen times to remove heavy lees. Light sediment in suspension is removed by a process called fining. The rigorous selection process continues in the cellar. Towards the end of barrel ageing, a rigorous selection takes place at blind tastings. This will determine the final blend of Château d’Yquem.

Where is Château d’Yquem?

Château d’Yquem is in the Southern part of Bordeaux. You can see the Garonne flows inland of Yquem by about 2km. Château d’Yquem’s microclimate is in the heart of a 20 km strip of land along both sides of the Garonne Valley where all of Bordeaux’s sweet and
semi-sweet white wine appellations (Sainte Croix du Mont, Loupiac, Cérons, Cadillac, and Barsac) are located.

The fact that all of Sauternes’ great growths (eleven first growths and twelve seconds) are located around Château d’Yquem – the only Premier Cru Supérieur – tends to bear out Yquem’s ideal location. 

Go full screen on the map below and zoom into Sauternes the winery names will pop up and you’ll get a great satellite view of the Château.

98-99 Points

The tannins and phenolic tension are very impressive to this. Dried-lemon undertones and burning botrytis. Full-to medium-bodied, linear and racy. Beautiful fruit and intensity. Such clarity. Extreme but wonderful style. (4/2018)

James Suckling

97-99 Points

There was no frost at d’Yquem in 2017, and botrytis was very regular and even this vintage. The nose opens with very pure notes of freshly sliced oranges, yuzu and lemon barley water with hints of white pepper, fresh ginger and lime cordial. The incredibly rich, unctuous sweetness (148 grams per liter of residual sugar) is beautifully marbled with bright, vivacious citrus fruit and spice flavors, while lifted by well-knit freshness, and it finishes with epic length and great depth. (LPB) (4/2018)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

95-97 Points

The 2017 Yquem, which was not affected by frost, was picked in two tries from 26 to 29 September and 5 to 10 October. There is 148gm/L residual sugar and a 3.8 pH, alcohol coming in at 13.9°. The early September rain prompted homogenous pourriture noble and this was followed by a warm period that meant that concentration came rapidly. They focused on the best parts of the property, discarding 30% of the parcels. It has a very harmonious bouquet with white peaches, orange sorbet, white flowers and a touch of crushed stone. It has an airy nose that gathers pace with aeration. The palate is very fresh in the mouth with slightly less weight and concentration than the 2015 tasted alongside. There are subtle spicy veins interwoven through the final third with hints of freshly shaved ginger that add another dimension towards the finish. This might not be up there with the top tier of Yquem’s over the last century, however, it is clearly a very well-crafted and complex Sauternes that will last many years. (NM) (5/2018)

Neal Martin, Vinous