2017 | Yquem | Sauternes

Very flattering and unctuous in feel, with coconut, creamed papaya, toasted hazelnut and warmed peach and tangerine cream flavors gliding along in unison, all framed by warm brioche and piecrust notes on the finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: 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 .

• James Suckling: This is a great Yquem, delivering thrilling purity and intensity. The nose offers intense aromas of fresh and dried apricot and peach pastry, as well as freshly baked creme brulee, candied and fresh orange and kumquat. Some marmalade, too.

Producer Information

Yquem is a property in the Sauternes district of Bordeaux, making what is arguably the world's most famous dessert wine. It was the only Sauternes château rated as Premier Cru Supérieur in the official Classification of 1855, and is priced accordingly. The Yquem estate, owned by the King of England in the Middle Ages, has produced late-harvest wine since at least the late 1500s. The 103 hectare (254 acre) vineyard is situated on the highest hill in Sauternes. The soils here are perfect for the production of sweet wine – a warm, dry topsoil of pebbles and course gravel lies over a clay subsoil that retains generous water reserves, aiding with the development of noble rot, and there are around 60 miles (100km) of drains to prevent waterlogging. At any one time around 12ha (30 acres) of vineyard are either fallow or have young vines not suitable for production. The Yquem vineyard is planted to around 75 percent Semillon and 25 percent Sauvignon Blanc. A team of around 150 expert pickers are used each vintage and make multiple passes through the vineyard to ensure that only fully botrytized fruit is harvested. Yields are very low – about 900 liters per hectare, or around one glass per vine. In the winery, the grapes are pressed three or four times, with increasing pressures yielding lower volumes but higher sugar levels. Yquem is fermented in new oak barrels for maximum control over small lots. The cellar team have an ideal target of 13.5 percent abv for a wine with 120 to 150 grams per liter of residual sugar, though the alcohol content can vary either way by about 1 percent depending on sugar levels. Individual batches organized by day of picking are aged separately for six to eight months, after which the first selection and a preliminary blend is made. Following around 24 further months of aging the barrels are then re-tasted and the best lots make the final wine. On average around 80,000 bottles are produced each year, though in poor vintages the entire crop is sold off anonymously in bulk (this happened nine times in the 20th Century).

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