Château d'Yquem

The land that is today Château d'Yquem's vineyard was once part of the estate of Aliénor d'Aquitaine (Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1122-1204); when she married Prince Louis Capet in 1137, shortly before he became King Louis VII of France, the land passed into the ownership of the French crown. The more modern history of the estate begins in the 16th century, when Jacques Sauvage, the son of a local noble family, was granted feudal tenure over the domaine in 1593. LVMH's own account of the estate it owns credits Yquem today with 13 generations of winemakers since that year. Françoise-Joséphine de Lur Saluces, widowed at 20, spent her tenure building the wine's reputation beyond the kingdom of France; when she died in 1851 she left one of Bordeaux's most successful properties to her grandson, Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces. He had been proprietor only four years when, in 1855, Château d'Yquem was named the sole Premier Cru Supérieur in the classification of Sauternes and Barsac wines drawn up by the Syndicat des Courtiers de Commerce at the request of Napoleon III for the Paris Universal Exhibition, published 18 April 1855. Of the 27 châteaux classified across the two appellations, Yquem alone holds the Superior First Growth rank, ahead of 11 Firsts and 15 Seconds. The Sauvage and Lur-Saluces families' stewardship of the estate spanned, in LVMH's own words, 'over 400 years.' LVMH acquired Château d'Yquem in 1999. Pierre Lurton leads the estate today as President and CEO.

• Land once part of Eleanor of Aquitaine's estate; passed to the French crown in 1137 on her marriage to the future Louis VII
• Jacques Sauvage granted feudal tenure over the domaine in 1593; LVMH credits the estate with 13 generations of winemakers since that year
• Françoise-Joséphine de Lur Saluces built the estate's reputation after being widowed at 20; on her death in 1851 she left it to grandson Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces
• Named the sole Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac Classification (published 18 April 1855); LVMH has owned the estate since 1999, led by Pierre Lurton as President and CEO

Château d'Yquem sits in the commune of Sauternes, in the eastern half of the appellation, with the Ciron, the Garonne tributary so important to the story of Sauternes, lying a couple of kilometres to the west. Neighbouring estates include Château de Rayne-Vigneau, Château Lafaurie Peyraguey and Clos Haut-Peyraguey to the west, Château Suduiraut to the north, Château Guiraud to the south, and Château Rieussec to the east. The vineyard runs across three extensive gravel croupes at elevations ranging from 30 to 75 metres above sea level, the steepest slope directly in front of the château facing north toward the Garonne. The gravelly topsoil, rich in pale, cream and yellow-hued pebbles, sits over calcareous clay, with a seam of blue clay at a depth of six metres. Because several fresh-water springs rise in the vineyard, natural drainage is poor despite the gravel, and the estate maintains a drainage system extending over 100 kilometres, originally installed in the 19th century by Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces. The average declared yield across vintages is 8 hectolitres per hectare; in the successful 2011 vintage, for example, the vine carried roughly double that, at 16 hl/ha, before around half the crop was rejected in selection, leaving the declared 8 hl/ha that was actually fermented.

• Located in the commune of Sauternes; the Ciron lies a couple of kilometres west, with Rayne-Vigneau, Lafaurie Peyraguey, Suduiraut, Guiraud and Rieussec among the surrounding châteaux
• Vineyard spread across three gravel croupes at 30 to 75 metres elevation; gravelly topsoil over calcareous clay, with blue clay at six metres depth
• Drainage system extending over 100 kilometres, originally installed in the 19th century by Romain-Bertrand de Lur-Saluces
• Average declared yield of 8 hl/ha; the 2011 vintage carried roughly 16 hl/ha before selection rejected about half the crop

The harvest at Château d'Yquem is brought in by roughly 200 pickers, most of them seasonal workers supplementing the permanent staff, organised into four teams each led by a leader and an assistant working the vineyard section by section. As is customary in Sauternes the fruit is picked across multiple tries, or selective passes; while four to six tries is typical elsewhere, in some vintages at Château d'Yquem the number has run as high as eleven. Selection happens in three stages: pickers actively select fruit as they work, a further pass is made when it is deposited into the collecting hod, and a third selection is carried out at the chai, where cellar staff taste the fruit; each parcel and tri is handled separately once in the cellar. Élevage has shortened over time: the 2022 vintage was aged 24 months in exclusively new oak barrels, a step back from the 36 months or more that had previously been the norm at the estate. In vintages judged unworthy of the château's name, the entire harvest is declassified rather than released as Château d'Yquem; this has happened ten times since 1900, most recently in 2012, the first such declassification since 1992. Two of the ten were 1972 and 1974, during a difficult stretch early in Alexandre de Lur-Saluces's tenure, which began in 1968 on the death of his uncle Bertrand.

• Roughly 200 pickers, mostly seasonal, in four teams; grapes picked across multiple tries, as many as eleven in some vintages versus four to six typical elsewhere
• Threefold selection: in the vineyard, at the collecting hod, and by taste at the chai; each parcel and tri vinified separately
• 2022 vintage aged 24 months in exclusively new oak, down from the 36 months or more previously standard at the estate
• Entire harvest declassified rather than released as Yquem ten times since 1900, including 1972, 1974, 1992 and 2012

Sandrine Garbay served as the estate's maître de chai from 1994 until 2022, when she departed for Château Guiraud; Toni El Khawand, born in Lebanon, worked alongside her during 2020 and 2021 before stepping into the cellar master role himself in 2022, the same year that produced Yquem's first certified organic vintage. Lorenzo Pasquini has been the estate's manager since 2020. The 2022 Château d'Yquem is a blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, with a residual sugar of 160 g/L, the highest since the 1945 vintage, a sulphite level of 234 mg/L, and 14% declared alcohol. The 2023 vintage, by contrast, blends 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, picked 14 September to 11 October, with 14% abv, a pH of 3.85, total acidity of 5.63 g/L and 153 g/L residual sugar. The estate's own site frames 2021, 2022 and 2023 together as a 'trilogy,' following two earlier such runs in Yquem's history: 1948-1949-1950 and 1988-1989-1990. Pierre Lurton has described the estate's approach to risk by pointing to 1967: 'I believe that the idea of risk, which is essential here, involves pushing standards as high as possible. As such, 1967 was the year when the château took a great many risks and made a truly iconic vintage.'

• Sandrine Garbay: maître de chai 1994-2022, then to Château Guiraud. Toni El Khawand: cellar master since 2022, the estate's first certified organic vintage. Lorenzo Pasquini: estate manager since 2020
• 2022 vintage: 80% Sémillon / 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 160 g/L residual sugar (highest since 1945), 234 mg/L sulphites, 14% abv
• 2023 vintage: 70% Sémillon / 30% Sauvignon Blanc, harvested 14 September-11 October, 14% abv, pH 3.85, 153 g/L residual sugar
• Yquem's own site names 2021-2022-2023 a 'trilogy,' after earlier runs in 1948-1949-1950 and 1988-1989-1990

Gastronome Curnonsky ranked Château d'Yquem among the top five white wines of France, alongside Montrachet in Burgundy, Château-Chalon in the Jura, Château Grillet in the Rhône Valley, and Clos de la Coulée de Serrant in the Loire's Savennières. American ambassador Thomas Jefferson ordered several hundred bottles of the 1784 vintage for himself and secured some of the 1787 for George Washington. The wine has also drawn literary tribute from Alexandre Dumas, Marcel Proust and Jules Verne. In July 2011, a bottle of the 1811 vintage was sold at a private auction at the Ritz in London for a Guinness World Record price of $117,000, then the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold; the buyer was French wine collector and sommelier Christian Vanneque, who told the Wall Street Journal he had no plans to resell it: 'I'm not a fancy collector. I'm not rich. I work very hard... I'm a sommelier. Wine is for drinking.' The bottle's authenticity was verified through inspections by the Antique Wine Company and at Château d'Yquem itself before sale. The previous record for the most expensive bottle of any wine sold had been set in 2006, by a $100,000 bottle of 1787 Château d'Yquem.

• Curnonsky ranked Yquem among France's top five white wines, alongside Montrachet, Château-Chalon, Château Grillet and Clos de la Coulée de Serrant
• Thomas Jefferson ordered several hundred bottles of the 1784 vintage and secured 1787 for George Washington; later celebrated by Dumas, Proust and Jules Verne
• July 2011: a bottle of the 1811 vintage sold at the Ritz, London for a then-record $117,000, the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold
• The previous overall wine-bottle price record had also been an Yquem: a $100,000 sale of 1787 Château d'Yquem in 2006

Reviewing the young 2022 vintage, critic Chris Kissack of Winedoctor described an Yquem 'bursting with youthful but exotic aromatic complexity, with notes of quince, mango and white rose, with an undercurrent of dried citrus zest,' with a palate of 'honey mango, confit clementine and quince' lifted by good acidity despite the vintage's prodigious sugar concentration; he scored the wine 98/100 and called it 'the top Bordeaux white, dry or sweet, in the 2022 vintage.' Among recent vintages, Kissack names 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2007 as particular favourites, with 2001, 1997, 1990 and 1988 as standouts carrying additional bottle age.

• 2022 vintage tasting notes (Chris Kissack, Winedoctor): quince, mango, white rose and dried citrus zest on the nose; honey mango, confit clementine and quince on the palate; scored 98/100
• Kissack's favoured recent vintages: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007
• Older standout vintages cited by the same critic: 2001, 1997, 1990 and 1988

Primary: yquem.fr (official estate site, fetched 2026-09-09) and 2023.yquem.fr (estate's 2023 vintage microsite, fetched 2026-09-09). Secondary: thewinedoctor.com (Chris Kissack's eight-page Yquem profile plus a 2022 vintage review, fetched 2026-09-09), lvmh.com (owner's own Maisons page for Château d'Yquem, fetched 2026-09-09), gcc-1855.fr (Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855, fetched 2026-09-09), winespectator.com (Unfiltered column on the 1811 bottle sale, fetched 2026-09-09), and thewinecellarinsider.com (Jeff Leve on the 2012 declassification, fetched 2026-09-09). Last verified 2026-09-09.