Grand Vin Château d’ Yquem 1989 Château d'Yquem

Der Grand Vin des Château Yquem ist ein Süßwein der Extraklasse. Gelesen werden nur Trauben, die vollständig mit Botrytis Cinerea (Edelfäule) bedeckt sind. Durch die strenge Selektion sind die Erträge sehr niedrig, sodass nur 1250 Flaschen pro Hektar produziert werden. Jährlich entstehen circa 100.000 Flaschen. Das Weingut zeichnet eine auffällig gleichbleibende, hohe Qualität und ein unverwechselbarer Geschmack aus. Reife, tropische Fruchtaromen im Vordergrund, dazu etwas Bitterorange und Pfirsich, sowie Zitrusfrucht und Akazienhonig, gefolgt von einem langanhaltenden, spektakulären Finale. Mit zunehmende Alter verändert sich der Geschmack zunehmend und es entstehen Aromen von gesalzenem Karamell und getoastetem Brioche. Die Weine des Weinguts erzielen hohe Preise und erfreuen sich einer enormen Langlebigkeit, die unter anderem mit dem Zuckergehalt zu erklären ist. Jahrgänge in denen das Château aufgrund mangelnder Eignung des Leseguts keinen Grand Vin hervorgebracht hat waren 1964, 1972, 1974 und 1992. Gerade in den letzten Dekaden produzierte das Weingut fast ausschließlich Spitzenweine.

Alcohol		13.5%
Vintage		1989
Volume		0.75l
Winery		Château d'Yquem
Rebsorte		Cuvée
Vineyard		Sauternes
City		Sauternes
Region		Bordeaux
Country		Frankreich
Stored		20.06.2022

475.00 € / Bottle

633.33 € / Liter

1 bottles available

The vineyard Sauternes

Location and Landscape

The Sauternes appellation lies around 40 kilometres south-east of Bordeaux in the Gironde department on the left bank of the Garonne. Its area comprises the communes of Barsac, Bommes, Fargues, Preignac and Sauternes. The Ciron runs through the appellation and forms a boundary between several communes before it flows into the Garonne.

Climate and Soils

The oceanic climate brings mild, humid winters and moderately warm summers, which favour the slow ripening of the white grapes. The humidity at night from the Ciron and Garonne, along with ventilation during the day, create conditions for botrytis cinerea and noble rot. The vineyards are located on gently undulating, gravelly elevations and terraces above tertiary limestone; the soils can be gravelly, clayey, silica-rich, calcareous or, in part, consist of ortstein.

Vines and Viticulture

Sauternes is a French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for still white wines. Muscadelle B, Sauvignon B, Sauvignon gris G and Sémillon B are permitted. The vines are normally planted with at least 6,500 plants per hectare. The overripe grapes, shaped by noble rot, are harvested by hand in several selective passes. The regulations require at least 221 grams of sugar per litre of must and a yield of 25 hectolitres per hectare.

Wine Style and Maturation

The wines contain fermentable residual sugar; botrytisation helps contribute to sugar concentration and the aromatic profile. Young wines show a golden colour as well as floral and fruity aromas. With ageing, they develop an amber-coloured appearance and notes of grilled flavours, candied fruit, citrus fruits and honey. Vinification and ageing must take place in a dedicated enclosed building, at least until 15 March of the year following the harvest.

About the winery

Location and soils

Château d’Yquem is located in Sauternes in the French wine region Bordeaux. The estate extends across a diverse mosaic of different soils in Sauternes. The warm, dry topsoils contain rounded gravel stones and coarse rubble, while clay-containing subsoils store water. Numerous springs and around 100 kilometres of drainage pipes shape the vineyard’s drainage.

Vineyards and harvest

The vineyard area comprises 113 hectares, of which in a vintage around 100 hectares produce grapes. Roughly 75 percent of the vines are Sémillon and 25 percent Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon is cut on spurs; with Sauvignon Blanc, around 90 percent is cut on spurs and 10 percent in the simple Guyot system. The estate uses organic fertiliser sparingly, forgoes chemical weed control, and regularly tills the soil and works the foliage by hand.

The Sauternes microclimate, linked to the Garonne Valley, can promote the development of Botrytis cinerea and the concentration of the grapes. The development responds to rainfall and drought: too much dryness can halt infection, too much rain can end concentration and increase the risk from the fungus. The botrytised grapes are picked in several passes at maximum concentration. Five or six passes over around six weeks are typical, and in some vintages more than ten. The average yield is about 9 hectolitres per hectare.

Wines and maturation

Château d’Yquem produces a sweet white wine from grapes concentrated by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. After the harvest, the grapes are taken to the cellar within around one hour, pressed three or four times, and fermented in new oak barrels. Selected lots mature after an initial separate maturation period of six to eight months for grapes picked on the same day, followed by around 20 months in barrel.

Y is an independent dry white wine from the same estate and vineyard. It usually consists mostly of Sauvignon Blanc and partly of Sémillon.

History

In 1593, Jacques Sauvage received the feudal fiefdom of Yquem; in 1711 the Sauvage family became the complete owners of the estate. Under Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem and her administrator Garos, a new wine cellar was created in 1826. In the Bordeaux classification of 1855, Château d’Yquem was ranked as the only Premier Cru Supérieur among the classified sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac. At the end of the 20th century, the estate was acquired by LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton.