CHÂTEAU YQUEM
2019 1er Cru Classé Sauternes
This wine has yet to be tasted by ourselves or critics, so we have no notes to provide.L&S (Aug 2021)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Superbly exotic, wonderfully complete and seemingly very smooth, pure and buoyant already, this is an immensely pleasing wine, and it is surprisingly floral and open. There is fabulous length here and yet the flavour and delivery are controlled, rolling deliberately across the palate slowly, steadily, metronomically. It is akin to a bracing Atlantic wave rising in the ocean, breaking, cascading and then gliding up a broad beach in slow motion, whereupon the fruit notes subside into your tastes buds as the water does into the sand, only to be repeated. There is a slightly exotic edge here, too, with lime blossom and hints of lemongrass, but the creaminess and florality underneath are familiar and welcoming. This is not a muscular wine but a soothing style, and it is also not overly closed or tense either. While there is an undercurrent of acidity which nips at the heels of the flavour, it serves to refresh the palate, and while I very much enjoyed sipping away at my glass today, there is undoubtedly a forty or fifty-year life ahead, if you have the patience. In terms of the colour, which is pale with discreet green tinges (which match the citrus theme on the nose and palate), Sandrine explained that this was a unique Yquem in terms of its blend. My tasting notes reflect this – I have never used some of these descriptors or mental images before. Surely Yquem is supposed to be more imposing, structured, orange-peel-imbued and oleaginous? Not in 2019. There is a huge percentage of Sauvignon in this vintage, as you will see above, and the previous highest portion in a bottle of Yquem was 30%, so this record has been obliterated in 2019. As one might expect, Sandrine elaborated that she and her team do the blending blind, and the finest balanced combination of these two grapes just happened to include 45% Sauvignon Blanc. Of course, if you re-read the vintage conditions, you will see that Sauvignon was employed to add freshness and acidity to blend to balance the peculiar depth of flavour found in the Semillon in 2019 – directly a result of the warm summer. It is strange to think that Sauvignon Blanc does some of the ‘heavy-lifting’ in 2019! She posited that where once noble rot affected the Sauvignon a little too early in the autumn, climate change has meant that it is riper when the noble rot joins forces with the bunches and it is a particularly serendipitous occurrence in 2019. It has meant that the wine might be lighter-framed and curiously weightless on the palate, it lacks nothing in intrigue, sheer pleasure and prodigious length. As an aside, 2020 is apparently a more predictable blend, with some parcels being affected by passerillage (this is a phenomenon where the grapes become air-dried and slightly shrivelled, and therefore more sugar-concentrated), as opposed to being noble rot affected. So in 2020, the blend is more classical and with passerillage bringing in the life-giving acidity instead of utilising a more significant percentage of Sauvignon Blanc. All of this information was fascinating, and it goes to show that every single vintage of this magnificent wine tells a different story. For the record, I think that 2019 is a particularly magical wine and, as you will see below, more people than ever are likely to have the opportunity to taste it. 19+/20 (Drink now and for a further four decades) Drinking range: 2022 - 2060 Rating: 19+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Feb 2022)
Château Yquem
Sauternes Premier Cru Supérieur 1855
A wine estate so special that it sits alone in it own category of the 1855 classification. Even before the widespread use and understanding of the role of "noble rot", the wines of Château d'Yquem were regarded as superior to the rest of Sauternes.
Jacques de Sauvage was given the feudal tenure of Château d'Yquem in 1593 (full ownership of the property had to wait until 1711). In 1785, Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d'Yquem married Comte Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces (those must have been impressively big wedding invitations!) and the Lur-Saluces family began their long association with Château d'Yquem. Françoise was widowed just three years later, but she took the reins at the great estate and guided it through the worst ravages of the French Revolution, and along the way entertained Thomas Jefferson who was so impressed that ordered a couple of hundred bottles of the 1784 vintage. The Lur-Saluces family were finally ousted, amid much acrimony, when LVMH managed to secure a majority shareholding in 1999, although Comte Alexandre continued at the helm until 2004, being replaced then by Pierre Lurton.
Previously Yquem was only released once bottled, but under Pierre Lurton it has joined the rest of Bordeaux in making wines available for purchase en primeur for a short while. Recent vintages are again being released when bottled.
There are 113ha of vineyard, although only around 100ha are in production at any one time. Every year, 2 or 3ha are grubbed up and allowed to lie fallow for a year before replanting; and the fruit of vines less than 5 years old is not used for the estate's wines. The vineyards are planted with 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The harvest at Château d'Yquem is long and laborious, with pickers working through the vineyards selecting only the best and most "rotten" grapes, leaving those not ready for another day. Typically, the pickers go thought the vineyards at least six times selecting grapes, often more often, and it's not unheard of for the harvest to run on until December. Yields are extremely low - around 9hl/ha compared with as much as 20hl/ha in the rest of Sauternes. The wine is fermented and aged (for three years) in oak which is 100% new.
The intensity and acidity of d'Yquem gives it legendary ageing ability - a wine two decades old would still be seen as young, wines at 50 years old are deemed more worthy of opening.
Since 1959, the Château has also made 'Y' or Ygrec, a very original, nearly dry wine which is released in very small volumes, (and not in every vintage).
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.