However, there was one distinct difference.Think about it.
In the official classification of 1855, Château d’Yquem was the only domaine classified as “Premier Cru Superieur”.The wine is capable to last at least 40 years, but the top vintages can be laid down in your cellar for 100 years or more. © Copyright 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. When looking back at the 1855 Classification, many of the chateau merit their coveted status. From 2004, they produce “Y” every year. Served from an ex-chateau bottle. Château d’Yquem was the only wine in the Sauternes/Barsac area to receive a First Growth distinction in the original and still highly influential 1855 Bordeaux classification. Château d’Yquem probably produces the most reknown sweet wine in … The estate has a vineyard since at least 1711, when it was a property of Léon Sauvage d’Yquem. But Chateau d’Yquem remains at the top, without equal. There are over performers like Chateau Pontet Canet, that should a new classification ever take place, clearly deserve an upgrade. The legendary vintages of Château d’Yquem are: 1811 (the famous “comet year”), 1825, 1847, 1865, 1870, 1893, 1921, 1937, 1947, 1959, 1967, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2009 and 2015, but actually all vintages produced are a pleasure to drink….The vineyard is situated in Sauternes (Bordeaux) and covers 126 Ha, although not all the land is used to produce wine. Chateau D'Yquem. Within each category of the 1855 Sauternes Classification, the chateaux were ranked in order of quality and more importantly, selling price.If you like a page in The Wine Cellar Insider, please link to it! By its special ranking, that was correctly noted in the official Sauternes Classification of 1855.The more things change, the more they stay the same. Site design by Chris Schendel.That was the key component for the criteria and standard used for the 1855 classification of the red Bordeaux wines. Sauternes is the world’s only important wine region where one single wine is considered without peer. Even among the First Growths, people do not agree which estate makes the best wine. Clearly some of the Classified Sauternes and Barsac wines have fallen from favor.
Because of the severe selection and the high standards used by the Château, no Yquem was produced in 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992 and 2012.
But Chateau d’Yquem remains at the top, without equal.The Sauternes and Barsac estates included in the 1855 Sauternes Classification was intended to reflect the market’s view of the relative quality between the wines in terms of the selling price and reputation of the various châteaux. All material on this web site, including but not limited to written articles, tasting notes and photographs are the exclusive property of Jeff Leve and may not be copied, used, or reprinted without written notice and must be properly accredited with links to the appropriate page where the material was first published in The Wine Cellar Insider without exception to Jeff Leve/The Wine Cellar Insider. The region has been famous for many centuries for its sweet white wines, now considered dessert wines, and Château d’Yquem has always been the undisputed king of Sauternes. Because the yield is extremely low (8 Hl/Ha), it takes one vine to produce only one glass of Yquem. It is universally agreed that the finest wine comes from Chateau d’Yquem. But even among the wine makers and chateau owners that produce Sauternes, there is no argument.While the red Bordeaux wines were classified at five different levels, in the official 1855 Sauternes Classification, Sauternes and Barsac were given only two categories, Premiers Crus and Deuxiemes Crus, along with Premier Cru Supérieur, a special ranking reserved for Chateau d’Yquem.In fact, at least in my view, a large percentage of the region’s classification status would merit changes in their status. That being said, the odds of a new classification taking place to update or change the official, 1855 Sauternes Classification are about as likely as the appellation shifting to the production of red wine!
Many famous people in the past loved this sweet wine, particularly Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, but also the Tsars of Imperial Russia.Château d’Yquem also produces a dry white wine (since 1959) called “Y” (Ygrec) from Sauvignon Blanc (predominantly) and Semillon as well. I feel completely vindicated in this view as I batted away the 1967 Yquem when tasted at the chateau and entranced its audience. I have always stood by the 1971 Chateau d'Yquem as being one of the most seriously underrated vintages of that decade.