Description
Find this 1956 wine price – Château d’Yquem 1956 – at Arden Fine Wines in London.
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A short history of Chateau d’Yquem
Château d’Yquem in Sauternes stands out as the only wine classified as Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 classification.
Château d’Yquem almost had English origins.
During the Middle Ages, the King of England, who was also Duke of Aquitaine at the time, owned the estate.
In 1453, Charles VII regained southwest France under the dominion of the French crown and has kept it French ever since.
A century and a half later, in 1593, Jacques Sauvage, a descendant of a local noble family, received feudal tenure over Yquem.
The Gironde department archives, as well as those of the château, indicate that special winegrowing practices and late harvesting already existed at this time.
Furthermore, the château has hosted a vineyard since at least 1711, when Léon de Sauvage d’Yquem fully owned the estate.
Subsequently, in 1785, Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem married Count Louis-Amédée de Lur-Saluces, and the estate passed to the Lur-Saluces family.
Notably, their descendants managed the property for over 200 years.
In fact, by the eighteenth century, people already recognized its wine as renowned.
After centuries of family ownership, Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy purchased d’Yquem in 2000.
Then, in 2004, Pierre Lurton, MD at Château Cheval Blanc (another LVMH property), assumed control.
On average, only 65,000 bottles are produced each year at Château d’Yquem Sauternes.
Moreover, the yield never exceeds 900 litres per hectare, compared to the usual 2,000 to 3,000 litres in Sauternes.
Interestingly, the legend states that just one glass of wine comes from each vine.
1956 wine price – Château d’Yquem 1956
After the coldest winter of the century, the cold weather continued, despite periods of fine weather in May and September.
Summer was also fairly rainy.
So, this naturally turned out to be a late-ripening year.
The harvest began on the 8th of October and finished on the 21st of November.
The grapes did not reach 20° potential alcohol until the 15th of October, and were mostly picked in two passes, followed by less plentiful ones around the 1st of November.
An extremely fresh, elegant Yquem that is fairly representative of quality in the 1950s.
You can find this 1956 wine price at Arden Fine Wines in London.
