2021 Chateau d'Yquem

As the only Sauternes property classified as Premier Cru Superieur, drinking a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem is an experience unlike any other. Situated in the epicentre of prime sweet wine production in France, their unique position and wealth of soil profiles allows d'Yquem to produce wines of enormous complexity with consistent accumulation of botrytis often in years when others struggle.

It was a nervous start to the 2021 vintage, with frost, hail, and mildew confronting the team in Spring. Thankfully Chateau d'Yquem was spared the worst of these impacts, largely due to their favourable geography. Two rainy spells arrived in mid-September and early October leading to generous botrytis accumulation. A three-week window followed with fine weather marked by cool, dry and sunny conditions which slowly concentrated the grapes. Harvest was completed with three successive passes of picking between 30 September and 30 October. 2021 is seen as an incredibly pure vintage, highly aromatic and seductive in these early stages of development.