LeDomduVin: Sauternes by Château d'Yquem

Sauternes by Château d'Yquem

Have you ever seen this bottle before? 

Well, me neither, until tonight. It was given as a gift to someone who wanted me to verify its authenticity. 

As an ex-Wine Quality Control Director (for 9 years in my previous job), I accepted right away, both interested and bewildered by the sight of this strange-looking label. 

To be honest, “What is this? Is it made in China?” is the first thing that came to my mind. 

I had never seen such a bottle in my entire 31 years career in the wine industry. Moreover, it says "produced at Chateau d’Yquem". And, in all these years of buying, selling, tasting and serving both wines from Chateau d’Yquem, “Y” of Yquem and the eponymous Grand Vin of the Chateau, you will think that I would have come across this particular wine and label. But, no, never. 

What is this? A “Sauternes” made by Yquem? Is it a fake? Could it be a counterfeit? I had to look it up prior to sending an email to the Chateau to obtain some explanation. 

And, what I found out is very interesting (at least to me). 

It is not a fake, nor a counterfeit, actually. As Jeff Leve (@jeff_leve) wrote on his very helpful and insightful website "The Wine Cellar Insider": 

"While the estate strives to make vintages of Chateau d’Yquem every year, that is not always possible. Chateau d’Yquem ended up declassifying the entire harvest and did not make wine in the following vintages, 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992, and 2012.

So, what does Chateau d’Yquem do with the declassified wine? In the past, declassified grapes that were not used in the production of their dry, white wine “Y”, were sold off in bulk and used to produce a generic, Sauternes wine.

Today, declassified grapes are also used to produce a special blend of declassified d’Yquem that is only available to employees through internal sales at the property. The wine is not meant to be sold as a commercial product. The wine is classed as a generic AOC Sauternes wine.” - Jeff Leve (www.thewinecellarinsider.com)

Now we have the answer. Thank you, Jeff. 😊👍🍷

Dom

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LeDomduVin: Party on Tuesday

Party on Tuesday

And, why not? In fact, we should basically party every day as if it was the last, to make the best of it, right? 😁👍🥂

Well, that's what some people did last night, and I was pleased to be part of it as their Sommelier, firstly because they were extremely nice, and secondly, because they brought a great lineup of champagnes and wines not to be missed. 

Champagne Fleury Symphonie d'Europe Extra Brut 1992 

(disgorged December 2016) 

Unfortunately, it was gone, down the hill, smelled off, and was totally unbalanced and unharmonious. Too bad as I would have loved to love it.

Bereche et Fils Reflet d'Antan Brut 

(BA14 disgorged February 2019)

Really nice, fresh, enticing nose of brioche and toast mingling with minerals and yellow fruits, quite complex and long. Love it.

Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Cotes de Val Vilaine Blanc de Noirs Pinot noir 

(V17, disgorged April 2019) 

A classic in my book, zesty, fresh, crisp, yet generous and complex, rich without being heavy, sharp and precise, and a perfect introduction to Cedric Bouchard Champagnes if you do not know them. Love it.

Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1996 

For a Puligny Montrachet village of that age, this is an amazing and incredibly surprising wine. Rich, ample, complex, layered, incredibly balanced and harmonious, and nicely expanding from the mouthwatering attack to the highly satisfying lingering finish, with a strong potential to age even much longer. Man, what a wine!!! Love it!

Domaine Faiveley Mazis Chambertin 2010 

Great wine, but it needs time to open up and is still a bit shy, and in fact too young. Wait for it a bit.

Yquem 1975 

Absolutely gorgeous! Great balance between the fruit, the acidity, the sweetness, and the alcohol, nicely coating the palate, highly recommended and to revisit in 20 years.

What a great lineup, wouldn't you agree? And that's the reason why I love my job.  

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #wine #vin #vino #wein #champagne #burgundy #bordeaux #sauternes @champagne.fleury #champagnefleury @bereche_champagne_officiel #champagnebereche #champagnerosesdejeanne #rosesdejeanne #cedricbouchard #cedricbouchardrosesdejeanne @domaineleflaive #domaineleflaive @domainefaiveley #domainefaiveley @yquem #yquem #greatlineup

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LeDomduVin: Château d'Yquem 1900 close-up

Château d'Yquem 1900

Although I left my position as Wine Quality Control Director, nearly a year ago, after doing it for 9 years in my previous job, I still love doing wine inspections and checking out these old and rare ladies in every detail. 

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to do a brief inspection of a few bottles that were bought by the wine team of one of our outlets, which included some old and rare gems, like this Yquem 1900. 

It's not every day, that one gets to spend some time with a 122-year-old doyenne. Always a very humbling experience. 

Always a pleasure to scrutinize these ladies everywhere and even gently lift up their capsules to look at what's underneath. 😀 😄 (we're still talking about a bottle of wine, right? 😉)

This particular bottle showed great level and boasted a very hypnotic dark-blood-orange-gold colour. The capsule and label were in good condition and show no counterfeiting signs, even under the microscope and the blue light either. 

In my previous job, we had a "Yquem Gold Collection" boasting more than 150 vintages, from 1825 to recent years. 

Consequently, I'm very acquainted with this particular type of old bottle of Yquem, and most of them have been reconditioned at Château, back in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and it is normally indicated somewhere. 

Yet, despite an impeccable label and cork, this particular bottle did not show any sign, either on the cork or on a separate label, that it has been recorked or reconditioned in the last 40 years... strange, I definitely need to investigate further 🤔🤔🤔, I will ask the Château. 

Otherwise, that's a "Passed" for me! How about you? What do you think? Superb colour, isn't it? 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesphotosadom #inspection #wineinspection #winequalitycontrol #wine #vin #vino #wein @yquem #yquem #chateaudyquem #sauternes #bordeaux #oldandrareladies #oldandrarevintages #oldandrarebottles

Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2022 on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).