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Château d’Yquem 2022

I probably don’t feature Sauternes as my Weekend Wine choice as frequently as I should. If the style were to be featured on a pro rata basis, one weekend wine report for every château or vintage tucked away in my cellar (mostly half bottles, so there are a lot in there) I certainly think I would be featuring it much more regularly than I do. As it is, I have tended to restrict myself to the more intriguing or older (well, old-ish) bottles, such as the 1988 Lamothe-Guignard, 1989 Coutet and 1996 Climens, all recently appeared on these pages.

This week’s choice certainly ticks the ‘Sauternes’ box, but I admit it is somewhat wide of the ‘old vintage’ box, given that I have spent much of the weekend nursing a glass (or two) of the most recently released vintage from Château d’Yquem.

Château d’Yquem’s history is extensive, intricate and already well documented within my (recently updated) profile of this estate, which is spread over eight pages of this site. The profile covers everything, from the estate’s genesis, through to the modern era, when control of the estate was wrested from Alexandre de Lur-Saluces by Bernard Arnault of LVMH. That was back in 1999, and the estate has now been an LVMH asset, run on their behalf during this era by Pierre Lurton, for more than two decades.

So, with a glass of the 2022 vintage in hand, it makes sense to focus on the here and now, starting with recent events at the estate, which are considerable; Yquem is a venerable old name in Bordeaux, but any assumption that this is not an active, busy, growing and developing domaine would be wide of the mark. This is not an estate which rests on its laurels, as Lurton and team clearly have their eyes set on the future, of both Yquem and of Sauternes in general.

Château d'Yquem 2022

Perhaps the most unexpected change in recent years has been the departure of Sandrine Garbay, maître de chai here since she stepped up from a junior role to take on this responsibility in 1994. Looking back over many years of visits to the estate, it was always Sandrine who would welcome me, and she wore her successes – great vintages such as 1997, 2001 and 2009 – very lightly. In 2022, however, she departed to take up a new post at Guiraud.

Stepping into the role of cellar master is Lebanese-born Toni El Khawand. He took up this post in 2022, having first worked alongside Sandrine during 2020 and 2021, and so – credit where credit is due, please – this is his wine, one which also happens to hail from the estate’s first certified organic vintage. Contemporaneously, Yquem also has a new estate manager, Lorenzo Pasquini, who assumed this responsibility in 2020. He and Toni work hand-in-hand on all aspects of the estate, including winemaking but also on the Lighthouse project, a relatively new concept designed to make Yquem available for drinking with savoury dishes in some of the world’s top restaurants.

I have only just published my thoughts on 2022 Sauternes last week, so hopefully this review of the young 2022 Yquem will complement that earlier report. The story of the vintage naturally follows what I have already written; a hot and dry summer season brought the fruit to ripeness very early, by the end of August in reality, but ongoing dry conditions in September precluded the development of botrytis. It was only after the rains of October 16th, followed by drying winds, that the botrytis arrived and the concentration began. In the hot conditions the concentration was very fast, and the picking at Yquem – and across the entire region – accelerated. It was largely done within the week, producing a vintage which started with sporadic pickings of small volumse, but which finished with a huge, high-quality, third tri which formed the backbone of the vintage.

A blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2022 Château d’Yquem is one of the most concentrated examples of Yquem in many decades, with a prodigious 160 g/l residual sugar, the highest since the renowned 1945 vintage (which had just 4 g/l more). Also notable is the modest (for a sweet wine, anyway) concentration of sulphites, which comes in at 234 mg/l (or 23.4 g/hl if you’re a winemaker and those are your preferred units). The élevage was 24 months in exclusively new oak barrels, a step back from the 36 months (or more) that used to be the norm here. In the glass the wine displays a luscious orange-gold hue which feels typical of the vintage, an appearance mirrored by many of the other wines of this vintage recently tasted. Having a bottle at home – sent to me on behalf of estate manager Lorenzo Pasquini – means I could nurse a glass as long as I desired, and given appropriate time to open up it becomes apparent that this is an Yquem bursting with youthful but exotic aromatic complexity, with notes of quince, mango and white rose, with an undercurrent of dried citrus zest. Despite the warmth of the vintage and the prodigious concentration of sugar there is evident balance on the palate, which is lifted aloft by good acidity, supporting flavours of honey mango, confit clementine and quince. It finishes with a sense not of muscle or weight, but of lithe precision, the finish more keenly drawn than many of its peers in this vintage. This is a great Yquem, and most certainly the top Bordeaux white – dry or sweet – in the 2022 vintage. The alcohol declared on the (back) label is 14%. 98/100 (24/3/25)

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