Château d'Yquem, Half Bottle Vertical Case 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017 (In Wooden Box Direct From Chateau)

Château d'Yquem has a very long life span: twenty, fifty, a hundred years, or more… As with all great wines, Yquem is transfigured over time, developing a host of deliciously subtle aromas and flavours. Its colour changes over the years from the brightness of dawn to the darkness of dusk, and from shimmering straw yellow to golden-brown with amber and caramel highlights, and then to mahogany.

This Case Contains A 375ml Bottle Of The 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017 Vintages From Château d'Yquem

Château d'Yquem 2006
The 2006 harvest was both challenging and exciting. The picking techniques at Yquem were decisive in harvesting ripe, botrytised grapes at the right time, in the right place, without wasting energy on less worthwhile plots. 2006 illustrates the benefit of varied terroirs and the importance of knowing them perfectly in order to make the most of the different soils and grape varieties under unusual weather conditions.

Château d'Yquem 2009
2009 is a vintage that benefited from extraordinarily favourable conditions for 6 months in a row. However, this vintage will also be long-remembered because botrytis was all-pervasive due to 34 mm of rainfall on the 19th of September followed by 3 weeks of warm, dry weather. In short, this was a dream vintage where the only challenge was avoiding excessive sweetness in the grapes.
Fortunately, the capacity of the wine presses, coupled with the professionalism and responsiveness of the château team, enabled the estate to cope very well with the situation, and 2009 can undoubtedly be considered a great Yquem, a combination of perfect ripeness... and splendid Botrytis cinerea.
With the rhythm of 1989, the opulence of 1990, the intensity (reflecting the harvest) of 2003, the concentration of 2001 and a taste reminiscent of 1893, Château d'Yquem 2009 is a new masterpiece.

Château d'Yquem 2010
2010 was a generous year in Sauternes. The fine, cool weather during the vintage meant that the full potential of a particularly favourable growing season could be realised.
However, making the most of such an abundant vintage called for being willing and able to make subtle distinctions between plots to single out grapes from the best ones to make the best possible final blend.
A rigorous selection among the various lots produced a blend with a brilliance and stature fully in keeping with expectations for the superb 2010 vintage.

Château d'Yquem 2013
After the magnificent summer of 2013, the good luck continued throughout the harvest, offering noble rot the best possible conditions for achieving the crop’s full potential.
In the end, if a good vintage is a question of chance, then 2013 is unquestionably a very good year, and the wine has the concentrated botrytis characteristics and rich, candied fruit flavours typical of Yquem.

Château d'Yquem 2014
The long harvest, over a nine-week period, captured all the diversity of a growing season where flowering and veraison were also spread out. This year, the early start specific to Yquem, with 25 % of the grapes harvested before 15 September, provided unusually fine acidity.
This gives an attractive edge to a blend that reflects this vintage's full complexity, combining a modern approach with freshness and concentration, in the same vein as 2011.

Château d'Yquem 2017
2017 was a year with total botrytis and tremendous concentration that called for very specific sorting techniques to stay within the parameters defined by Yquem. To summarise, 2017 is a very great success, worthy of the finest vintages ending in "7".