Chateau d'Yquem

We are an amazing group of women. I look forward to this wine night every month. And this month was even more exciting than usual because Kelly graciously wanted to share her
Chateau d'Yquem with us!

I didn't totally comprehend why Chateau d'Yquem was so special until I arrived at wine night and was fully briefed. And then it all made sense.

I will not do this justice so please feel free to add/amend details or notes as you see fit.

Chateau d'Yquem
*The "greatest wine of Sauternes" according to the 1855 classification of the entire Bordeaux region. "Almost immortal". It is the only Sauternes winery classified as Premier Cru Supérieur (Superior First Growth).
*Made of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the grapes are pressed three times and transferred to oak barrels to mature over a period of three and a half years.
*Unlike other Sauternes, this is not sold until it is in the bottle.
*I loved this fact (copied from wikipedia): On average, only 65,000 bottles are produced each year. In a poor vintage, the entire crop is deemed unworthy of bearing the Château's name; this happened nine times in the 20th century (1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, and 1992).

Brief historical highlights
--Yquem once belonged to Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, the property being just part of her extensive holdings. It was brought under the dominion of the French crown in 1137 by her marriage to Prince Louis Capet, soon to be King Louis VII of France. This marriage lasted fifteen years, ending with an annulment by Pope Eugène III on the grounds of adultery. This left Eleanor free to marry Henri Plantagenet, who became King Henry II of England in 1154. And so Chateau d'Yquem was, until the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453, a most royal and British estate.
-- Thomas Jefferson - a well known lover of French wines - ordered several hundred bottles of the 1784, as well as securing some 1787 for George Washington.

Tasting Notes on Chateau d'Yquem 2003
Alcohol nose, burns a bit - 11-14% alcohol (most dessert wines are 8-9%).
Smells: vanilla, honey, raisin.
Beautiful, clean finish. No cloying viscosity. Silky mouth feel.
Once the alcohol blows off it smells herbal.
Defining characteristic - smoothness. Not sugary. Beautiful bouquet, clean. Other Sauternes are more gritty, not as a elegant.
"This is a smooth circle".

We then discussed and tasted Inniskillin (I'll create a new post because there is a lot of information) but kept coming back to the d'Yquem and experiencing more and more layers.
It changed with each sip -- especially as it warmed up. It morphed from a typical dessert wine to a full, layered, complex wine with mineral, vegetal qualities.

Thank you for the once in a lifetime experience!

Inniskillin

We tasted this wine the same night as the Chateau d'Yquem but we learned so much about ice wine that I thought it deserved a post of its own.

Let's talk about ice wine!
Brief history: ice wine is a dessert wine that originated during the Roman times but was forgotten. It was rediscovered in the late 1700's and produced in Austria and Germany.

In the 1980's Karl Kaiser created the winery Inniskillin and started making ice wine in Canada. His first crop in 1983 was eaten by birds but in 1984, Kaiser used nets to protect Inniskillin's grapes and was able to produce the winery's first ice wine. By 1989 his ice wine using vidal grapes won the Grand Prix d'Honneur at Vinexpo.

Ice wine must follow strict guidelines:
*grapes are left on the vine to freeze - which means they're ripe and have been on the vine for months past the regular harvest.
*grapes must reach hard freeze (17° F or colder) for three consecutive days.
*grapes must be harvested while frozen - which means harvesting in the middle of the frozen winter night.
*cannot be refrozen once they are off the vine - so must be pressed immediately. Squeezing frozen grapes yields about 1/25th a regular harvest (another reason for the expensive price).

And now to the tasting!





Inniskillin 2006 Vidal
The aromatics hit you in the face. 9% alcohol. Nose: lychee , rust, honey, smells really sweet. Tastes: acidity, mandarin oranges. Makes you want more.

Inniskillin 2006 Riesling
Acidic and sweet at the same time. Ideal example of a Riesling. Smooth and round, coats the mouth. Perfectly balanced.

Inniskillin 2004 Oak Aged Vidal
Only available at the winery. The oak adds vanilla and caramel. It's a little effervescent, it dances on the palate. Light on the tongue, forward mouth feel. Complex. Leaves you wanting more.

Thank you, Kebra for bringing the wine and for the education. It was such a rare treat!