Château d’Yquem has unveiled the 2019 vintage of its iconic Sauternes wine. The announcement of the new vintage follows the postponement of its release last fall, which the brand followed with a new Lighthouse initiative.
When aged, Château d’Yquem’s famed wines are best drunk after 10 years, with seemingly no upper limit on the liquid’s ability to develop intensity and complexity. However, the estate is now also putting added emphasis on drinking the wine young, with its Lighthouse initiative encouraging consumers to try the wines when they’re newly released to market.
The Lighthouse program focuses on larger formats, such as jeroboams, to enable consumers to taste the new 2019 vintage by the glass, with key partnerships globally including Annabel’s, Portland Restaurant, and Berry Bros. & Rudd in London. There will also be a focus on smaller outfits, such as boutique wine bars in Paris, with the objective of enabling consumers to try the wines in a “more informal way.”
The Château d’Yquem 2019 vintage is a fragrant and vibrant release with a surprisingly high (45%) proportion of Sauvignon Blanc. “Sauvignon Blanc brings more acidity and freshness, so is helpful for balancing the opulence of the Sémillon,” says Yquem cellar master Sandrine Garbay.
The 2019 growing season was a challenging one, warm conditions alongside plenty of rain led to serious mildew pressure. There was good weather from flowering through most of the summer, before heavy rain in late September created the perfect conditions for a “massive infection” of noble rot. The harvest window was brief, with 120 pickers working intensively between October 7 and 14.
The 2019 vintage will be released on March 22nd, 2022.
For more information, head over to LVMH’s official website.
Last week, Veuve Clicquot–another LVMH wine brand–announced it is celebrating its 250th anniversary with an epic train travel experience that takes guests from France to Italy aboard the Orient Express.