1955 Yquem
Description
This includes a private tour followed by a tasting of 3 different vintages at the Château for 6 people (to be used by the end of July 2028).
Buying options
Tasting notes
Deeper gold/amber-hued, the 1955 Château D'Yquem is ripe and concentrated, with plenty of honey, ripe stone fruits, caramelized orange, and toffee nuances. It's certainly fully mature yet has plenty of vibrancy, full-bodied richness, a ripe, unctuous mouthfeel, and a great finish. Surprisingly, there wasn't a huge amount of botrytis here, but this is a powerful, rich, fleshy Yquem that's fully mature.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 1955 Yquem is a vintage that I have not encountered for many years. It has a fully mature, complex, delineated bouquet of dried honey, fig syrup, Satsumas, pumpkin and a light adhesive scent that emerges with time. The palate is clean and fresh, slightly viscous in texture though not as rich as the 1959 (for example), with mandarin, quince, Clementine and flecks of toffee on the finish. This is an impressive Yquem that I suspect flies under the radar in the cognoscenti's minds, and should be consumed in the next 15 to 20 years. Tasted at the mature Bordeaux dinner at Arbor restaurant, Hong Kong.
Full bottle 1,353 g. No alcohol cited all these years ago. This was the colour of a particularly dark Oloroso sherry – a sort of glowing chestnut colour – and actually tasted rather like sweet chestnuts. Despite its looks, it was amazingly fresh and zesty with a savoury molasses edge. It finished drier than some other bottles of 1955 Yquem recalled by the donor, whose birthday we were celebrating. (He foreswore his birth year, 1946.)
Liquorice, molasses, fig, chocolate. Much like port, although much more tart. Definitely seems to lack sugar, as older Sauternes often do. (RH)
About the producer
The undisputed finest sweet wine in the world, Château d'Yquem is the only Premier Cru Supérieur estate in Sauternes, classified in 1855. With a long history stretching back to the Middle Ages, the château is entwined with that of the Lur-Saluces family – who remain involved today.