Château d’Yquem 2004
Blanc liquoreux, Sauternes-Barsac, 2004
Commenté par Denis Dubourdieu, Château Doisy-Daëne
Dîner-dégustation de l’Académie pendant la semaine des Primeurs
It is a great honour and a privilege to comment on this bottle of Yquem 2004, but it is also a great pleasure because 2004 was the first year I had the opportunity to work on this estate with my friend Pierre Lurton.
It is a very good memory. It was extremely challenging for us to achieve this bottle and I hope that you enjoy it.
I am the last speaker, so I must be brief.
Yquem is not an estate that can be presented, as everybody knows. It is a legend and there is a lot of literature about it. I can talk about our Yquem with Pierre. I particularly like the very old Sauternes, like the 34. You may have the opportunity to taste this one. It could be extremely young, but with the youth of somebody old, which is not the same as the youth of somebody young. It has freshness with an edge, which is wonderful.
I remember 2004 very well. It was not easy because it was a late vintage, with some problems during the summer, including hail storms. In the middle of September, there was some water, so it was not easy, but at the end, maybe in five or six passes between 10th September and the first few days of November, we succeeded in combining this freshness and this richness together with the highest purity that we could hope for. I have no words to explain any more. Enjoy it. Thank you.
