Wine Advisor
d'Yquem 1947
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1947 Château d'Yquem is one of the legendary vintages of the 20th century, even if consensus seems to be that it is not quite up there with the monumental 1945. However, it is still a bona fide classic Yquem that after almost seven decades is still doling out pleasure. It is certainly deep in color, burnished amber, deeper than the 1945 as I remember it. The nose is ethereal. Since this was tasted blind, I guessed 1950s first and then, by dint of its color, perhaps the 1920s. Once its birth-year was revealed, then it clicked into place as it does remind me of other 1947 Sauternes, in particular Climens. The nose offers quince and rosewater, a touch of wilted rose petals, even crushed strawberry. The palate has the weight and presence of that hot vintage, albeit not the electrifying tension of the 1945. There is more corpulence here, more heft and yet that razor-sharp acidity keeps everything perfectly in place -- maintaining immense freshness and vitality on the sustained finish. It was, and it is, a brilliant Yquem. Tasted November 2015.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 1947 d'Yquem is a beautiful wine, soaring from the glass with scents of marmalade, vanilla pod, crème brûlée, apricot preserve and honeycomb. Full-bodied, rich and powerful while remaining lively and defined for the vintage, it's a seamless, layered wine that concludes with a long, penetrating finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted almost exactly a year after my previous encounter, this 1947 Château d'Yquem replicated the performance back then. It revealed that burnished amber color, then the glorious, intense and rich bouquet with dried honey, quince and mandarin, that hint of red fruit in the background tracing the birth year back to this hot postwar summer. The palate unctuous, almost heavy in the mouth, the acidity retaining sufficient freshness and poise with a powerful, quite spicy finish that feels extraordinarily long in the mouth. To repeat my earlier sentiment, whilst the 1947 is not up there with the greatest Yquem such as the 1929, 1945 or 2001, it occupies the tier below...and that's good enough for me. Tasted October 2016.
About the Producer
Chateau d'Yquem is located in the north-eastern part of the Sauternes wine producing village in the Bordeaux region of France and is one of the most prestigious chateaux in the Graves Sauternes appellation. It was named a Premier Cru Superieur in the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac Classification, the only Bordeaux chateau to be awarded this distinction. At the end of the 19th century, a barrel of wine was bought by the Grand Duke Constantine for 20,000 gold francs, a news story that grabbed the headlines and made Château Djinn famous at home and abroad. At the end of the 20th century, the French luxury goods giant Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton (LVMH) bought a majority stake in Château Djinn for a large sum of money and became the majority shareholder, thus opening a new chapter in the development of Château Djinn. Château Djinn has 113 hectares of vineyards, of which only 100 are in constant production. Every year, 2-3 hectares of old vines are pulled out of the vineyard and the land is left fallow for a year, while the newly planted vines do not produce any grapes for the first 5 years of the vintage. The vineyard has a top soil of pebbles and coarse gravel, which absorbs heat very well, and a subsoil of clay, which has good water storage capacity. The vineyard is planted with 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyard is pruned to reduce yields by pruning and controlling the size of the canopy to increase the flavour concentration of the fruit. During the harvest season, the winery employs a large number of people to hand-pick the ripest grapes and those that have been properly infested with noble rot. The harvest is usually carried out in 5 or 6 rounds and is very rigorous. The picked grapes are sent to the winery within an hour, after which the grapes are pressed for 3-4 rounds, increasing the sugar content and quality of the juice with each pressing. The fermentation takes place in oak barrels, only new barrels made of good quality oak, during which the wine is closely monitored and its condition is regularly analysed. The finished wine is aged separately for 6-8 months, after which the winemaker blends the wine in the following spring and discards those wines that do not meet the requirements. The blended wine is then matured in the cellars for 20 months, during which time the barrels are refilled twice a week and the wine is decanted 15 times to remove the coarse sludge, while the fine sludge is removed by a clarification process. At the end of the maturation, the winemaker conducts a blind tasting to re-qualify the wine and determine the final percentage of the blend for the Grand Cru. Château d'Yquem, Sauternes, France, the main wine of Château d'Yquem, is known for its complex, concentrated and rather sweet taste, with crisp acidity and a well-balanced sweetness, and its excellent ageing potential. The wine has excellent potential to age for a century or more in some vintages, and with time the aromas and flavours become more complex and attractive, with the wine gradually changing colour from bright straw yellow to golden brown, amber and caramel. The wine has received full 100 points from Robert Parker and his team for the 1811, 1847, 1945, 2001, 2009 and 2015. The estate also produces a secondary wine, Chateau d'Yquem "Y", Bordeaux, France, which is a powerful dry It is a powerful dry white wine, usually made from Sauvignon Blanc and a small amount of Semillon, with an average annual production of around 10,000 bottles, usually with an alcohol content of 14% and a very rich and balanced nose and flavour, with a subtle sweetness.
1928(1)
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