Wine Advisor
d'Yquem 1962
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Fine Wine Experience 1962 Bordeaux horizontal. Moderate Clear lucid gold with green tints. The nose is very elegant and well defined, touches of wet wool, honey, wood resin and barley sugar (a la Barsac). I wish it had more vigour and complexity, for it is rather overwhelmed by the Coutet and the Suduiraut. The palate is far better than the nose with a lovely creamy, harmonious texture with perfect acidity and balance. Citrus peel, fresh ginger, dried apricot, ginger and orange sorbet with noticeable residual sugar on the finish. This is probably an underrated Yquem given market prices, but the modest nose means I must temper my appraisal. Drink now- Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This is an excellent, even outstanding Yquem, but I must admit to being less impressed with it than others who have ecstatically called it one of the greatest Yquems produced. It is rich and honeyed, with a spicy, oaky, tropical fruit aroma, rich butterscotch, toasted fruit, and caramel flavors, and an astringent, dry, slightly coarse finish that, for me, keeps it from getting higher marks. Anticipated maturity: Now-2025. Last tasted, 11/82.
Reviewed by: Yohan Castaing
One of the most fantastic mature wines I’ve ever encountered from this iconic estate in Sauternes, the 1962 d'Yquem displays a sensual, racy bouquet with aromas of saffron, quince, spices, candied orange, white truffles and perfectly ripe orchard fruits, followed by a medium to full-bodied, supple and sensual palate, bright acids and a fleshy core of fruit that assert themselves gently on the finish. This multidimensional Yquem, less unctuous and thicker than the mighty 1967, deserves the ultimate score and represents the essence of this great terroir.
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)1947(1)1955(1)
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