Deemed the world's greatest white wine, Château d'Yquem is located on a small hill in Sauternes and benefits from an exceptional micro-climate and terroir. Joséphine d’Yquem de Lur-Saluces, owner in the 19th century, left her mark on the property's history. She started selling the wine in bottles and oversaw labeling, choosing the calligraphy and layout that we still see today. The vineyard encompasses no fewer than 150 plots of different soil, and is pampered throughout the year, with each individual vine undergoing an average of 50 different treatments per year. The selection process at Château d'Yquem is particularly stringent, with a local saying holding that a single vine makes a single glass of wine. Harvesting involves a minimum of four different passes (seven passes took place in 1997!) in order to ensure the grapes harvested have reached perfect maturity and have been affected by noble rot. Time is taken with every step of the vinification and ageing processes. The wine spends up to 20 months ageing in new barrels.
The estate also produces a dry white called Y d'Yquem from grapes that are free from noble rot. In some years, the entire harvest is de-classified (there was no wine produced in 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992 and 2012). Since 2022, the property has held organic certification (AB/ Eurofeuille).