Château d'Yquem

The roots of Château d’Yquem date back to the late 16th century. In 1593, Jacques de Sauvage took over the estate as a fiefdom, and in 1711, the property finally became family-owned.

With the marriage of Françoise-Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem and Louis-Amédée de Lur-Saluces in 1785, the long era of the Lur-Saluces family began, which would shape d’Yquem's profile for more than two centuries.

After her husband's early death, Françoise-Joséphine took over responsibility for the winery and developed d’Yquem into one of the best wines of Sauternes. In the 19th century, Château d’Yquem rose to become the absolute icon of sweet wines. In 1855, in the famous Bordeaux classification year, d’Yquem was the only winery in Sauternes to be elevated to Premier Cru Supérieur – a special category above all other Premier Crus.

This period is considered the "golden age" of the winery: nobles, presidents, and merchants throughout Europe and the USA valued d’Yquem as a benchmark for sweet wine. Vintages like 1811 or later 1921 and 1937 significantly contribute to the myth, and individual bottles still fetch record prices at auctions today.

Despite wars, economic crises, and declining demand for sweet wine, d’Yquem remains constant. The uncompromising selection for quality, even to the point of foregoing production in bad years, continues to shape the global perception of the wine to this day.

The 1990s marked a new chapter: luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton - Moët Hennessy) gradually acquired a majority stake in Château d'Yquem; since the late 1990s, the estate has been majority-owned by the group.

Since 2004, Pierre Lurton – also General Manager of Château Cheval Blanc – has been responsible for the operational management.

Since our founding, our passion for Yquem has remained unbroken. We set out with the goal of building one of Germany's largest Yquem cellars.

For us at Collectors Wine World, the history of Château d’Yquem is more than just an anecdote – it is the benchmark against which we guide our approach to these wines. We offer Yquem vintages with a seamless, verified provenance directly from the winery. Our cellar conditions are consistently geared towards long-term maturation – ideal for a wine that can easily last many decades. With our focus on Bordeaux and Sauternes, we provide targeted advice on which vintages historically and stylistically match your preferences and collecting goals.

At Collectors Wine World, we thus combine the long tradition of Château d’Yquem with the highest level of professionalism, modern storage technology, and expert advice – so that every bottle of this legendary Sauternes can unfold its full potential.