By Raymond Chan
A more appropriate
occasion to celebrate Chris Staynes’ 60th birthday could not be
imagined. As one of Dunedin’s keenest
wine enthusiasts, Chris has had a fascination – no, an obsession would be more
correct, with Chateau d’Yquem, the foremost Sauternes and indeed the world’s
greatest sweet wine, for over a quarter of a century. During that time, he has amassed an enviable
collection of vintages of this great wine, but in remarkable acts of
generosity, Chris has never flinched at opening any of them, sharing the
precious bottles with all wine lovers around him. His 40th birthday was centred
around a vertical tasting of 21 vintages, shared with nearly three dozen of his
good friends. For his 50th,
35 bottlings reaching back to 1921 were broached. For his significant 60th birthday,
34 vintages of Chateau d’Yquem were tasted, the wines spanning six decades of
course, from 1946 to 2006. The bottles
for this birthday celebration were tasted in a more formal structured tasting,
as well as several, in large-bottle format, being matched to food courses at a
special degustation dinner, and then again, the wines were made available for
re-tasting at a Champagne-based brunch.
Chris Staynes
and his wife Cheryl are extremely loyal people.
The tastings and events they have conducted with one of the world’s very
greatest wines would match any other such event in the world, and indeed could have
been successfully held in any major city around the world; but they have
remained faithful to their upbringing, lives and friends. The birthday celebrations have always been
conducted in their home city of Dunedin,
and the guests invited always include their oldest and strongest friends, many
of them influential people in the wine world.
For Chris’s party, the vertical tasting was held at the venerable
Dunedin Club, with the degustation dinner at TECHnique, the Otago Polytechnic
training restaurant with Mark Lane,
the chef. The Champagne
brunch was at the Staynes’ home, making it truly personal.
I was privileged
to be able participate, joining Chris and Cheryl in this wonderful and unique
birthday celebration, and have recorded notes on the Chateau d’Yquem wines
opened for the structured vertical tasting and the degustation dinner. They follow some introductory comments on the
Chateau d’Yquem property and its wines.
Chateau d’Yquem
Chateau
d’Yquem is the greatest Sauternes, its physical location, history and quality
of its wines from near five centuries setting it above the other
properties. As such, it is also the
world’s greatest sweet wine, no other wine, property or region rivalling
it. The Lur-Saluces family have been the
heart of Chateau d’Yquem and its wine in modern times, Sauternes as we know it
first made in 1847, when the Marquis Bertrand de Lur-Saluces was delayed in his
return from visiting Russia, resulting in botrytis infection of the fruit
before the order for picking was given.
Of course, these ‘rotten’ grapes made such delicious wines that
pourriture noble became the prized feature of the wine style. Bertrand’s nephew Alexandre continued the
perfectionist running of d’Yquem for more than 35 years and in fact increased
the repute of the wine before the property was acquired by luxury goods
conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy in 2004, installing Pierre Lurton to
manage it. By all accounts, the quality
of the wines is as good as ever.
Chateau
d’Yquem and its vineyards command the heart and highest point of the Sauternes
region, overlooking Fargues to the east, the rest of Sauternes to the south,
Bommes to the west and Preignac to the north, Barsac further this direction
too. The estate measures 188 hectares,
of which 113 is under vines and only 100 hectares actually in full
production. It is planted to 80%
Semillon and 20% Sauvignon, on complex soils, a mixture of gravel with sand,
silt and clay. A programme of replanting
around 3 hectares annually is in place for vines that reach 40-45 years of age,
when they are pulled out. Severe pruning
and selection of the fruit results in yields of an average of 7 hL/ha, which is
equivalent to one glass of wine per vine.
The philosophy at d’Yquem is one of tradition and quality at any
cost. Grape pickers are trained to pick
only the berries suitable for the wine and the harvest may require over a dozen
passages over the vines to gather the fruit at perfection. The property is usually the last to commence
harvest and the last to finish. The
grapes are crushed in three small, upright wooden presses, with three pressings
employed, this producing increasingly botrytis-affected juice. Fermentation is in new oak barrels and occurs
slowly, with no malolactic conversion.
The resultant wine varies between 12.5 – 14.5% alc, with 13.5% alc and
125 g/L rs the ideal. The wine undergoes 36-42 months maturation in barrel. As well as the selection process in vineyard,
vinification and elevage, vintage variation can define the quantity of d’Yquem
made and released. Often, less than 25%
of a potential crop will be declared as d’Yquem. Occasionally and thankfully irregularly,
there are years when there is no d’Yquem released at all, such as in 1951,
1952, 1964, 1972, 1974 and 1992. Since
then, we have been blessed with more consistency.
Tasting and
drinking Chateau d’Yquem is a highlight in one’s lifetime experiences. The wine is clearly superior to any other
Sauternes wine, as any tasting alongside the wine from another property will
demonstrate. The wine has an indefinable
balance and class that ensures it is more complete and harmonious than even the
great Rieslings of Germany, which are poised on acidity and low alcohol, and
the individual wines of Tokay which incorporate the taste of oxidation. No other sweet wine from anywhere in the
world can match it in complexity and longevity with such consistency. d’Yquem is a wine of incredible richness,
depth, power and interest, from the fully ripened fruit, complexing botrytis
and extreme oak maturation. It rests on
its concentration from the botrytised fruit, considerable sweetness and
relatively high alcohol, which affords the wine its balance. It is never overdone, over-ripe or cloying,
and always possesses cut, freshness and elegance. While the componentry is powerful and
extreme, the fine textures, harmony and integration provide an unparalleled
‘fit’ that makes any d’Yquem accessible and drinkable in youth. It is not a difficult or demanding wine to
drink in that respect. The wine develops
amazingly complex flavours and decadence with bottle age, and its longevity is
a feature. The wine, from a fine vintage,
will keep a century if stored properly and deliver wonderful pleasure and
satisfaction throughout all its life.
Chateau d’Yquem is truly a hedonistic and decadent wine.
The Tasting
The tasting
was conducted from 10.30 am to 3.0
The Products...
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