Château d'Yquem - Manuscript Tasting Notes - 1878-1978 -
Dennis J. Foley, Comte Lur-Saluces
1983 - , Beverly Wiltshire Hotel -
A beautifully bound, fine and extra-ordinary original hand-written record of one of the greatest wines of the world, containing the tasting notes of the spectacular vertical tasting of sixty-five vintages of Chateau d'Yquem over two days, hosted by the Comte at the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel between April 30th and May 1st 1983.
Signed by Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces, longtime owner of Yquem and descendant of the family owning the vineyards since the late mid-eighteenth century, who conducted the tasting, the great wine connoisseur Dennis Foley, who wrote these notes, and three other attendees.
The vintages: - 1858, 1861, 1869, 1871, 1874, 1892-3, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1913-14, 1916-21, 1923-29, 1933-40, 1943-71 (no vintage declared in 1950-51), 1972, 1975-1978. This line-up included all of the great vintages produced from 1893 to 1978; a line up all the more extraordinary given that no vintage was declared in 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951 ,1952, 1964, 1972 and 1974.
Most notes include a comment attributed to the Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces (1934 -2023) . Signed by five attendees including the Comte, Foley, Ed Lazarus and Geoffrey Troy.
"Chateau d'Yquem, the greatest wine of Sauternes and according to the famous 1855 classification, of the entire Bordeaux region. It is sweet, golden, and apparently almost immortal." ¹ Perhaps one of the most expensive wines in the world, one of the greatest wines ever produced and certainly the greatest white wine every produced, Chateau d'Yquem is painstakingly made from small quantities of botrytis affected semillion and sauvignon-blanc grapes, meticulously harvested and then vinified before being aged for close to 30 months.
The Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces was the descendant of the family who had owned the vineyards since the late mid-eighteenth century although the chateau is much older, and the vineyards much older again. The Comte was a viticulturist and the manager of the Chateau for 36 years from 1968 - 2004. It is now majority owned by the LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton.
The author, Dennis Foley (1938-2012) was an internationally recognised gourmand and wine connoisseur from San Francisco. He had a wide-ranging career in rare wine and food as an authority, writer, consultant, judge, appraiser, auctioneer, educator, and chef. For many years he was the rare wine expert at Christies in the USA and for several other auction houses. He was a member of the Society of Bacchus, the Wayward Tendrils and the Bohemian Club amongst many other gastronomic groups. He wrote many articles for the Underground Wine Journal and the Wayward Tendrils. His papers are archived with the Smithsonian. The other attendees, Lazarus and Troy were his life long friends and colleagues in wine and food, sharing many of his passions and commitments.
Reference: ¹ Robinson, Jancis & Ors. The Oxford Companion to Wine: 5th Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023, p.851.
Thin octavo (binding size 21.3x14.3cm), pp. [69] [9]. Bound by Max J Adjarian of Malibu, a master renaissance binder who for some years worked as a restorer for the French Bibliothèque National, in full blue pebble grain morocco,upper board stamped with the Chateau d’Yquem label, and lettered in gilt, speckled red edges, matching blue marbled endpapers. Condition: Fine in find binding. Ref: 112441 Price: HK$ 60,000
Signed by Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces, longtime owner of Yquem and descendant of the family owning the vineyards since the late mid-eighteenth century, who conducted the tasting, the great wine connoisseur Dennis Foley, who wrote these notes, and three other attendees.
The vintages: - 1858, 1861, 1869, 1871, 1874, 1892-3, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1913-14, 1916-21, 1923-29, 1933-40, 1943-71 (no vintage declared in 1950-51), 1972, 1975-1978. This line-up included all of the great vintages produced from 1893 to 1978; a line up all the more extraordinary given that no vintage was declared in 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951 ,1952, 1964, 1972 and 1974.
Most notes include a comment attributed to the Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces (1934 -2023) . Signed by five attendees including the Comte, Foley, Ed Lazarus and Geoffrey Troy.
"Chateau d'Yquem, the greatest wine of Sauternes and according to the famous 1855 classification, of the entire Bordeaux region. It is sweet, golden, and apparently almost immortal." ¹ Perhaps one of the most expensive wines in the world, one of the greatest wines ever produced and certainly the greatest white wine every produced, Chateau d'Yquem is painstakingly made from small quantities of botrytis affected semillion and sauvignon-blanc grapes, meticulously harvested and then vinified before being aged for close to 30 months.
The Comte Alexandre de Lur Saluces was the descendant of the family who had owned the vineyards since the late mid-eighteenth century although the chateau is much older, and the vineyards much older again. The Comte was a viticulturist and the manager of the Chateau for 36 years from 1968 - 2004. It is now majority owned by the LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton.
The author, Dennis Foley (1938-2012) was an internationally recognised gourmand and wine connoisseur from San Francisco. He had a wide-ranging career in rare wine and food as an authority, writer, consultant, judge, appraiser, auctioneer, educator, and chef. For many years he was the rare wine expert at Christies in the USA and for several other auction houses. He was a member of the Society of Bacchus, the Wayward Tendrils and the Bohemian Club amongst many other gastronomic groups. He wrote many articles for the Underground Wine Journal and the Wayward Tendrils. His papers are archived with the Smithsonian. The other attendees, Lazarus and Troy were his life long friends and colleagues in wine and food, sharing many of his passions and commitments.
Reference: ¹ Robinson, Jancis & Ors. The Oxford Companion to Wine: 5th Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023, p.851.
Thin octavo (binding size 21.3x14.3cm), pp. [69] [9]. Bound by Max J Adjarian of Malibu, a master renaissance binder who for some years worked as a restorer for the French Bibliothèque National, in full blue pebble grain morocco,upper board stamped with the Chateau d’Yquem label, and lettered in gilt, speckled red edges, matching blue marbled endpapers. Condition: Fine in find binding. Ref: 112441 Price: HK$ 60,000