Legend bottled: Château d’Yquem 1967

By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine Chronicles 

13 October 2025

Over a recent dinner with wine pals in Strasbourg, we enjoyed older vintages, some better than others. Château Mouton Rothschild 1986 was stupendous, and I loved Château Ducru Beaucaillou 1986, happily sans TCA: From 1986 to the early 1990s, the estate had some TCA problems, so we were lucky. Two wines stood out as over-performers: Château Haut Marbuzet 1975 and Château Rieussec 1980. And the fascinating label of the Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1945 vintage, a bottle that had seen its better days, but was remarkably alive for its 80 years of age, included the incorrect appellation of Saint Julien!

For tasting notes on these and other bottles: go here.

But what about a truly special bottle? A gem that more than meets expectations while fulfilling all “great wine” criteria? In terms of point scores, a 100 out of 100? The meal ended with just that: Château d’Yquem 1967, which I last tasted back at the estate in Bordeaux in 2005.

Château d’Yquem reigns above Sauternes, both literally and figuratively. Its vineyards crown the highest point of the appellation, ideally positioned near the Ciron River, whose autumn mists rise at dawn, enveloping the vines before dispersing under the late-morning sun. This fog and warmth interplay nurtures Botrytis cinerea, the “noble rot” that penetrates grape skins through their stomata, gently shriveling the berries, concentrating sugars and acids: transforming ordinary juice into an elixir of amazing depth.

And this natural phenomenon occurs nowhere more consistently than at Yquem. The estate’s slopes, exposure, and drainage combine to produce fruit of astonishing purity and complexity. It is no coincidence that all of Sauternes’ finest estates — eleven first growths and twelve seconds — cluster around Yquem, the only Premier Cru Supérieur, a title that enshrines its unique micro climate and precision of harvest.

About 1967

The 1967 vintage was not easy. While July and August were hot and dry, most of September proved cold and damp, spreading rot – with the ensuing October harvest plagued by intermittent rain. For reds, only top wines succeeded, with most others now forgotten. But as can happen in vintages, what was difficult for reds was better for whites — and vice versa. The wet September promoted botrytis weather, noble rot for Sauternes. But it was not good for all Sauternes either, because selection in the harvest proved essential, as the wet period also led to damaging black rot.  The harvest at Yquem lasted from 29 September to 7 November, the repeated “passes” or “tries”— meticulous hand-picking of individual grapes at peak concentration — yielded extraordinary balance between richness and freshness.

Tasting notes for the Yquem 1967 in 2025 

The host of our dinner, Jean Haudy, had interned at Château d’Yquem in the 1980s when staff said that the 1967 was vintage “of the century” material. The wines when young, it was said, conveyed layers of ripe apricot, saffron, honey, and candied orange peel, yet sustained by a spine of vibrant acidity that has carried them effortlessly through the decades and to our dinner in 2025, 58 years later.

How is the wine today? I could tell just from the aromas that it was special. Not just the complexity of cinnamon, crème brûlée, toffee, orange marmalade and dry apricot, but also from the aromatic texture: I could sense a power in the aromatic profile that came through on the palate. So much structure, it felt like red wine tannin. But then the delectable combination of botrytis-derived spice, tertiary and primary fruit flavors, including spicy pineapple, dry herb and beeswax, led to a palate enveloping sensation and long finish. Complex yet youthfully powerful, for a wine nearly 60 years old. One could almost say that the wine is still a baby, if not a mid-30s adult: not bad for a wine nearly 60.

When I last tasted the 1967, some 20 years ago, the wine fetched up to $2,000 a bottle. These days, the price is closer to double that amount. Even in an era when Sauternes is out of fashion – as mentioned in my article for Wine Review Online – Yquem maintains strong demand.

The estate’s large size makes it possible to plant 113 hectares of vines on a very representative sampling of the rich tapestry of the Sauternes region’s soil types. This extraordinary variety of soils is another key factor in the quality and complexity of Château d’Yquem. Indeed, two to three hectares of vines that are too old are uprooted annually, and the soil left fallow for a year. Furthermore, it takes at least five years before new vines produce grapes that are up to Yquem’s very strict standards. Twelve hectares of vines are thus non-productive every year. Yquem is planted with two grape varieties: Sémillon (75%), which produces a rich wine with body and structure, and Sauvignon Blanc (25%), an early-ripening but less reliable producer, which contributes aromas and finesse.

The fact that all of Sauternes’ great growths (eleven first growths and twelve seconds) are located around Château d’Yquem – the only Premier Cru Supérieur – tends to bear out Yquem’s ideal location. The magic phenomenon of botrytisation is nevertheless fragile and subject to numerous meteorological factors.

In posting notes about this wine on the popular wine forum Wine Berserkers, several forum members agreed with Yquem 1967’s legendary status. Indeed, one posted a reply, as follows: “I’ve had the ‘67 Yquem twice and it defied scoring. Magnificent, each bottle unique and soul-stirring. Among my top all time as well.” Indeed, 100 points doesn’t quite do the wine justice.