D’Yquem 1956

After the coldest winter of the century, the cold weather continued, despite periods of fine weather in May and September. Summer was also fairly rainy. So, this naturally turned out to be a late-ripening year. The harvest began on the 8th of October and finished on the 21st of November. The grapes did not reach 20° potential alcohol until the 15th of October, and were mostly picked in two passes, followed by less plentiful ones around the 1st of November. An extremely fresh, elegant Yquem that is fairly representative of quality in the 1950s.

In this lesser ’56 vintage, Yquem produced a wine which, while it may be light on the nose and quite yellow in color, delivers wonderful harmony. Not much botrytized dried fruit, but it’s honeyed and a pleasure to drink