History
Château d'Yquem was almost English. In the Middle Ages, the estate belonged to the King of England, who was also Duke of Aquitaine at the time.
In 1453, Charles VII brought south-west France back under the French crown, and it has remained French ever since. A century and a half later, in 1593, Jacques Sauvage, a descendant of a local noble family, was granted feudal tenure of Yquem. The archives of the Gironde department and the château show that special viticultural and late-harvest practices already existedthe château show that special viticultural and late-harvest practices already existed. A few years later, the Sauvage family built the château and patiently began to assemble today's vineyard, plot by plot. The family became owners of Yquem in 1711, during the reign of Louis XIV (by which time they had been granted noble status).
In 1785, Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d'Yquem married Count Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces. Three years later, in 1788, the count died after a riding accident. His young widow became head of the family and ran the estate with extraordinary skill. Famous connoisseurs of the day, such as Thomas Jefferson, already prized the wine. A firm opponent of the excesses of the French Revolution, and imprisoned twice, Françoise Joséphine kept the family property and made Yquem prosper. In 1826 she built a new cellar with her steward, Garos, a bold move at the time, turning the estate into a real business and building its international reputation. It was during her time at the head of Yquem that the method of picking in several successive passes was perfected.
