At the time of the famous 1855 classification, Château d’Yquem was the only exceptional premier cru.
So when, following the death of his uncle the Marquis Bertrand de Lur Saluces in 1966, Alexandre took over the management of Yquem, he remembered La Rochefoucauld’s maxim that “a great name demeans those who do not know how to uphold it”, and did everything in his power to ensure that Yquem remained exceptional, and that the Lur Saluces name remained associated with it as it had been since the 1785 marriage of Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem to Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces.
We’re all familiar with the difficult vintages of its beginnings and the glory of the vintages of the 80s and 90s, the major investments such as the new barrel cellar, the constitution of a top-quality technical team and the loyalty of a troop of grape-pickers expert in successive selections.
I was lucky enough to share some of his many promotional trips, and to meet enthusiasts who had a real devotion to Yquem.
Unfortunately, the new-found prosperity turned against the man who had rebuilt it, prompting certain family members to sell the estate. This was heartbreaking for Alexandre, who had devoted 35 years of his life to Yquem. He reacted with a courage and dynamism that commands admiration.
At a time when Sauternes and Barsac wines were falling increasingly out of favor with sweet wines, he took over Château de Fargues, a fortress dating back to the time of Pope Clement V, Avignon’s first pope. Alexandre’s ancestors were to be found in Fargues from 1435, with Gaston de Foix, Isabeau de Montferrand, Pierre de Lur, Catherine Charlotte de Saluces and finally Honoré de Lur-Saluces in 1594.
Fargues may have had a glorious history, but the fortress was in ruins and the land devoted to agriculture rather than viticulture. In 18 years of hard work and with the help of his son Philippe Alexandre has turned Fargues into a superb estate producing an exemplary Sauternes wine.
The Académie Internationale du Vin won’t soon forget the warm welcome we received from Alexandre and Philippe during their trip to Bordeaux in June 2021. Our founding member showed us how much the AIV meant to him, how much he shared the concern for noble wine that he could not separate from the nobility of his family.
I am honoured to be able to pay tribute to this valued friend.
30 November 2023
