Le Pan Apicius Display Cellar - Yquem Collection
On my last 2 posts (
here and
here), I was telling you about the Display Cellar of the French Restaurant
Le Pan Apicius (
Goldin Group) and the fact that it includes old and rare vintages of Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Latour, Lafite, Mouton, Haut-Brion, and other glorious wines....
...but more importantly, it includes one of the most unique collections of Chateau d'Yquem in the world outside the Chateau, dating back from 1825 to present with at least one bottle of each vintage produced in between (except between 1825 and 1856)..
Please note that Chateau d'Yquem did not produce vintage 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992 and 2012.. and therefore you will not find them on these pictures below. If you happen to find one bottle of one these unproduced vintages in the market, it is a fake... do not buy it (dugh)...
For those of you who will notice the date on the cork of the bottle of 1865 at the bottom of this post and may wonder about the pristine condition of the labels, the bottles of this collection were reconditioned (relabeled, recorked and even refilled (for some)) some in 1992 (and some in 2005 I believe).
The Yquem Collection on display in the cellar represent 143 bottles in total, including136 bottles of a unique vintage from 1825 to 2007 (the collection was bought in Auction a few years ago and also includes magnum size of some of these vintages, which have not been put on display, but that are kept sacredly in one of our other cellars).
It is quite spectacular and amazing (I must say) to be able to see so many old and rare vintages in one place, more especially on display in a restaurant's wine cellar covering the entire wall of the corridor leading to the main dining room.
To reassure some of you who may scream of horror seeing all of these lights on such treasurable gems, I just switched them ON for the pictures only. They are normally kept switched off (except some small ones in the background with no direct light on the bottles), and it is my job to make sure that they are kept switched OFF for the bottles to rest in the most ideal environment and conditions (temperature/humidity) to age slowly and properly, and be protected at all time against aggressive lights (even if LED)....
Trust me, it was already very difficult for me to accept that these Old and Rare Ladies could be put in such display cellar in the first place (as it is far from ideal to preserve them due to many factors eventually affecting them). However, I had to resign myself to accept the unacceptable as it was a request from my chairman....
In any case, such display cellar is quite unique for a restaurant and visually it is definitely a treat for the eyes of all wine lovers...
Well... I think that visuals are stronger and louder than words, so, here are some pictures of both the Display Cellar and the Yquem Collection for your wondering eyes....
NB: The pictures are unfortunately a little blurry due to the reverberation of the restaurant external lights in the window and the cellar internal yellow lights.. I tried to fix them a little but that is the best I could do... in any case, it gives a good idea of the Yquem Collection
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| Le Pan Restaurant Display Cellar © LeDomduVin |
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| Le Pan Restaurant Display Cellar © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1825 to 1870 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1874 to 1890 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1891 to 1901 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1902 to 1913 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1914 to 1925 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1926 to 1937 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1938 to 1948 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1949 to 1962 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1963 to 1970 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1971 to 1979 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1980 to 1990 © LeDomduVin |
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| Yquem Collection 1990 to 2000 © LeDomduVin |
As Wine Quality Control Director for the company and Sommelier of my Chairman, I'm the gate and stock keeper of this sanctuary, this Ali Baba cavern full of Liquid Gold. Therefore, I often visit the cellar and inspect these old and rare ladies to make sure they are aging gracefully and peacefully in ideal conditions and without getting harmed by external factors (i.e. light, dust, lack or excess of humidity, unideal temperature variations, etc...) and do not present damage due to these factors (i.e. seepage, leakage, change of color, label, capsule and/or cork degradation).
Here are two bottles that I inspected, 1865 and 1825, corked and reconditioned in 1992, for you to have a closer look....
Beautiful, aren't they?
More posts and pictures like those coming soon, so stay tuned...
NB: I didn't write anything about
Chateau d'Yquem or even
Pierre Lurton (that I had the chance to meet, eat with and chat with many times over the last 20 years in diverse occasions and countries) as countless articles and books have been written on the subject, and they already have a great website and other's prose tells the story and history of the Chateau like I probably never could...
Santé!
LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noël
#yquem #yquemcollection #bordeaux #sauternes #lepandisplaycellar #lepanrestaurant #hongkong #ledomduvin
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