(TEL) How Château D'Yquem's Prized Wines Became a Surprise A

[AKR]

How Château D'Yquem's Prized Wines Became a Surprise Anti-ageing beauty Secret
2020-12-12 07:04:18.460 GMT


By Katya Foreman

(Telegraph) -- Pierre Lurton knows a thing or two about the subtle art of
ageing. As managing director of Bordeaux's fabled Château d'Yquem winery, he
oversees a vineyard that produces wine from grapes left to mature on the vine
(long after other wineries have harvested their crops) and develop an ash-grey
mould.

Led by the elements, Lurton and technical director Francis Mayeur then choose
the precise moment to harvest the grapes - individually, by hand. The
semi-rotten flesh thus produces an amber liquid so renowned for its complex
sweetness that bottles regularly fetch upwards of £300, rising to tens of
thousands for certain vintages.

Between the vines (75 per cent sémillon and 25 per cent sauvignon blanc), the
microclimate, the vineyard's unique position at the intersection of four
clay-based terroirs (composed of a yellowish clay soil, and clay mixed with
feldspathic sand, gravel and Astéries limestone) and the people working the
land, a rare alchemy is achieved, further heightened by the beauty of the
estate.

A 17th-century manor house sits atop a hill with 360-degree views over its
rolling vineyards and the surrounding countryside. "In this special place,
nature transforms a raw material that is not very pretty to look at into a
marvellous golden juice," says Lurton, surveying the manicured lines of vines
on a chilly October evening. "It's a bit like the philosopher's stone..." But
the magic is not just in the glass.

From such earthy expertise comes a surprising segue into state-of-the-art
skincare. LVMH, the French luxury-goods empire that owns both Château d'Yquem
and Christian Dior, created an ultra-premium treatment line for skincare
connoisseurs in 2007 by bridging the two houses.

The result, Dior's L'Or de Vie, is so eye-wateringly expensive it could cause
one to splutter into the Château's legendary sauternes. Yet it also puts an
opulent spin on zero-waste: the science behind L'Or de Vie is entirely derived
from by-products from Château d'Yquem wine production.

A winery founded in 1593 is, it turns out, the perfect Petri dish for beauty
boffins seeking the holy grail of cosmetic science. The incredible resilience
of the estate's vines caught the attention of the R&D team at Parfums
Christian Dior as they investigated ways to boost the skin's ability to defend
itself from pollution, UV rays, stress and visible signs of ageing. They
zeroed in on the Yquem vines' resistance to a microscopic fungus, Botrytis
cinerea , that proliferates in the morning mists that drift up from the nearby
Ciron river.

Known as 'noble rot', this 'beneficial mould' causes the vine's fruit to
shrivel and dehydrate, increasing the concentration of sugar to produce
purplish-brown candied grapes, which drive the intensity of aromas and
complexity of flavours specific to the estate's prized wines. "The botrytis
sublimates the material," explains Lurton. "It's one of the miracles of nature
that the vine, while under attack from a parasite, manages to produce
something marvellous."

Dior scientists tapped into this defence mechanism when blending the most
recent iteration of La Crème L'Or de Vie (£400, dior.com ; available from 1
December). At the heart of the new formulation is a souped-up dose of Yquem
sap, which contains the vital ingredients necessary for the vine to flourish
after the harsh winter months. Dior scientists discovered that, on the skin,
it acts as a powerful antioxidant and boosts cell longevity and resilience.

The sap is taken directly from vine shoots harvested in springtime, when
they're at peak concentration. The shoots are left to dry and mature in
bundles for six months (to obtain 'maximum molecular richness') before being
collected by a partner lab and ground into a powder, from which the sap's
essential ingredients are extracted.

A sugar polymer called beta-glucan, produced by a special strain of the
botrytis fungus, also has 'extremely interesting' properties for the skin in
terms of soothing, wound repair and antioxidants, adds Edouard Mauvais-Jarvis,
Dior's international scientific communications director, who affectionately
refers to botrytis as "a magic mushroom".

Composed of 88 per cent natural-origin ingredients, the 2019 vintage of La
Cure anti-ageing serum - Dior's skincare equivalent of haute couture -
combines the highest concentration of Yquem active ingredients in the L'Or de
Vie line. These include vine-shoot wax to lock in moisture, and extracts of
Yquem Marc (the pulp left after pressing grapes) said to diminish all
mechanical (wrinkles, sagging) and visible (complexion, loss of radiance)
signs of ageing, while improving skin tone and plumpness.

Over the course of treatment, collagen in the dermis (just below the skin
surface) reportedly increases by 87 per cent, while the epidermis (the outer,
visible layer of skin) becomes 29 per cent thicker. "Just as fertile soil
yields robust plants, this renewed skin fertility bears the seeds of youthful
appearance," says Mauvais-Jarvis.

Age, according to Dior, is mainly a state of mind - even at a cellular level.
"We are programmed to age, but the only difference between a young cell and an
old cell is the old cell is convinced it is old. It has all the potential of a
young one," insists Mauvais-Jarvis.

"We have proven we are able to inhabit part of the NF-B protein complex that
tells cells to behave like old cells. We remove that brake and push the
throttle on other actions." That includes the enhancement by 90 per cent of an
enzyme called PMSR, which "deoxidises oxidised proteins that are one of the
key points of cellular senescence [deterioration] to restore their youthful
capacities".

In keeping with the exclusivity of Château d'Yquem, only 2,000 La Cure box
sets will be released - at £1,900 apiece. Lavishly presented in three
wax-stamped golden vials, the serum is housed in a numbered case crafted in
the Dior ateliers. Designed to be used daily for three months, it's said to
provide up to six months of benefits. The set additionally comes with two
teardrop-shaped massage balls for preparing and stimulating the skin before
and after application of the emulsion.

For Mauvais-Jarvis, developing L'Or de Vie's complex formulations is an
artistic process - "using technical skills to deliver active ingredients to
the skin in a way that creates an emotion" - akin to the winemaker's craft.
"It's the same type of process. The cellar master will taste 50 or 60
different wines from different plots, assembling everything to obtain the
right sensations and complexity," he explains. "Both are about the art of
mastering an ideal balance." And, crucially, creating a vintage that only
improves with age. 

[JCNorthway]

One word - fascinating.

[DavidG]

Pierre Lurton knows a thing or two about the subtle art of ageing.

I’d venture that Lurton knows a lot more about marketing than aging.

[stefan]

I am glad to have an excuse to buy Yquem.

[dstgolf]

What a crock of shit!!

[Nicklasss]

You now all know why I look so young.

It seems that if you treat 1928 Chateau Calon Segur with L'Or de Vie, It will smell and taste like a 2016!

Nic

[Winona Chief]

In recognition of this article, we drank some 1995 Yquem tonight - didn’t understand what they were talking about so did the only thing I knew to do with Yquem.

Chris Bublitz

[DavidG]

What a crock of shit!!

LOL - my initial response was going to be "One word - bullshit!" but I toned it down.