Change of management at Château d’Yquem - Pierre Lurton hands over to Lorenzo Pasquini

s part of the ongoing transformation of the venerable Château d’Yquem – the 1855-classified Premier Grand Cru Classé Supérieur – Lorenzo Pasquini is due to take over management of the Sauternes property this summer. As operations director since autumn 2020, with the estate transitioning to organic in 2022, the 36-year-old Pasquini succeeds Pierre Lurton (68) who has overseen management of Yquem since 2004. After the property was taken over by LVMH and the late Alexandre de Lur Saluces left, Lurton become its CEO. A well-known Bordeaux personality, Lurton will be staying on as chairman and continue to handle “external representation and strategic direction” of the estate, as per a press statement. The release also stresses that Lurton “hired and trained” Pasquini, recruiting him in 2015, initially for the Argentinean estate Cheval des Andes, of which Lurton is also chairman.

Château d’Yquem has witnessed significant technical changes in recent years, primarily its conversion over to organic but also greater focus on cover crops, carbon footprint and staff. It has also been repositioned from a marketing perspective, by supporting March releases of vintages harvested three years previously at more stable prices to encourage consumption of younger wines. “Our vision is to ensure that Yquem continues to be Yquem, no more, no less. Protecting does not mean casting things in stone but rather looking at the past with respect and humility and keeping a critical eye so that you can define what should be kept and what should change”, summed up Pasquini in 2023. The LVMH press statement confirms that “this appointment is designed to create a seamless transition in the strategy that has given Château d’Yquem a new lease of life over the past few years”.