OP: Yquem (signed)

David R. Godine, 1986. Hardcover. Very Good Minus. First printing, signed.

American-born Richard Olney (1927–1999) was one of the most important figures in the great post-war American rediscovery of French food. Moving to France in 1950, Olney, a painter and a writer, settled at first in Paris and then in Provence, where he lived out the rest of his life. He loved good wine and good food and devoted himself passionately to discovering the secrets of both. 

A champion of humble, ingredient-driven paysanne cuisine in his first two books French Menu Cookbook (1970) and Simple French Food (1974), Olney also wrote about two of the most prestigious French wines, Romanée Conti and Yquem. 

Yquem (1985) is Olney’s third book and details the four centuries of history and production behind a wine so magnificent that a new classification was created to denote its excellence, premier cru supérieur. With notable collectors like Thomas Jefferson and Nicholas II of Russia, Yquem’s reputation is firmly established as a highly collectable and valued wine.

Handsomely produced with color photography on sturdy paper stock, Yquem is an elegant and engaging work on the storied château. We offer here a 1986 first English printing in Very Good Minus condition. It is signed by both Richard Olney and Alexandre de Lur Saluces, a descendant of the wine’s founding families and manager of Château Yquem from 1968–2004. 

This copy was acquired from the liquidated library of the French Culinary Institute and bears the markings of a former library book: sticker to the spine and rear, stamps, file card folder, and torn endpapers where the taped mylar was removed. The tape also stained the cloth case but has been removed. A treat for serious wine collectors and drinkers.