Clos Haut-Peyraguey

The château

The brokers of 1855 ranked one Peyraguey at Bommes, and it did not stay one for long. In 1879 the heirs of the comtesse Duchâtel sold the upper part, on the top of the hill next to Yquem, to Ernest Grillon, a Paris pharmacist, and the 2 estates have gone their own ways since. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, counted its clay, marl and pebbles among the best portions of the old first growth, and gave Grillon 15 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) in 1883; the Grillons held it for a generation. The Pauly family arrived in 1914 and stayed nearly 100 years, down to Martine Langlais-Pauly. Anthony Defives has run the estate since 2007 and carried it through the sale to Bernard Magrez in 2012. In 2007, too, the word Château came off the label: this is a clos, and the name makes the point.

About 8 hectares of the old walled vineyard around the cellar make the grand vin (the estate’s first wine), on land that rises to between 50 and 80 meters, and 4 of the 8 parcels border Yquem. The planting is 95% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon, and vines are replaced one at a time in the row rather than by pulling up whole parcels. The pickers go through the vines as many times as the year demands, and in a kind autumn that can be as few as 1 to 3 passes. Symphonie de Haut-Peyraguey, called Château Haut-Bommes until 2014, is the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Sauternes

Commune

Bommes

Classification

Premier Cru Classé 1855, as part of the single Peyraguey divided in 1879

Owner

Bernard Magrez, since 2012

Direction

Anthony Defives, since 2007

Vineyard

About 8 hectares of the old walled clos for the grand vin, at 50 to 80 meters; 4 of the 8 parcels border Château d’Yquem

Soil

Clay, marl and pebbles Terroir of Sauternes →

Grapes

Sémillon 95%, Sauvignon 5%

Wines

Clos Haut-Peyraguey; Symphonie de Haut-Peyraguey, named so since 2014

In history

15 tonneaux under Grillon in 1883