Clos Haut-Peyraguey

Clos Haut-Peyraguey traces its winegrowing back to a first harvest in 1618. The name Peyraguey means hill or promontory. The property is a former barony acquired in the 18th century by Monsieur de Pichard, then president of the Parlement de Bordeaux, and Monsieur Lafaurie bought the estate at the time of the Revolution. At the 1855 classification the estate was called Château Peyraguey. In 1879 it was split in two: one part was named Lafaurie-Peyraguey in honour of Monsieur Lafaurie, the former owner who had made its name, and the highest land at the top of the Bommes hill was named Clos Haut-Peyraguey. The Garbay-Pauly family owned Clos Haut-Peyraguey from 1914. Martine Langlais-Pauly was the proprietor until the estate was sold in late 2012 to Bernard Magrez, who had just failed to add Château Romer to his portfolio. Magrez told Wine Spectator in October 2012 that “our high-end Asian clients wanted a Sauternes grand cru classé or a premier grand cru classé.”

• 1618: first harvest.
• 18th century: the barony was acquired by Monsieur de Pichard, president of the Parlement de Bordeaux; Monsieur Lafaurie bought the estate at the Revolution.
• 1855: classified Premier Grand Cru Classé under the name Château Peyraguey.
• 1879: the estate was split into Lafaurie-Peyraguey and Clos Haut-Peyraguey.
• 1914: the Garbay-Pauly family became owners.
• 2012: Bernard Magrez acquired the estate from the Pauly family at the end of the year.

Bernard Magrez has owned Clos Haut-Peyraguey since 2012. Born in Bordeaux in 1936, he founded the company William Pitters, dedicated to whisky and port among other products, and later created the Bordeaux wine brand Malesan. His classified growths are Château Pape Clément in the Graves, acquired in the 1980s, Château Fombrauge in Saint-Émilion (1999), Château La Tour Carnet in the Haut-Médoc (2000) and Clos Haut-Peyraguey (2012). Bernard Magrez directs the wine group he built. Before the sale, Martine Langlais-Pauly was the estate’s owner-manager.

• Owner (since 2012): Bernard Magrez.
• Sister classified growths: Château Pape Clément, Château Fombrauge and Château La Tour Carnet.
• Owner-manager until the 2012 sale: Martine Langlais-Pauly.

The vineyard sits at the highest point of the plateau of the commune of Bommes, facing Château d’Yquem, above the Ciron river; the Ciron is a tributary of the Garonne. The vines grow between 50 and 80 metres on complex gravelly-sandy soils over a clay subsoil. The clos covers 8.5 hectares in a single block within an enclosure, on the northeast-facing slope of the property; the estate counts it the smallest of the Premiers Grands Crus Classés of Sauternes. Vines are planted at 6,600 per hectare and average 40 years of age, and the enclosure includes some parcels of Sémillon more than 80 years old. Sémillon reigns almost unchallenged in the vineyard, with one-twentieth Sauvignon; the 2011 to 2018 wine pages give plantings of 95% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon, while the 2023 page gives 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. In The Wine Doctor’s profile, new parcels added under Bernard Magrez, among them 5 hectares from Château Latrezotte, brought the vineyard to 21 hectares, with the 8 hectares of the original clos reserved for the grand vin and the more distant parcels used for the second wine.

• Highest point of the Bommes plateau, facing Château d’Yquem, above the Ciron river.
• Gravelly-sandy soils over clay subsoil, at 50 to 80 metres.
• Clos of 8.5 hectares in a single enclosed block; 6,600 vines per hectare; average vine age 40 years.
• Mainly Sémillon, with some Sauvignon.

The vineyard is farmed under reasoned agriculture (agriculture raisonnée), with mechanical working of the soils and grass cover on some parcels, and traditional manual tasks such as suckering, lifting and leaf removal. Vines are replaced individually within the rows (complantation) rather than by whole parcels. Once botrytis, or noble rot, appears on the bunches, the harvest is done by hand in several passes, keeping only the grapes most concentrated in sugar and aromas; the wine pages specify three successive tries, and picking can go berry by berry, scheduled to the hour. Before fermentation the juice is lightly settled under temperature control, then fermented in barrels, new or once-used depending on tasting, with regular rackings. For the 2023, pressings were gentle and long, with selection of the juices, and the balance of alcohol and sugar was set by tasting. Acidity and freshness are kept in the wines through the strong presence of clay subsoils in the vineyard and an optimal harvest date. The 2023 was blended from 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2018 from 97% Sémillon and 3% Sauvignon.

• Reasoned agriculture; vines replaced individually by complantation.
• Hand harvest in three successive tries once botrytis appears.
• Barrel fermentation in new or once-used barrels, with regular rackings.
• Blends: 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc (2023); 95% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017).

Clos Haut-Peyraguey is a Premier Grand Cru Classé de Sauternes in the 1855 classification, which it entered as part of the estate then called Château Peyraguey, and it is made under the AOC Sauternes appellation. Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth rated the 2011 barrel sample 93 to 96 points, and Wine Spectator’s October 2012 article on the sale gave the estate’s production as 28,000 bottles.

• Premier Grand Cru Classé de Sauternes, 1855.
• Appellation: AOC Sauternes.

The estate calls Clos Haut-Peyraguey “le Sauternes des initiés” (the insiders’ Sauternes) and, on its 2023 page, “un vin d’une grande subtilité, un nectar de légèreté et de raffinement” (a wine of great subtlety, a nectar of lightness and refinement). Its wine pages give a keeping window of 10 to 30 years and suggest foie gras, blue cheeses, desserts, exotic dishes and poultry at the table.

Primary sources (Bernard Magrez, owner of the estate): https://bernard-magrez.com/clos-haut-peyraguey/, https://bernard-magrez.com/collections/vins/grands-crus-classes/clos-haut-peyraguey/, https://bernard-magrez.com/bernard-magrez/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2023/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2018/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2017/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2016/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2015/, https://bernard-magrez.com/products/clos-haut-peyraguey-2011/. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (Suzanne Mustacich, 23 October 2012) and The Wine Doctor (Clos Haut-Peyraguey profile, pages 1 and 2). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer’s site and a secondary source disagree, the producer’s site governs.