Clos Haut Peyraguey Sauternes Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Clos Haut Peyraguey Sauternes, Premiers Crus with wine tasting notes, and wine with food pairing tips. Learn all the best vintages, a history of the property, and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Clos Haut Peyraguey History, Overview

Originally, back in the 17th century, Clos Haut Peyraguey and Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey were once part of the same, large Sauternes property. As you can probably imagine, just by noticing the similarity in both of the estate’s names. The name Peyraguey can be translated into the word hill, which is due to the superior elevations and slopes enjoyed by the vineyard.

In 1879, the Duchatel family, who also owned Chateau Lagrange in St. Julien made the decision to split the large Sauternes estate into two separate vineyards, with the vineyards located at the peak of their elevations passing to Clos Haut Peyraguey. The remaining portion became known as Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey.

The modern era of the estate begins with the Garbay family when they purchased the property in 1914. The estate was most recently managed by Martine Langlais Pauly, a direct descendant of Eugene Garbay until 2012. In 2007, the property changed its name slightly, dropping the word “Chateau” from its labels and promotional material.

In October 2012, Bernard Magrez purchased Clos Haut Peyraguey from the Garbay family. With the obviously proven, golden touch of Bernard Magrez, it will be interesting to see what he does with this well-known Sauternes property.

My guess is, consumers should expect to see quality and prices rise in the future. This is not the first purchase for Bernard Magrez in Sauternes, he also owns Chateau Romer and Chateau Latrezotte in the appellation.

Clos Haut Peyraguey Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 21 hectare Sauternes vineyard of Clos Haut Peyraguey is planted to 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. This shows a continuing increase in the amount of Semillon planted in their vineyards as well as an increase in the size of the vineyard.

The vineyard has a terroir of gravel mixed with sand and clay soils. The Clos Haut Peyraguey vineyard is quite small for the region. In fact, here is a good piece of trivia for you, the estate was the smallest vineyard of all the Premiers Crus in Sauternes at the time of the 1855 Classification.

Clos Haut Peyraguey is located on the highest part of the Sauternes appellation in the commune of Bommes.

Their elevations range from 50 to 80 meters. The vineyard can be divided into 6 main parcels and further sub-divided into 44 separate parcels. The chateau is not located all that far from Chateau dYquem. In fact, 4 of their 8 vineyard parcels are connected to the vineyards of Chateau d’Yquem. The majority of their vines are in Sauternes, but they also have vines in Barsac which are used for their second wine,

To produce the wine of Clos Haut Peyraguey, vinification takes place in French oak barrels. The wine is aged in up to 50% new, French oak barrels for about 18 months.

The best vintages of Clos Haut Peyraguey are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 201y6, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1989 and 1988.

There is a second wine, Chateau Haut Bommes. In 2014, the name of the second wine was changed to Symphonie de Haut Peyraguey. On average, the production is 3,000 cases of Chateau Clos Haut Peyraguey per year.

When to Drink Clos Haut Peyraguey, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Clos Haut Peyraguey can be enjoyed on the young side with no decanting. In fact, it is delicious and quite a treat young, even on release! However, like all great wines, Chateau Clos Haut Peyraguey is much better with age and does not reach full maturity until it’s between 12-30 years of age, or in some years, perhaps even longer in the best vintages!

That is when the magic happens! But that is unrealistic for 99% of the world’s wine drinkers. So, enjoy it on any special occasion that calls for it.

Of course, the wine is sweet, but there is so much, incredible, racy acidity, the wine always feels fresh, and never cloying, which makes it quite fun to enjoy young. With Clos Haut Peyraguey and frankly, all Sauternes, the temperature is more important than decanting.

Serving Clos Haut Peyraguey with Wine and Food Pairings

Clos Haut Peyraguey is best served at 14 degrees Celsius, 57 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The wine will naturally warm in the glass, while it develops more aromatic complexities and fleshes out.

Clos Haut Peyraguey can be served with seafood dishes, especially shellfish, lobster, crab, and oysters on the half shell. Foie gras is a perfect pairing with its natural sweet, salty and savory characteristics. Clos Haut Peyraguey can also be paired with roasted chicken, veal, and pork dishes that are either spicy or prepared with a touch of sweetness.

Spicy Asian cuisine, raw fish, like sushi or sashimi, and cheese, both hard and soft also make great pairings with Clos Haut Peyraguey.

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