Château Clos Haut Peyraguey is situated on the hill in Bommes, one of five communes in Sauternes & Barsac district. The closest neighbour is Lafaurie Peyraguey, which was once a part of Clos Haut Peyraguey but was separated from it in 1879. D'Yquem is also a neighbour.
The vineyard is 12 has big, planted with 92% Sémillon and 8% Sauvignon. Vines are, on average, 35 years old. The wine stays in barrels for 20-22 months. Mrs Martine Langlais-Pauly took over managing the property from his father, Jacques Pauly, in 2003.
I was very impressed by this property's style, character and class of wines when having a vertical at the property in April 2012. There were the same character and style of the property in all 11 wines, coming undoubtedly from the soil and vinification. Depending on the vintage, these wines had more or less concentration, intensity, acidity and length.
In December 2012, it was sold to the owner of several Bordeaux chateaux, Bernard Magrez. The high quality has been maintained after the change of the owner.
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2021 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 93p
Tasted in April 2022. Aromatic nose of white flowers/fruit, acacia honey, elegant with finesse, delicate complexity and acidity, nice structure and complexity, lingering and honeyed finish. Terrific effort.
2020 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 92+p.
Tasted in May 2021. 95% Semillon + 5% Sauvignon Blanc. Aromatic pineapple and orange peel, fresh and delicate, stylish, nice acidity, elegance, and finesse. Delicious stuff. 92+p.
2019 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 94-95p
Tasted in June 2020. 95% Semillon + 5% Sauvignon Blanc. Intensely aromatic nose of white flowers/fruit, acacia honey, elegant with finesse, splendid complexity and acidity, splendid structure and complexity, lingering and honeyed finish. Excellent stuff.
2018 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 94p
Tasted in March 2019. Despite not exactly perfect weather conditions through 2018, the property succeeded in producing a wine with great flair, elegance and precision, freshness, and nice acidity.
2017 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 95p
Tasted in April 2018. Impressive wine filled with freshness, great acidity and remarkable sweetness. Flavorful with sweet grapefruit and mango. Long creamy finish.
2016 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 90p
Tasted in April 2017. It had light style, elegance, and nice sweetness but only a weak acidity.
2015 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 92p
Tasted in April 2015. There was a significant pineapple flavour, aromatic, fine intensity on the palate, elegant and well-balanced.
2014 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 94+p
Tasted in March 2015. Intense botrytised flavours, concentrated, a lot of nuances, excellent acidity and structure. Refined wine with catching sweetness. Excellent for the vintage.
2013 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 93p
Tasted in March 2014. Fine botrytised flavours, concentrated, lot of nuances, great acidity and structure. Refined. Impressive for the vintage.
2012 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 90p
Tasted in April 2013. Lighter than usual with good intensity of botrytised flavours, soft texture, sweetness, and acidity.
2011 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 94+p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Very expressive on the nose with petrol, great intensity, excellent acidity and concentration of fruit (peach, apricot and mandarines), excellent balance and length. Utterly impressive stuff and a great success for the vintage.
2010 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY (barrel sample) 94p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. This wine had a very intense, pure, rich nose of botrytised flavours like pineapple, candied orange/lemon peel, stunning acidity, strong structure, superb balance, and a long honeyed finish. Fabulous wine.
2009 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 93+p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Slightly less sweet than in 2010 and more elegant, with great finesse and a long honeyed finish. Impressive wine.
2008 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 93p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Very intense flavours of candied mandarine/orange peel and créme brulée, impressive balance and honeyed finish. This is a stunning effort for the vintage, and this wine is undoubtedly in the top five wines in Sauternes & Barsac.
2007 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 94p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. It keeps the style of 2008 but with more flavours, acidity, bigger concentration and greater complexity. Marvellous wine with great class and style.
2006 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 91p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. A lighter version of 2008, less intense and flavourful botrytised flavours, lovely balance, shorter finish. Still, well-made and tasty wine to consume before big vintages are ready.
2005 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 94p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Similar to 2007 but with other botrytised flavours like créme brulée, pineapple and acacia honey. Beautifully balanced, great acidity, very refined and caressingly honeyed finish. Stupendous wine.
2004 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 93p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Intense, excellent botrytised flavours like f.i. orange peel, great fruit sweetness and acidity. Very complex and with a great finish. Astonishing success for the vintage.
2003 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 96p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Tropical fruit like mango, guava, candied orange/mandarine peel and honey melon are everywhere. There's a perfect balance between acidity and sweetness, magnificent richness, depth and fat honeyed finish. When tasted ten years ago, this wine showed already enormous sweetness and richness. With this significant sweetness and tropical flavours, this wine can easily match Indian/Thai/Japanese/Chinese cuisine with chilli and carry. Wonderful wine here.
Excellent pair of sweeties!
2002 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 92p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Very similar to 2004 in style, slightly less complex and less rich.
2001 CLOS HAUT PEYRAGUEY 96p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2012. Consistent notes. Extremely intense on the nose, an explosion of aromas. This wine has a stunning richness of nuances combined with great acidity and cooperation of the latter with great sweetness. The remarkable depth and long, long honeyed aftertaste. When tasted en primeur ten years ago, this wine showed stunning botrytised flavours and great acidity. Now it has developed into a complete one. This is simply an excellent wine that oozes class and style.