Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes 1er Grand Cru Classe 2007 Bordeaux

Clear gold appearance with medium color, on the nose medium plus intensity and botrytis aromas of bread and yeast, followed by licorice, honey, earth and mushrooms, with hints of dill. This Sauternes is aromatically complex and the flavors are less sweet than the aromas would suggest. Good length across the palate showing medium acidity, a full body and a marked viscosity with a beautiful long finish.

This wine was part of a tasting at the Level ll Intermediate Certificate WSET class in Wine & Spirits at the International Wine Center.

Winemaker's Notes

Yields
Average of 18 hl/ha depending on the harvest.

Grapes are hand picked extremely selectively on successive passes (4 to 7, depending on the year) according to their maturity, only harvesting those grapes that have attained the required degree of concentration under the influence of noble rot – also called botrytis cinerea – and to preserve the precise aromatic qualities desired. Depending on the vintage, some parcels are sacrificed in order to concentrate on those with the appropriate potential quality.

Pressing
- 1 pneumatic press (for the first pressing)
- 4 vertical basket presses (second and third pressings) to obtain the richest, sweet juice.

Settling of the juice
Static, in temperature controlled vats at 15°C for 12 hours.

Alcoholic fermentation
In finely grained French oak barriques, 30% of which are renewed each year. Fermentation takes place at between 17°C and 23°C in air conditioned cellars for 18 to 30 days depending on the batch.

Aging
Traditional, in barriques, bung upwards, for 18 to 20 months.

Racking
Every 3 to 5 months subject to tasting.

Blending
Sémillon: brings structure, body and aging potential.
Sauvignon: brings aromatic freshness and liveliness, especially in the wine’s youth. Muscadelle: difficult to grow and only used in a small proportion, contributes to the wine’s aromatic complexity.

Production
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey: an average of 5,500 cases a year.
La Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey: an average of 2,000 cases a year.

Bottling
At the Château.

Aging potential
An average of 40 years, depending on the vintage.
A vertical tasting of 20 vintages of Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (1906 to 1959) organized at the property March 30, 2008 showed that, in certain vintages, our wines have considerable aging potential of 75 and even 100 years and more.