Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, a jewel in the vineyard

There are very few fully enclosed vineyards in Bordeaux. The four walls surrounding the Sauternes Lafaurie-Peyraguey premier cru classé are already a rarity. And it is on this exceptional terroir, planted since 1618, that a no less exceptional hotel-restaurant stands, opened four hundred years later, in 2018.

Léa Delpont Published on 7/11/25 at 3:03 PM

You enter the part of the estate known as "l'enclos" via a porch built even earlier, in the XIIIᵉ century, between two guard towers. While this crenellated enclosure displays a certain austerity, the XVIIᵉ château, set in its 10 hectares of Semillon, exudes French savoir-vivre. Businessman Sylvio Denz, owner of the Lalique crystal works in Alsace, has created a place of communion between wine, gastronomy and hospitality, inspired by the infinite nuances of the king of liquoreux wines - from straw yellow to scarlet amber - so close to those of molten crystal.

A place for wine, gastronomy and hospitality

An ode to the nectar born in the mists of the Ciron and a showcase for the Lalique collections, this luxury hotel for guests seeking intimacy (just 13 rooms and suites) blends old stone and rough oak with crystal leaves lustrated in the fine gold of Art Deco lighting fixtures. All furniture and accessories are from the Lalique Maison catalog, designed by decorators Tina Green and Pietro Mingarelli. Even the estate's wine has its own Lalique case, a bottle adorned with the medallion of the woman with bunches of grapes designed by René Lalique for the Orient-Express train in 1929.

In the wine-lavender lounge-library, books on Bordeaux's grands crus stand side by side with colorful vases and bowls by the "poet of glass", signed with his recurring motifs of women, fauna and flora. In the vine-green bar-lounge, one sinks into deep velvet sofas and the contemplation of antique or modern decanters, created by the manufacture for major spirits brands. at aperitif time, you might prefer the Sweetz, a house cocktail of sauternes frappé flavored with orange zest.

In the rooms, the simplicity of the architectural lines, underlined by a soft beige color scheme and cream marble in the bathrooms, is delicately awakened by the brilliance of cabochons.by the sparkle of crystal cabochons on bed frames, mirrors, bedside tables, chair backs, door handles and faucets: this stylized golden bunch of grapes is the signature of the place.

The pinnacle of refinement is reached in the restaurant, under a glass roof by architect Mario Botta, a contemporary extension designed as a terrace in the vineyards. The art of the table is at its height, with curved, ribbed glasses from the "100 Points" range created in collaboration with wine critic James Suckling, Fürstenberg porcelain and Christofle silverware. The estate's own wines take pride of place, but not only, among 350,000 bottles. Outside the cellar, one of the most beautiful in France, the transparency of Lalique and the tawny light of Sauternes inhabit the château, bringing it into the present and gently leading you into the future.

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Cooking in the vineyards

4-toque chef Jérôme Schilling has been working with Sylvio Denz for ten years, opening three gourmet restaurants with him: in Alsace, Scotland and Bordeaux. For Lafaurie-Peyraguey, he has espoused the cause of Sauternes and imagined a cuisine that defends it on the plate as much as in the glass. From the vine to the bottle, he exploits every facet of this magical viticulture - a partner to a noble mold - but a thankless one, producing only half a glass per vine. He preserves tomatoes in the leaves, fish in the grapeseed oil and lamb or pigeon in the must. He smokes local Bazas beef with vine shoots and concocts tangy sauces with verjuice (green grapes). In this way, nothing is lost...