2005 Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes 750 ml

Few wines can generate a lingering glow quite like a great bottle of Sauternes—especially a First Growth from one of the most profound Bordeaux vintages of this century. Gloriously rich and perfectly aged, this 2005 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey is a golden elixir fit for the gods.

This Premier Grand Cru Classé proves why Sauternes is consistently one of the best values in fine wine, and it’s hard to think of another 95-point library wine capable of providing so much value for so little money.

Situated on a hilltop facing Château d'Yquem, Lafaurie-Peyraguey shares much of the same gravelly clay terroir of its illustrious neighbor, and from this premier vineyard land has delivered a wine of exceptional aromatic complexity that’s just as capable of long-term aging. And while Lafaurie-Peyraguey’s bottles cost around ONE SIXTH of Château d'Yquem’s $500+ versions, both received the exact same 95-point score in 2005.

Bordeaux’s sensational 2005 vintage resulted in tiny, perfect grapes. Decanter wrote, “in terms of power and elegance, 2005 may well become one of Sauternes’ most classic,” comparing it with the region’s bucket-list years, including 1949, 1921, 1906, and 1899.

2005 was a drought year without extreme heat, as a very warm and dry summer with cool nights helped the grapes maintain sound levels of acidity. Wine Access members snapped up the last Lafaurie-Peyraguey we offered from the similarly sultry 2003 vintage, and the 2005 is just as concentrated, but with an extra dose of tension and brightness.

Painstakingly harvested berry by berry and slowly fermented in a high percentage of new oak, this wonderfully decadent Lafaurie-Peyraguey demonstrates that the greatest Premier Grand Cru examples don’t always have to be the priciest.