Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey: The Cordiers
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey was subsequently mainly run by the Grédy family, initially in the shape of Philippe Frédéric Grédy (1831 – 1915). Despite its seemingly illustrious reputation during the middle of the 19th century, under their direction quality at Lafaurie-Peyraguey seemed to decline, and the commentators of the early 20th century did not rate the wine highly. No doubt the usual procession of oidium, mildew and phylloxera took their toll. The estate passed first into the hands of Frédéric Grédy, presumably a son, who seemed set on expansion with the acquisition of Château Barrail-Peyraguey, a neighbouring vineyard of 6 hectares. Its exact origins are unclear, but it may have previously been part of the Lafaurie-Peyraguey vineyard.
Despite these apparent intentions, the Grédy family could not continue with the estate, and against the backdrop of war and impending recession it was sold to Désiré Cordier (1861 – 1940) in 1917. This was the beginning of another significant era for the property as the Cordier family maintained ownership for much of the century, alongside their other Médoc estates which included Château Gruaud-Larose and Château Talbot, as well as neighbouring Château La Tour Blanche. During this era there were a number of major developments on the estate, including a shift to domaine-bottling, and in a forerunner of life in modern-day Sauternes there was, for a while, a dry wine produced as well.
In 1977 the wines were made by Michel Laporte, once of Château Pape-Clément and a key figure in Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey’s modern renaissance. Under his leadership quality began to improve and Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey saw renewed success. The vineyard was also expanded during his time, with the acquisition of 4.5 hectares from Château d’Arche; I provide more detail on this parcel and the rest of the vineyard on the next page.
