France · Bordeaux

Chateau Raymond-Lafon

Château Raymond-Lafon is a Sauternes estate in Sauternes village, owned by the Meslier family since 1972. Pierre Meslier was the régisseur of neighboring Château d'Yquem for many decades, and the estate's vineyards directly border Yquem's parcels. This proximity and Meslier's experience managing Yquem for years gives Raymond-Lafon a unique claim to comparable terroir and winemaking expertise. The wine is produced with the same perfectionist approach—multiple triage passes through the vineyard to select only botrytized grapes—but was classified as a cru bourgeois rather than a classified growth, making it significantly underpriced relative to quality. At auction, 177 lots trade at $61 average with the 1988 vintage most-traded—one of the greatest Sauternes vintages of the 20th century. Prices peak at $506. The 1988, 1989, and 1990 three-vintage run are the estate's reference bottles and represent a golden era of Sauternes production.