### Strutting Peacocks: Raymond-Lafon 1979-2021

BY NEAL MARTIN | MARCH 26, 2025

When I was a kid, Mum would take me to Chalkwell Park to look at the animals. This zoo (in the loosest definition of that word) was comprised of several adjoining cages that, in those unenlightened times, imprisoned a lonely black bear and squawking monkeys. Thankfully, animal welfare officers shut down the operation at some point. The only one of God’s creatures that remained was a family of peacocks that strutted ‘round their pen, ostentatiously displaying their extravagant metallic blue/green plumage as if entering the Met Gala. Peacocks used to roam around Raymond-Lafon. They seemed perfectly at home at this Sauternes estate and imbued it with an exotic ambiance. None were strutting around when I made an overdue visit last year, and…I kind of missed them. Fortunately, the estate _does_ continue to produce one of the region’s finest sweet wines.

There is a dearth of history about Raymond-Lafon. There is no official website, not even a mention in Clive Coates’ otherwise comprehensive “Grand Vin” bible. Raymond Lafon was a mayor in Sauternes who created the property in 1850, and since it preceded the official classification by just five years, the estate was omitted from the rankings. Henceforth, Raymond-Lafon’s wines have always flown under the radar. The estate passed into the hands of Lafon’s sons-in-law, Louis and André Pontallier, whose family name will be familiar to devotees of Château Margaux, as André Pontallier was the late Paul Pontallier’s grandfather.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742914305972-Vinous_jean-pierre+meslier.JPG)

_Jean-Pierre Meslier opening the bottles, flanked by his young son_

By the time the Pontalliers’ descendants sold the vineyard in the fifties, it was in a dilapidated condition. When Pierre and Françine Meslier acquired the vineyard in 1972, there were fewer than four hectares under vine. However, Pierre Meslier had experience under his belt, having graduated from Montpellier School of Agronomy and serving as general manager of Yquem from 1963. Meslier divided his time between the two partially neighbouring estates until Yquem’s erstwhile proprietor, Comte de Lur-Saluces, could no longer accept what he viewed as a conflict of interest. Thereafter, Meslier devoted himself to Raymond-Lafon, expanding plantings to 11 hectares in piecemeal fashion. He applied the same tenets as those practiced at Yquem: pruning hard to limit yields, multiple passes through the vineyard to obtain pure botrytized berries and aging up to three years in between 80% and 100% new French oak. In 1990, the estate passed to Meslier’s daughter and two sons, Marie-Françoise, Charles-Henri and Jean-Pierre Meslier. When I first began visiting, there was some intra-familial contretemps, but I do not know the details. I assume they have since been settled.

Raymond-Lafon is situated in the commune of Bommes, with parcels also located in Preignac. Vineyard holdings comprise 20 hectares, of which 16 are currently in production. The vineyards are planted to 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, incidentally, the same as Yquem.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1742914341406-Vinous_raymond+lafon+bottles.JPG)

This vertical tasting focused on recent vintages, with several older bottles dating back to the 1979 vintage. The wines reflect the vagaries of the Sauternes growing seasons: when the wind blows favourably, for certain, Raymond-Lafon can produce exemplary Sauternes that equal the elite. Recent vintages that impress include 2016, 2017 and 2019, whilst the 1990, 2005 and 2009 should be on your shopping list if you seek wines with more maturity. A great Raymond-Lafon ages exceedingly well. The real turn-up for the books was the quality of the 1980 Raymond-Lafon, an appalling vintage for Sauternes. Happenstance meant that I tasted the 1980 Raymond-Lafon and 1980 Yquem within hours of each other, and dare I say, the former performed better.

Hopefully, the peacocks are still around. I like that quirkiness in what is an otherwise orthodox wine region.

_© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism._

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Strutting Peacocks: Raymond-Lafon 1979-2021

Strutting Peacocks: Raymond-Lafon 1979-2021 (Mar 2025)

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