Facing due west, the dining room-veranda of the Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey extends to the vines. We are in a prestigious Sauternes estate, which is also a two-star restaurant. Here, the wines pair magnificently with the shellfish, vegetables, meats, fish or desserts offered by chef Jérôme Schilling. Because yes, the sweet nectars of this 1er grand cru classé, born on the hills of Bommes (Gironde), deserve to venture beyond foie gras and the Christmas log.
This is the bet that the new owner, the Swiss Silvio Denz, CEO of the Lalique crystal factory and distinguished oenophile, made in 2018 by transforming the house with blond walls and tiled roofs into a hotel-restaurant. For the first time in Sauternes, an estate was banking on hospitality and gastronomy to re-enchant an appellation that was in poor shape. The consumption of Sauternes, like that of most French sweet wines, has in fact been falling since the early 2000s, a victim of the disgrace of sugar.
“It was necessary to take Sauternes out of its classic image, to show that its aromatic palette and vinifications focused on freshness allow for numerous pairings with dishes.”insists Romain Iltis, wine director of Lalique restaurants (Lafaurie-Peyraguey, but also the Villa Lalique, in Wingen-sur-Moder, in the Bas-Rhin; The Glenturret Lalique, in Crieff, in Scotland; or the future Villa Florhof, in Zurich, in Switzerland).
Expanding the range of pleasures
At the helm of the kitchens, Alsatian Jérôme Schilling takes up this challenge: to expand the range of pleasures associated with Sauternes (with four menu variations ranging from 205 to 260 euros). A former disciple of Joël Robuchon and Roger Vergé, this Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2023 had his first experience in Bordeaux alongside Thierry Marx, when he officiated at the Cordeillan-Bages restaurant, belonging to the Lynch-Bages château, a grand cru of Pauillac. But it is here, in Bommes, where we find other great Sauternes châteaux (La Tour Blanche, Sigalas Rabaud, Rayne Vigneau, etc.), that this sportsman, passionate about tennis, has acquired the nickname of “vineyard chef”.
“I immersed myself in the château’s vineyard”, emphasizes Jérôme Schilling. This is not an abstract formula. In a setting of crystal works, the chef praises the merits of the fig leaf, “fresh or dried, as a papillote or in an infusion” ; of the vine shoot, ideal for smoking; of the acidity of verjuice, the juice of still green grapes in which he rolls the butternut gnocchi accompanying his sole. In homemade grape seed oil, he preserves a hake previously passed in a mixture of must (what remains of the grapes after pressing) and salt.
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