If I could choose anywhere I could make wine….

"From generation to generation for over 200 years, in what is the very centre of St Emilion, my family has cultivated these soils and tended our vines. Today it is my turn and I try to make a wine that comes from my heart. Having now my own young son, who represents the 10th generation, …

Finding St Emilion’s Hidden treasures (even without a Name)

Not far from St Emilion, one of the France's most well-known wine villages, lies a simple family winery that has withstood the test of time. Leaving the village and passing infront of the prestigious classified Château Pavie, then Larcis Ducass and Bellefont Belcier, take the next on the right at the crossroads - its the …

The ‘running off’ of Bordeaux 2013 – the ‘écoulage’ of the region’s reds

It is the time for the baby wines (vin de goutte) of 2013 to be run off from the skins and pips after from 30 to 35 days from the beginning of the 'encuvage' at the time of harvest, any cold soak, fermentation and after, the post maceration fermentation. Then the wine either goes into barrel or …

The ‘Place de Bordeaux’ – Bordeaux’s Wine Trade under scrutiny

First published in the Gilbert & Gaillard magazine Since wines were first produced in Bordeaux in medieval times, they have been sold through wine merchants via brokers. This way of trading is called the ‘Place de Bordeaux’ and still exists today. Is it an ever-changing efficient model that has enabled Bordeaux wines to become so …

A Wake-up Call for the Petits Châteaux of Bordeaux

You will certainly not have heard of Château Béard La Chapelle, Grand Cru St Emilion despite the fact that it has been in the same family for nine generations passing from father to son over the years and that is located just outside of the world renowned medieval village of St Emilion. Part of the …