the best of culture, travel & art de vivre Winter 2009-10

No.92 francemagazine.org / $6.95 Canada

/

$5.95 U.S .

Special Issue: BORDEAUX’s Extreme Estates Château Faugères’s dramatic new winery in Saint-Emilion took shape from this sketch by the award-winning Swiss architect Mario Botta. extreme

By estates Karen Taylor

Extreme advances in are prompting an extreme rethinking of vat rooms and cellars. Suddenly, celebrity architects are signing on to update venerable estates, and cranes and scaffolding dot the landscape. France Magazine visited the region’s architectural landmarks, toured recent renovations and construction sites, and talked with owners about future projects. At the heart of every design—classic or contemporary—we found an extreme passion for what goes into the glass.

/ Inside /

46 . Médoc

54 . Saint-Emilion & Pomerol

60 . Graves

France • WINTER 2009-10 35 ExtrEME EStAtES / Bordeaux BELOW AND RIGHT: Built in the early 1800s, the winery at Château Cos BordEABordEAux d’Estournel was conceived to wow visitors with its iconoclastic design. Today the building houses the most advanced winemaking facilities in the world, including this revolutionary vat room by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

On a sunny afternOOn this past June, the view through Château Cos d’Estournel’s famous triumphal arch The specTacular renovaTions at Cos are the latest addition to revealed a dozen workers feverishly laying paving stones, fitting pieces a body of contemporary architecture that originated just across the of sod into geometric patterns and scrubbing the sides of still-empty street at Château Lafite Rothschild back in 1986, when Baron Eric water basins. Much remained to be done, and there were only two de Rothschild commissioned Catalan architect Ricardo de Bofill to days left until Vinexpo, when thousands of the world’s wine profes- build a new underground wine cellar. This was long before starchitects sionals would stream into Bordeaux for the huge biennial trade fair. A would transform Napa and Rioja, and hiring international talent for good number were expected to make their way to Saint-Estèphe’s Cos such a project was a radical idea. (Around that same time, a relatively d’Estournel, curious to see the spanking-new chais by star architect unknown Michael Graves was building Napa’s Clos Pégase, now con- Jean-Michel Wilmotte and renowned designer Jacques Garcia. sidered America’s “first monument to wine as art.”) For months, the project had been generating major buzz. The Bofill did not disappoint. His revolutionary design transformed idea of pairing Wilmotte—known for his sleek minimalism—and the classic barrel cellar—typically a rectangular shape housing long Garcia—for whom more is always more—was intriguing in itself. rows of casks—into an octagon, with wood casks stacked in concen- Rumor had it that Wilmotte’s army of space-age stainless-steel vats tric rings around a rotunda illuminated by a skylight. This elegantly sparkled like diamonds beneath a vast, arched blond-wood ceiling. simple arrangement proved to be not only aesthetically pleasing but “A setting for the next James Bond film,” wrote one journalist. “The highly efficient, reducing the distances covered by cellar workers by Louis Vuitton of vat rooms,” commented another. Cos had pulled off some 200 miles per year. It has been widely copied since. the seemingly impossible, making the most workaday part of a winery A few years later, Margaux’s Château Prieuré Lichine, originally a look positively sexy. medieval Benedictine priory, dabbled in contemporary design when it The pièce de résistance was the ascenseurs à cuves. A first in the expanded its cellars and added a round, concrete structure inspired by wine world, these outsized, high-tech elevators were designed exclu- the shape of a wine barrel. Conceived as a tasting room, visitors cen- sively for vats, ferrying them between floors and thus making it pos- ter and boutique, it is topped by a helipad—ritzy in its day but now sible to complete the entire vinification process using only gravity. fallen into disuse. Architect Philippe Mazières, who has since worked These days, the Earth’s pull seems to be on the mind of every seri- on a number of international projects including Rioja’s acclaimed ous winemaker, and many have devised ways to use it rather than Viña Real, recalls that owner Sasha Lichine’s American background traditional pumps, which they now consider too rough for their prompted the tourism aspect, something then almost unheard of at coddled grapes and wine. But no one had yet devised anything like top Bordeaux estates. Cos’s elevators, and these shiny vats in their sleek glass shafts were Other innovative projects followed, including dramatic renovations inciting serious chais-envy throughout the region. at Château Pichon-Longueville by the French-American team Jean de

36 France • winter 2009-10 ExtrEME EStAtES / Bordeaux BELOW: Château Mouton Rothschild’s Baron Philippe de Rothschild was a visionary, BELOW: The most famous architectural feature of Château Latour is its 17th-century BordEABordEAux introducing château bottling and turning over the design of his labels to famous dovecote; many mistake it for the estate’s namesake tower, long since disappeared. artists. In 1926—when he was only 24—he commissioned architect Charles Siclis to Current owner François Pinault recently added a new iconic structure when he rebuilt design this 100-meter-long barrel cellar, a landmark in viticultural design. the estate’s winemaking facilities, which now include this minimalist tasting room.

whether the architect is lOcal Or Daring as they were, these initiatives were largely eclipsed by the sk any leading Bordeaux winemaker unpredictable weather and varietals that mature at different times, fabulous wineries springing up in the New World (including estates why he or she is building or renovating this is not as simple as it sounds. The race to ripeness has required an internatiOnal such as Dominus and Opus One that are owned or co-owned by cellars and vat rooms (together referred enormous increases in labor, as each vine is practically treated as an superstar, French winemakers) and in Spain’s Rioja Valley, the new hotbed of to as les chais), and they won’t wax po- individual case. Leaves and shoots, for example, are thinned as needed viticultural design. Herzog & de Meuron, Frank Gehry, Santiago etic about seductive volumes, angles or and bunches are selectively eliminated, all by hand. new cOnstructiOn Calatrava and others have built these marvelous wine temples from surfaces. Instead, they will immediately Since the mid-1990s, there has also been an intense focus on here is almOst always scratch, designing monumental spaces to project an iconic brand tell you they want to capitalize on the terroir. “Winemakers began taking samples from their vineyards to image and accommodate hospitality, retail and other activities. tremendous investments they have see what the soil and subsoil were made of,” explains wine writer all abOut the wine. Now, world-renowned architects are setting their sights on made in their vineyards. “Just 20 years Didier Ters. “Now, their intimate knowledge of their particular terroir Bordeaux—Mario Botta has just completed arresting chais for Châ- ago we were still in the Middle Ages!” dictates everything they do—which varietals they plant where, which Gastines and Patrick Dillon. “We gave them a very detailed technical teau Faugères, Christian de Portzamparc is revamping the legendary laughs oenologist Michel Rolland, rootstocks they use, even how the wine is vinified.” brief and asked them to design around it,” says Jean-Michel Cazes, who Château Cheval Blanc and other high-profile collaborations are in the awho in addition to consulting with more than a hundred properties One of the results is that harvests are much more complicated— directed the property at the time. “They were the first to carefully starting blocks. But regardless of whether the architect is local or an in- throughout the world runs several estates of his own. “Since then, we and costly—than in the past. Philippe Garcia, the cellar master at integrate winemaking facilities into the surroundings.” Indeed, when ternational superstar, new construction here is almost always all about have learned that when the raw material is good, the oenologist’s role Château Malartic-Lagravière, explains that in the 1980s, les vendanges visitors approach the fairy-tale château with its turrets and pitched slate the wine. This is particularly true of the highly competitive grand cru is less important. So a lot of work has gone into the vineyard.” were simple: You began with the ripest grapes and continued until roof, they barely notice the chais and reception rooms flanking the 19th- vineyards, which are locked in a constant battle to improve quality. Thanks to Rolland and others, winemakers now know that the all the fruit had been picked. By the 1990s, however, châteaux were century edifice. The additions are sunk into the ground, with only a few They tend to see contemporary architecture the way Olympic swim- highest-quality wines are made from grapes that are fully ripe and harvesting grapes from each parcel of each varietal separately and architectural flourishes hinting at the state-of-the-art winery below. mers see high-tech swimwear—cool, but only if it helps them win. picked at their voluptuous best. In a region like Bordeaux, with its fermenting them in separate vats.

38 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 39 ExtrEME EStAtES / Bordeaux BELOW: Château Cantemerle offers a classic example of a 19th-century vat BordEABordEAux room built alongside but not adjoining the estate’s château. RIGHT: Pomerol’s diminutive Château Petit-Village packs a big design punch with its black cellar sliced with channels of white light.

THE styles, dovecotes (the most famous These new buildings were archi- being the one at Latour) and imposing tecturally distinct from the rest of the BORDEAUX gateways, such as the majestic en- estate. Typically brick or plaster with trance at Château Léoville-Las-Cases. contrasting quoins and stonework CHÂTEAU Given that there was no local trim, they featured large carriage architectural idiom, the châteaux built doors, oeil de boeuf windows on the in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries upper level and wine-themed decora- displayed a wide variety of neoclas- tive elements. Inside, high ceilings sical styles. What they did have in with exposed wood rafters allowed common was that all the buildings— better air circulation. Unlike winegrowing regions in throughout the area. The first estate the residence, the structures for Château Lynch-Bages has pre- the New World, Bordeaux has a conceived expressly for wine produc- winemaking and those housing work- served one of the very few cuviers dat- wine culture and architecture that tion was Château Haut-Brion, built in ers, farm animals and so on—were ing from this period. “It’s still in working date back centuries. In 1988, Paris’s 1550. With its aristocratic residence clustered together and often attached order,” says owner Jean-Michel Cazes, Pompidou Center devoted an exhibi- and winemaking facilities, it became a to one another. This changed in the standing on the rusty-red wood floor tion to the subject, pointing out that a model for all that would follow. late-19th century, when new vinifica- of the mezzanine. “This set-up was Bordeaux peculiarity is to refer to any These châteaux were relatively tion methods created a need for new much better for workers. Before, vineyard as a “château,” regardless of modest in size—there is nothing in Bor- freestanding structures. they worked on the ground and often whether or not it actually possesses a deaux remotely like Versailles, Fon- Their design commonly consisted became sick from the CO2 given château—or any residence at all, for tainebleau or the sprawling Loire Valley of a ground floor, where the vats were off during fermentation. But CO2 is that matter. castles. They were summer homes, and located, and a mezzanine. Holes in heavier than air, so when they worked In the exhibition catalogue, Robert while owners wanted them to suitably the mezzanine’s wood floor provided up here, it didn’t bother them.” Look- Coustet relates that the first châteaux impress, they didn’t want to saddle access to the top of the vats below. ing around at the old equipment, were in fact fortified medieval castles, themselves with money pits. So Grapes were hoisted up via a pulley he deadpans, “And as you can see, manor houses and other residences status was typically conveyed through system on the outside of the build- Lynch-Bages was way ahead of its that eventually became surrounded architectural details such as towers ing, then moved inside through large time—a century ago, we were already by vines as winemaking spread borrowed from Gothic and medieval openings in the wall. using gravity instead of pumps.”

“The latest trend for reds is vinification intraparcellaire,” he says. devised new ways to use gravity rather than the forceful pumps that “Each parcel may be broken down into different zones—two, some- can “beat up” the must, releasing undesirable flavors or strong tannins times three—according to the characteristics of the grapes. Each zone from ripped skins or bruised seeds. is vinified separately.” Winemakers are just as fanatical about sorting, also considered key This evolution has created a need for a new kind of vat room, one to avoiding unwanted flavors and aromas. This is still largely done by with more and smaller cuves. Depending on the characteristics of the hand, but since 2007, some vineyards have invested in new “Tribaie” terroir and the vintner’s winemaking philosophy, fermenting tanks machines that not only spit out vegetal debris but gauge the density may be stainless steel, concrete or wood. Some vineyards, especially of each grape, sorting them into groups according to ripeness. This those that include a variety of soils, use all three. The wines from allows winemakers to select only the best grapes for their best wines. each vat are thus different, providing the winemaker with a palette of An even newer gadget, used for the first time in 2009, is the “optical colors to use in his final blends. sorter”—lasers scan each grape along a conveyor belt, and pulses of air Another consequence of all this attention to the fruit is that grapes eject those that don’t make the grade. are now treated with the utmost care as they are transferred from vine- “The selection process has become draconian,” says Garcia. “The yard to vat. Some growers are so fussy that you wouldn’t be surprised result is that the quality of the top wines just keeps going up. Some to hear that each grape is carried to the vat room on its own velvet châteaux now use only 35 percent of their production in their grand pillow. The point is to avoid bruising or oxygenation, which occurs if vin, the rest goes into second wines. Here at Malartic-Lagravière, we the skin is broken. used to put 85 percent of our wine into our grand vin; now that figure The wine too is handled much more gently. During vinification, is down to 40 or 50 percent.” for example, workers used to pump the fermenting juice, or must, “Perhaps because conditions are difficult here, Bordeaux has devel- from an opening at the bottom of the vat through a hose back up to oped the most advanced vineyards in the world,” says Philippe Castéja, the top, where it was sprayed over the “cap” (the grape skins, seeds president of the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855. “The result and other bits that float to the surface). Called remontage, this process is that there are no more bad years. There are years that are better than allows the wine to extract more of the color, tannins and other quali- others, but no more bad years. Twenty years ago, the 2008 vintage ties from the solid matter. It is still practiced, but estates here have would have been a disaster. Instead, it was lauded by Robert Parker.”

40 France • winter 2009-10 France • winter 2009 33 ExtrEME EStAtES / Bordeaux BELOW: Like many Bordeaux estates, Château La Mission Haut-Brion has opted BELOW: Architecture at Château Smith Haut Lafitte is all about charm and tradition, yet BordEABordEAux to install state-of-the-art technology in a décor that honors its venerable and the estate communicates that it is also very 21st-century through works of art such as unique history. Its new cellar provides scientifically controlled conditions for this “Bottomless Well” by Korean-American artist Chul-Hyun Ahn. Mirrors create optical aging wines while also serving as a romantic setting for fabulous dinner parties. illusions evoking infinity, suggesting winemakers’ eternal efforts to improve.

“winemakers want tO mOdernize, but they alsO want tO respect bOrdeaux’s unique wine culture; they want tO preserve its sOul.”

the region and each of its châteaux unique and can be used to great effect. It is hard to imagine, for example, a better design choice than the “monastic” look of the new cellars at Château La Mission Haut-Brion, a tribute to the estate’s history as home to the Lazarist Fathers. So will contemporary styles be relegated to underground cellars à la Lafite? “The Bordelais never rush into things,” says Didier Ters, who has reported on the region’s vineyards for decades. “It’s just not in their character. That said, there are some very interesting projects on the drawing board right now, and over the next few years, we are going to see some exciting additions to the landscape.” The City of Bordeaux is setting the tone: This past November, it announced plans for a spectacular €55 million center that will be devoted to wine culture and tourism; the architectural competition is expected to be fierce, with the world’s top talents vying for the job.

along wiTh aesTheTics, one of the leading preoccupations for architects today is materials. Alain Triaud remembers that when he was renovating the chais at Château Ducru Beaucaillou hen designing cellars and with important advances in winemaking technology, and together come before,” says Mazières. “They want to update and modernize, in 1999-2001, there was a growing concern that various building vinification rooms, the ar- they created a need for renovated facilities.” At the same time, money but they also want to respect Bordeaux’s unique wine culture; they products might adversely affect the wine. “We worked closely with a chitect’s first job is to accom- was flowing into the region, thanks to an increase in worldwide sales want to preserve its soul.” new lab in Bordeaux to make sure that paint, glue, wood treatments modate these new realities, and a new class of owners, such as banks and insurance companies, The irony is that while Bordeaux châteaux may appear to today’s and everything else we used would not have negative impacts on the creating spaces tailored to that were buying up long-neglected properties with the intention of visitors as a coherent ensemble, they are anything but. “The Médoc wine,” says the Bordeaux-based architect. “We were pioneers. Today new methods and new equip- reviving them. The result was a Bordeaux building boom. is very unique, with a rather fanciful collection of architecture,” it is standard practice to have materials vetted by that lab.” More ment. Bernard Mazières, “Now, we’re seeing another revolution in winemaking techniques, points out Jean-Michel Cazes, owner of Pauillac’s Château Lynch- recently, he says, the focus has shifted to identifying environmen- whose client roster includes and some of those same estates are redoing their chais once again,” says Bages. “There was no indigenous style here, so when landowners tally friendly materials and systems, in keeping with the more natural the most famous names in Mazières. “In Bordeaux, when you see scaffolding at a vineyard, you can built new residences, they copied others—we have neo-Palladian, methods now used in the vineyards. wine—Margaux, Yquem, be pretty sure that their wine is poised to improve.” Indeed, one of the neo-Gothic, neo-Elizabethan, neo-Renaissance….” The epitome of While most of their work is very technical, architects never lose Latour—says that Bordeaux hallmarks of new construction today is that owners and cellar masters this whimsical architecture is of course Cos d’Estournel, which in fact sight of the fact that vineyards are unlike any other production facil- wis going through a period similar to the 1980s, when owners began to now work very closely with the architect. “Fifteen years ago, architec- has no château at all but rather elaborate chais that Louis d’Estournel ity. “Wine is all about magic and romance,” says Triaud. “You want revamp buildings that hadn’t changed in a century. ture and technical aspects were considered separately,” says oenologist decked out with rooftop pagodas and a massive carved-wood door he people to feel that they are someplace special, an extraordinary place “Back then, several factors came together at once,” he explains. Michel Rolland. “Now they are conceived as a whole; we give the archi- shipped in from Zanzibar in the 1830s. where this incredible alchemy occurs.” The châteaux, of course, have “Since the 1970s, estates had been bottling at the château rather tect a very specific technical brief, and he then designs around it.” Working within the confines of this historic context can be frustrat- always had romance in spades with their ornate rooms full of antiques, than shipping barrels for bottling elsewhere; not long after, they be- Yet while many owners are commissioning interiors that are très ing for architects—Wilmotte’s innovative ideas for the exterior of the works of art and rich draperies. The wine cellars too exude a quiet gan keeping their inventory on the premises rather than sending it 21st-century, most prefer exterior styles that are in keeping with the chais at Cos d’Estournel were rejected in favor of a classic look in keep- sense of privilege; cool and damp, they enchant visitors with their to négociant warehouses in Bordeaux. These new practices coincided rest of the estate. “They want to maintain a continuity with what has ing with the rest of the estate. At the same time, this heritage makes long rows of wine-stained barrels, soft lighting and delicious aromas.

42 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 43 ExtrEME EStAtES / Bordeaux BELOW: Château Faugères’s new winery by Mario Botta shines like a beacon in BordEABordEAux the Saint-Emilion night sky. Inaugurated this past fall, it set a new standard for viticultural technology and design.

Yet not that long ago, no one even thought of inviting the public into these spaces. “The Baron de Rothschild, who built the magnificent cellars at Mouton, was probably the first to realize they would interest visitors,” says Mazières. “Bofill continued in that vein at Lafite, and the concept of projecting a certain image of the wine through architecture continues to influence cellar design to carnet this day.” Now, with wine aficionados increasingly interested in how wine is made, aesthetics are coming into play even in vat rooms, as Cos d’Estournel so eloquently demonstrates. High design is also being lavished on tasting rooms, reception rooms and other public areas. “Bordeaux’s châ- de teaux have always welcomed visitors, but it has been very low key, mostly people in the trade and collectors,” ex- plains Sylvie Gaillard of the Bordeaux Tourist Office. “In other parts of the world, tourism has always been a much bigger part of the winery business be- cause a lot of the wine is sold at the rOBordeaux’s famous châteaux haveute long been emblematic of this region’s celebrated “wine vineyard. That’s not how it works in civilization.” But as wine enthusiasts become more sophisticated, their interests are extending Bordeaux. Here, nearly all the wine is sold to négociants, who in turn sell to importers and distributors.” These vintners are a super high-octane bunch—pumped, jazzed, beyond opulent salons and tasting tables to vat rooms and cellars—which in turn are getting But image is everything in today’s competitive market, and even energized, immensely proud of what they have accomplished fresh attention from architects and designers. the following pages highlight some of the most the traditionally reserved grand cru vineyards—about 5 percent of the and psyched about reaching ever higher. Yet the investments interesting destinations for today’s wine tourist. region’s 10,000 producers—are enthusiastically welcoming wine lovers needed to obtain even an incremental increase in quality can be from around the world. “There’s definitely a new openness,” says phenomenal—a new barrel cellar or vat room typically costs Gaillard. “Some châteaux offer tours to small millions of euros. groups by reservation only, others are open Is it worth it? That depends on whom you ask. For Jean-Guillaume / APPeLLATIOns / seven days a week, still others are focused Prats, director of Cos d’Estournel, the answer is an unequivocal on hosting corporate dinners and high-end yes. “Our new chais are extraordinary, and since I am French and events. There are even a few that are turning thus arrogant by definition, I don’t mind saying that we have the Médoc Château Cos Saint- Château Faugères Graves Château La Louvière their châteaux into lovely B&Bs.” most avant-garde winery in the world. But it wasn’t a wealthy d’Estournel Emilion Château Fonplégade Château Malartic- owner’s caprice; it is part of a carefully thought-out business Château Château Franc Mayne Lagravière & Pomerol plan.” And it is now part of Bordeaux’s history which, he points Pontet-Canet Domaine des Collines Château Smith Médoc Château Lynch-Bages Haut Lafitte rom vineyards to vats to visitors, each out, includes a long list of innovations and technological advances Château Vieux Maillet Pomerol Château Château Château estate does things its own way. Indeed, it that have influenced winemaking around the world. Pichon-Longueville Petit-Village de Rochemorin BOrdeAuX is this endless variety that makes Bordeaux “Bordeaux has always been incredibly competitive, attracting Château La Lagune Château Pavie Château Haut-Selve Château Château de Lussac Château La Mission so endlessly fascinating. “There is no single people from outside the region who have the financial means, the Saint- Brane-Cantenac Haut-Brion Emilion religion here,” says Malartic-Lagravière’s desire and the dynamism to really push the envelope,” he says. Château Latour Domaine de Chevalier Philippe Garcia. “No one is right or wrong. “Think of it this way: Owning a grand cru vineyard is like owning Graves At the end of the day, all that really matters is what is in the glass.” a Formula One racing car—sometimes you have to spend a lot fAnd Garcia and his fellow winemakers leave no doubt that they of money to gain a fraction of a second. But it’s that fraction of a are determined to make what is in that glass ever more exquisite. second that can get you across the finish line first.”

44 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 45 ExtrEME ExtrEME EStAtES / Médoc frOm tOp: Estournel was driven by a blind passion for his vineyard, one that earned EStAtES / Medoc BordEAux his wine aen by a blind passion for his vineyard, one that earnedBordEAuxBord his wineEAux aen by a blind passion for his vineyard, one that earned his wine a place on the tables of Napol ......

ChâtEAu CoS d’EStourNEL château cOs a tradition d’estOurnel a TradiTion of audaciTy of audacity

> Saint-EStèphE, Grand Cru ClaSSé “I think that it’s a wine cellar… This very elegant building, a brilliant bright-yellow color, is re- ally of no particular style; it is neither Greek nor Gothic but very cheerful and more or less Chinese. On the façade, there is only one word: Cos.” French writer Stendhal penned these words in 1838, and visitors ever since have marveled at the strange architecture of this winery. > Saint-EStèphE, Grand Cru ClaSSé Probably the most extraordinary building in “I think that it’s a wine cellar… This very elegant the Médoc, it sprang from the imagination of building, a brilliant bright-yellow color, is really of its eccentric owner, Louis-Gaspard d’Estournel no particular style; it is neither Greek nor Gothic but (1762-1853), who inherited the property in very cheerful and more or less Chinese. On the façade, 1791. As colorful as any character in a novel, there is only one word: Cos.” French writer Stendhal d’Estournel was driven by a blind passion for his penned these words in 1838, and visitors ever since vineyard, one that earned his wine a place on the have marveled at the strange architecture of this win- tables of Napoleon III and Queen Victoria but ery. that also drove him so deep into debt that he died Probably the most extraordinary building in the penniless. Along the way, he Médoc, it sprang from the imagination of its eccentric advanced the science of wine- owner, Louis-Gaspard making and repeatedly stunned d’Estournel (1762-1853), the Bordeaux wine world with who inherited the property in A RCHITECT antics such as his “Retour des 1791. As colorful as any A RCHITECT Jean-Michel Indes” wines, inspired when an character in a novel, Wilmotte, 2009 Jean-Michel undelivered shipment to India Wilmotte, 2009 d’Estournel was driven by was returned to his estate. Sur- a blind passion for his vine- prised that the wine tasted better than when it yard, one that earned his had left the property, he promptly began send- wine a place on the tables of Napoleon III and Queen ing his vintages on round-trip voyages, branding Victoria but that also drove him so deep into debt that these bottles with a distinctive “R.” They became he died penniless. Along the way, he advanced the sci- wildly popular. ence of winemaking and repeatedly stunned the Bor- Indeed, d’Estournel excelled at cultivating a deaux wine world with antics such as his “Retour des sense of magical exoticism, understanding early Indes” wines, inspired when an undelivered shipment on that wine is like no other product, that dreams to and imagination are part of the tasting experi- ence. His new chais echoed this conviction—

46 France • winter 2009-10 32 France • winter 2009 ExtrEME EStAtES / Médoc previOus paGe: Jacques Garcia’s design for Cos d’Estournel’s bottle cellar captures BELOW TOP: Château Pontet-Canet’s willingness to embrace different techniques and BordEABordEAux the mystique created by the famous “Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe.” belOw left: Jean- technologies—from horse-drawn plows to these sculptural concrete vats—has burnished Michel Wilmotte’s striking glass columns make for an unexpectedly glamorous barrel the reputation of its wines. BOTTOM: Visitors at Château Lynch-Bages can experience cellar. belOw riGht: President Jean-Guillaume Prats, who oversaw the renovations. the history of viticultural design by touring the estate’s 19th-century vat room.

A RCHITECT Christophe Massie, 2005

d’estOurnel cultivated a sense Of maGical exOticism.

setting for state-of-the-art winemaking equipment.” The materials he chose—stainless château steel, oak and glass—were inspired by vats, pOntet-canet barrels and bottles. The overall effect is open pauillac, and airy, sleek and chic—way more art gallery Grand Cru Classé than dairy. The original part of the chais, now used Don’t expect to see any daring them are some of the coolest vats during the fermentation process. This iron columns and beams along with for sorting grapes, was decorated by Jacques contemporary architecture as you in the region. Shaped like truncated means that the process takes longer, rows of handsome wood vats; an- Garcia, as renowned for his sumptuously approach Pontet-Canet. Here, a cones and made entirely of concrete, requiring vats that can remain at a other is a minimalist space housing rich interiors as Wilmotte is for his spare lovely 18th-century château nestles these sculptural cuves weren’t cho- constant temperature. Wood and their contemporary concrete cousins. designs. In dramatic contrast with the adjacent peacefully in a sea of vines; behind it, sen for their sleek good looks but concrete do this equally well, so Smaller in size, the new concrete vinification room, it has wine-red walls, mas- a quaint courtyard is surrounded by rather because they are suited to the Pontet-Canet now has two vat vats also give the vineyard the flexibil- a cluster of storybook buildings. You vineyard’s new biodynamic practices, rooms: One dating from the 19th- ity to vinify parcels or parts of parcels sive dark wood beams and stone elephants would never guess that inside one of which preclude the addition of yeast century features Eiffel-inspired cast- separately. pontet-canet.com the magnificent golden sandstone structure is the entire work space and incorporate the standing guard by the doors. Imbued with topped with exuberant pagodas and boasts an latest technologies.” Together with Michel the sensual exoticism that so enchanted enormous carved-wood door imported from Reybier, an industrialist who purchased the d’Estournel, this vast, high-ceilinged space Zanzibar. Inside, mesmerized visitors tasted property in 2000, Prats worked out a plan to just beyond the Zanzibar door is sometimes his wines amid flickering candles, mirrors, renovate and enlarge the chais; a second phase used for receptions and other events. Equally plush carpets and silk wall hangings. will turn nearby buildings into guest rooms, theatrical is the barrel cellar, dramatically lit château Without d’Estournel’s unbridled zeal, his a boutique and a tasting room. “Cos never by glowing glass columns, and the bottle lynch-baGes To get a historical perspective on current chais design, stop by Pauillac, namesake wines might never have achieved had a château, so this will vastly improve our cellar, an opulent yet intimate space that feels Lynch-Bages, one of the rare Bordeaux estates to have preserved Grand Cru Classé the renown they enjoy today, and the estate’s facilities for welcoming visitors,” says Prats. like the inside of an Indian jewel box. intact its vintage winemaking facilities. Housed in a building latest renovations pay generous tribute to his He selected architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte Outside, the building has been restored to dating back to the 16th or 17th century, the vat room was installed influence and contributions. “No one since for his demonstrated ability to integrate its original glory, and the grounds now fea- in the 1800s and remained in service until 1975. Its design—a wood mezzanine with openings allow- d’Estournel had looked at the big picture contemporary design into historic buildings— ture fanciful elephant topiaries, pink Indian ing access to the tops of the vats—is in keeping with the tenets of a certain Monsieur Skawinski, who here,” says Jean-Guillaume Prats, president of and for his love of wine. “Vat rooms are paving stones and other design elements that managed several Médoc properties. The objective was to provide workers with an elevated workspace safe from the CO2 given off during fermentation (it sank to the ground level) while also providing other Cos d’Estournel since 2000. “Work had been usually boring; frankly, they look a lot like recall Louis d’Estournel—that irrepressible technical and sanitary advantages. Skawinski’s ideas were widely adopted throughout the region and done in bits and pieces, but this time, we dairies,” laughs Wilmotte. “We wanted this dreamer known as the Maharajah of Saint- continue to influence vat-room design today. All of Lynch-Bages’s original equipment is still in place, wanted to rethink everything, to rationalize one to be very different, to provide a dramatic Estèphe. cosestournel.com allowing visitors to follow every step of the winemaking process. lynchbages.com

48 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 49 ExtrEME EStAtES / Médoc belOw: Gazing at Château Pichon-Longueville’s romantic 19th-century belOw: Many Bordeaux châteaux use gravity instead of pumps, but La Lagune has come up with perhaps BordEABordEAux façade, no one would guess that beneath the serene water feature is a the most original technique: tubular arms that reach across the room from the sorting station to the vats. state-of-the-art barrel cellar. A circular opening brings daylight into the belOw riGht: Head oenologist Caroline Frey samples wines aging in the new barrel cellar. bOttOm: Movable chai, distinctive for its large size and absence of support columns. shutter panels are an integral part of Château Brane-Cantenac’s green design, which was way ahead of its time.

château a different décor. A large pichOn- country kitchen, complete lOnGueville with a blinding array of pol- Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé ished copper pots, delights visitors with its warmth and charm. Every fairy-tale château needs facilities without detracting from its A RCHITECTS A totally different style a Prince Charming; for Pichon- magnificent château and gardens? Jean de Gastines and reigns on the other end of Patrick Dillon, 1991; Longueville, that turned out to be A competition was launched by the the property, where a new Alain Triaud, 2007 AXA Millésimes, a subsidiary of the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the vat room flaunts its con- mega insurance company run by winning design was signed by the temporary design creds. Claude Bébéar. Since acquiring the French-American team of Jean de Outside, boxwood grows in property in 1987, AXA has invested Gastines and Patrick Dillon. foot barrel cellar that is even less The openness of the space also château super-sized flower pots; in- in every aspect of its operations, bur- Their solution was to put the new conspicuous than the prior additions: makes it ideal for elegant soirées, la laGune side, all is stainless steel, nishing the reputation of this second construction on either side of the The vaulted concrete structure is when votive candles flicker atop Haut-Médoc, blond wood and glass. growth and turning what was once château, sinking it into the ground so entirely underground, tucked be- seemingly endless rows of casks Grand Cru Classé Most remarkable is La a Sleeping Beauty into a vibrant that only one floor is visible. Viewed neath the reflecting pool that mirrors and classical music wafts through Lagune’s solution to the destination for wine lovers. from the street—the famous Route the château. “Visitors often remark the wine-scented air. By early 2010, gravity issue. Like the other Under then-director Jean-Michel des Châteaux—the additions are that there seems to be something renovations to the reception areas great estates of this region, Cazes, improvements in the vine- barely noticeable. Skylights illuminate missing,” says architect Alain Triaud. will also be complete, allowing AXA When the Frey family pur- it treats its grapes with yards began immediately, as did the vat room, which was given a “And they are right—there are no Millésimes to fulfill its objective of ca- chased La Lagune in 2000, the utmost care, forgoing renovations to the 19th-century circular configuration for optimum support columns. Cellars are work- tering to every level of wine tourism, they set out to restore its pumps in favor of gentle château, which now has six beauti- efficiency, and reception areas and places, and my job is to rationalize from casual tastings (the château former splendor while also gravity. Here, the challenge fully appointed guest rooms. More a tasting room were added to better the work flow as much as possible. is open to the public seven days a anchoring it firmly in the was to transfer grapes from daunting was the challenge of build- welcome visitors. Columns get in the way, so I used week) to romantic garden parties 21st century. Viticultural the sorting tables, located ing a new vat room and cellars— In 2007, managing director Chris- bridge-building technologies to cre- and exclusive corporate events. practices were revisited, on a second-story platform, how could this property add modern tian Seely added a 12,000-square- ate a cellar without them.” pichonlongueville.com and in 2004, 24-year-old to the openings atop the Caroline Frey, fresh out of 72 vats. The sci-fi solu- wine school in Bordeaux, tion? Two hollow 50-foot took over as head oenolo- stainless-steel arms. Set gist. Meanwhile, the stately at a 5 degree incline, these A r c h i t e c t 18th-century chartreuse—a articulated limbs reach Patrick Baggio, one-story residence typical across the room and al- 2004 of this region—was entirely low the grapes to leisurely renovated and now offers tumble into the vats. six guest rooms, each with chateau-lalagune.com

Today, just about every new winery integrates some level of château sustainable development and eco-friendly practices. That brane-cantenac wasn’t the case in the late 1990s, when owner Henri Lurton Margaux, Grand Cru Classé decided to build a new vat room at Brane-Cantenac. “Back then, we were pretty much the only ones here thinking about these issues,” says estate manager Christophe Capdeville. “We told the architect that we wanted the new facilities to be larger and more functional, we wanted to use eco-friendly materials, and we didn’t want air conditioning. And we wanted the vat room to be aesthetically pleasing yet very different in style from the historic buildings on the estate.” Vincent Dufos de Rau—Lurton’s cousin—met the challenge with features such as sandwich technologies to insulate walls and ceiling, and a natural ventilation system that brings outdoor air inside through under- ground ducts, cooling it along the way. Also key to the design is a wall of movable shut- ter panels installed parallel to the southwest façade, which naturally controls light and heat while evoking the tobacco-drying sheds that used to dot southwestern France. “One of the most difficult aspects of the project was to find the kind of environ- mentally friendly materials we wanted, especially ones that would be neutral and not A RCHITECT interfere with the wine,” says Capdeville. “Now of course you can just Google that Vincent Dufos sort of thing.” brane-cantenac.com de Rau, 1999

50 France • winter 2009-10 ExtrEME EStAtES / Médoc belOw: Function meets design meets tradition at premier grand cru Château riGht: Tidy rectangular plots of vines surround Château Montrose, with its enviable BordEABordEAux Latour, one of the most legendary names in the world of wine. The repeating location on the banks of the Garonne. The entire complex, which includes winemaking motif created by rows of barrels with wine-stained bands is complemented facilities and reception rooms as well as a château and helipad, is being renovated to meet by neat rows of tiny lights hanging from the ceiling. the latest standards in energy efficiency and conservation.

CoMING SooN

those of Mouton and Lafite. inaugurated the Opus One The strategy calls for brand- winery in California. De- Château new chais conceived by signed by Scott Johnson, Fourcas French stage designer the landmark building is an Hosten Richard Peduzzi; long a unprecedented marriage of collaborator of film director European and Californian Château Montrose has an listrac-Médoc, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur Patrice Chéreau, he recently materials and sensibilities. enviable location, with neat designed the controversial In 1998, the Baroness Château rows of vines running down set for “Tosca” at New York’s joined forces with Viña Montrose to the Garonne and a gentle In 2006, Renaud and Laurent Metropolitan Opera. Concha y Toro S.A. to breeze constantly blowing in Momméja, members of the “There was no question produce a new Chilean Saint-Estèphe, from the river. Wine has been Hermès family, purchased of building a pastiche of an wine called Almaviva; its Grand Cru Classé made here only since the early this cru bourgeois in Listrac. 18th-century château,” says acclaimed winery was built 1800s, yet by 1855, vintages Renovations are already well Managing and Commercial by leading Chilean archi- were extraordinary enough to under way on the estate’s Director Hervé Berland. “We tect Martin Hurtado. Now, earn second-growth classifica- exquisite chartreuse, which wanted to incorporate the Mouton has commissioned tion. The Charmolüe family, who owned the property for a they are restoring in authen- latest winemaking tech- stage designer Richard Pe- century, were devoted stewards, their most recent contri- tic 18th-century style. While nologies into a building that duzzi, assisted by Bordeaux bution being an expansive new vinification room designed waiting to move in, Renaud would be architecturally architect Bernard Mazières, by Patrick Baggio in 2000. In 2006, the property was sold is working out of a tem- interesting and very con- to design extensive renova- to billionaire brothers Martin and Olivier Bouygues (Martin porary office set up on the temporary, and we knew tions for its Pauillac estate. runs the giant Bouygues industrial group), and plans were estate’s expansive grounds, Peduzzi could deliver that.” Work is slated to begin in soon drawn up to renovate the entire mosaic of buildings orchestrating improvements The ensemble will include 2010. bpdr.com that gives Montrose the feeling of a tiny village. in the vineyards while review- a vat room, cellars, recep- They opted for a style that draws on local vernacular ing Christophe Massie’s tion areas and a tasting architecture, hiring Yves Grémont, an architect accredited sketches for a new vat room, room, all eco-friendly and to renovate national historic monuments, to supervise the tasting room and boutique. almost entirely energy inde- Château project. Yet while the buildings may look very 19th-century The estate is slated to open pendent, thanks to rooftop Palmer from the outside, they are totally 21st-century inside. to visitors in 2011. fourcas- solar panels. Work is slated Given Bouygues’s reputation in the building industry, it is hosten.fr for completion in March Margaux, not surprising to learn that Montrose is becoming Architect Grand Cru Classé Bernard Mazières; 2010. bpdr.com a model of sustainable development and environ- i n t e r i o r D e s i g n mentally friendly practices. Director Jean-Bernard Delmas, Bruno Moinard; 2003 formerly of Haut-Brion, points out that solar panels will sup- Château Rumor has it that Palmer ply all electricity, and buildings are highly energy efficient, Clerc-Milon Château is planning to revamp its with extraordinary insulation (some walls are three feet thick, Mouton chais within the next few window panes are an inch thick) and geothermal systems château pauillac, Rothschild years, but the château re- installed for heating and cooling. Grand Cru Classé mains officially mum on the Renovations completed to date include offices and latOur pauillac, Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé Grand Cru Classé subject. In the meantime, reception rooms, both decorated with original furnishings by visitors can take in the cur- Jacques Garcia, who chose a handsome cream-and-brown It’s not easy to live in the rent vat room, completed by palette for the estate. The renowned designer will also outfit Ask area winemakers to name their the PPR luxury conglomerate, the cellar, constructed from tinted An adjacent tasting room lets shadow of Château Mouton Mouton Rothschild is no architect Christophe Massie the new tasting rooms and guest rooms. A cellar for stock- favorite contemporary chais, and new vat room, cellar and tasting concrete. Stacked two deep, the this famous wine take center stage, Rothschild, the world-famous stranger to audacious ar- in 1995. State-of-the-art in ing cases and bottles was recently completed, and seasonal “Latour” is often their response. room replaced a collection of old wood casks are illuminated by with an understated décor by Bruno premier grand cru belong- chitecture. In 1926, owner its day, it boasts truncated workers (a group from the same region of Spain has been Perhaps it is the way the design buildings; sitting placidly amid the a constellation of tiny lights sus- Moinard, whose prestigious projects ing to Baroness Philippine Baron Philippe de Roth- cone-shaped stainless- harvesting here for nearly 50 years) now enjoy spanking new blends effortlessly with its legendary vines, the new single-story structure pended from the ceiling, creating include Cartier boutiques worldwide. de Rothschild and her fam- schild built the magnificent steel vats contrasting quarters. Next up: A spectacular semi-underground barrel surroundings yet is unmistakably looks as if it has been there as long what Mazières calls an “almost Displaying a restrained elegance ily. Now, the Rothschilds Grand Chai, a 100-meter- with a handsome wood cellar designed by Bernard Mazières. modern. Perhaps it is the way it as the estate’s famous dovecote. meditative” mood. Upstairs, four worthy of a premier grand cru, are nudging their other fine long barrel cellar that still mezzanine and imposing Still undecided is the fate of the château itself; although silently commands respect for the To gain additional space without long rows of stainless-steel vats are the room features a glass wall fram- wines into the limelight, enthralls visitors. In 1991, exposed wood rafters and charming, it is quite small and has a dated interior, and the winemaker’s art. encroaching on precious vineyards, aligned beneath a traditional wood- ing the vineyards, a sleek white coun- including fifth-growth his daughter, Baroness Phi- beams—a nod to traditional Bouygues have not yet decided whether to renovate or build Commissioned by owner Fran- the architect excavated a lower beamed ceiling. The effect is simple ter and dark polished-concrete floors Clerc-Milon, whose vine- lippine de Rothschild, and cuverie design. chateau- a new residence. With this notable exception, work is ex- çois Pinault, the billionaire head of level where he placed the barrel and spare yet surprisingly imposing. and walls. chateau-latour.com yards are tucked between her partner Robert Mondavi palmer.com pected to be completed by 2011. chateau-montrose.com

52 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 53 ExtrEME Saint- EStAtES / Emilion belOw left: Owner Sylvio Denz and architect Mario Botta dig the symbolic first BordEAux & Pomerol shovels of dirt at Château Faugères’s new winery. OppOsite: Now complete, the structure houses the ultimate in winemaking equipment, and its hilltop perch offers grand views of the Saint-Emilion countryside.

and image—and be on the safe side of the designed to blend into the surroundings, INAO rules—he commissioned what is now thanks to fragrant rooftop plantings of laven- the most architecturally adventurous winery der, rosemary and sedum. in Bordeaux. “The fact that it is located about Inside, every detail of this winery has qual- a quarter mile from the estate’s historic resi- ity written all over it. Oenologist extraordi- dence made it easier to opt for contemporary naire Michel Rolland, who has consulted with design,” he explains. “There was no danger of Faugères for two decades, worked with the clashing styles.” estate’s winemaking team to put together a After considering several other world- brief that specified equipment and workflow. renowned architects, he asked Mario Botta if Faugères wines are now given every imaginable he would be interested in the project. “He re- advantage, from refrigerated rooms that chill plied that at his age, he only takes on work that grapes before sorting to revolutionary optical he really enjoys,” recalls Denz. “So he agreed sorters to the Rolls-Royce of wine presses. It to make a sketch, and if I liked it, great; if also boasts an array of vats made from French not, we would part as friends. The moment oaks averaging 120 years of age. “The lime- château I saw it, I loved it.” The striking €8 million stone soil here produces tannic, highly struc- fauGères winery was inaugurated this past September, tured wines,” explains Denz. “They need breaking new ground just in time for the 2009 harvest. wood.” And only the best would do. Perched on a hill amid the rolling Saint- The ultimate in attention and quality Emilion vineyards, Botta’s “cathedral of wine,” are lavished on the estate’s Péby Faugères. as he likes to call it, possesses a commanding Launched in 1998 by Corinne Guisez in presence worthy of any Bordeaux château yet memory of her late husband, Pierre-Bernard is neither flamboyant nor extravagant. In- (Péby), it is a 100 percent Merlot made from deed, the award-winning Swiss architect, who the property’s best parcels. Now it is vini- > Saint-EMilion, Grand Cru ClaSSé also designed San Francisco’s MoMA, says his fied in 50 French oak barrels, each holding In 1992, the Guisez family, owners of Faugères objective was simply to evoke the mutually about 200 kilos of grapes that are manually since 1823, built a striking new winery de- beneficial relationship between this terroir rotated five to six times a day signed by Jean de Gastines and Patrick and the men who turn its fruit into wine. for about 10 days. “It’s very Dillon. The “architectural envelope,” as wine- The most impressive part of the design artisanal and very rare to makers call it, still looks very of-the-moment, is a central tower, whose lofty belvedere of- make wine this way,” says es- A RCHITECT but winemaking philosophies and techniques fers fabulous views of the vineyards as well as Mario Botta, tate manager Alain Dourthe. have advanced so much that the equipment— Faugères’s beautifully restored 18th-century 2009 “Only about five or six Bor- very innovative in its day—is now rather chartreuse and old chais, now used exclu- deaux châteaux do it, but dated. Certainly no match for the ambitions sively for Castillon wines. Built of reinforced the results are fantastic: silky, supple tannins of Silvio Denz, the Swiss perfume entrepre- concrete covered with honey-colored Span- and strong fruit.” neur who bought the property in 2005. ish limestone (the closest match to Saint- Denz, whose other businesses include La- “There was another drawback,” explains Emilion’s famous limestone, now exhausted), lique crystal, brings both an intense competi- Denz. “In 2004, new AOC regulations stipu- it provides expansive quarters for offices, tast- tive drive and a deep sense of stewardship of lated that wines must be made in their appel- ing rooms and reception and dining areas. this historic property. Like other passionate lation.” Château Faugères, whose 200 acres of Rows of tiny square openings are punched winemakers here, he feels that he has been vineyards straddle Saint-Emilion and Côtes out of its sides, adding texture by day and entrusted with an extraordinary and unique de Castillon, had always had a single winery magic by night, when they are aglow with terroir, and that it is his mission to allow it to on the Castillon side. “INAO [Institut Na- 248 LED lights. express itself as fully and exquisitely as pos- tional des Appellations d’Origine] has granted The more discreet, horizontal section sible. Preserving the environment goes hand an exemption for estates like ours,” he says. built into the hillside houses the vat room, in hand with that mandate. “Faugères is one “But it won’t last forever.” barrel cellar and other technical areas; tak- of only a handful of Bordeaux estates to be A passionate wine enthusiast, Denz dreams ing advantage of the topography, it divides certified ISO 14001,” he points out. “Protect- of the day Faugères, which already enjoys an the winemaking process among several dif- ing nature and the environment is extremely excellent reputation, will produce a Saint- ferent floors, thus facilitating the use of grav- important to us—and essential for future Emilion premier grand cru. To boost quality ity at every stage. The above-ground level is generations.” chateau-faugeres.com

54 France • winter 2009-10 France • spring 2008 33 ExtrEME saint- emilion EStAtES / & Pomerol BELOW: American owners Stephen and Denise Adams have invested heavily in belOw: The new vinification room at Château Franc Mayne has both stainless-steel and wood BordEABordEAux Château Fonplégade, upgrading the vineyards, restoring and redecorating the vats, enabling it to get the most out of the property’s different crus. bOttOm: Architect Philippe 19th-century château and totally renovating the chais. The estate’s new focus on Mazières designed his own winery, Domaine des Collines, to be a convivial place where friends wine tourism is reflected in the expansive new tasting room and boutique. and visitors gather for tastings, art exhibits and other events.

Emilion plateau. “I think visitors are swapped its tractors for horses. large, luminous tasting area and château really going to like this!” he exclaimed. Over at the winery, the old con- boutique selling wine and a range of franc mayne Adams may be a 71-year-old busi- crete vats were pulled out and objects—glasses, polo shirts, cork- Saint Emilion, nessman and billionaire, but he is replaced with oak. “There used to screws—sporting the Fonplégade Grand Cru Classé anything but jaded; as he test-drove be disadvantages to all three kinds logo. Meanwhile, the gleaming white his latest acquisition, he had the joyful of vats—concrete, stainless steel 19th-century château has had its expression of a kid who has just got- and wood,” explains Maurice de own makeover, courtesy of Adams’s Château Franc Mayne has one of the most magical ten the bike he wanted for Christmas. Coninck. “But they have pretty much wife, Denise, an interior decorator. wine cellars in Bordeaux, with casks and bottles It is perhaps that enthusiasm that been eliminated. Now, you choose Five years and some €7 million stored in five acres of underground quarries that once explains the lightning-fast renova- the material that will best enhance later, Fonplégade has become the supplied the limestone that built so much of Saint- tions at Fonplégade, which he the wine that comes from your par- flagship of Adams’s collection of vine- Emilion. Recently, Griet and Hervé Van Malderen- château purchased in 2004. Typically, new ticular terroir. Our wines really need yards, which now includes six Right Laviale, who purchased the 17-acre property in 2004, fOnpléGade owners looking to upgrade an estate the contact with wood.” Bank properties. While he leaves the have made the estate’s other facilities appealing to Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru Classé focus first on the vineyards then, a The vat room leads to a ground- winemaking to the pros, the Ameri- visitors as well, renovating the chais and creating a few years later, on the winery. “Here, level barrel cellar featuring old stone can owner enthusiastically contrib- seamless flow between the winery and the estate’s On a sunny afternoon this past sum- everything happened at once,” walls juxtaposed with cutting-edge utes the talent that made his fortune: second business, a nine-room hotel housed in the mer, Stephen Adams took his new laughs director Marjolaine Maurice barrel-stacking equipment that al- a keen sense of marketing. adjoining 18th-century maison girondine. Kawasaki Mule for an inaugural spin de Coninck. Following the advice of lows workers to rotate or move any Among other initiatives, he has From the reception area, visitors can now look down around the Fonplégade vineyards. consulting oenologist Michel Rolland, one barrel without having to displace launched a California-style wine through glass walls onto the vinifica- He was visibly delighted that the little work in the vineyards focused on the others. Two long, narrow chan- club and made Fonplégade the only tion room to one side and the barrel four-wheel-drive vehicle managed to improving quality through such mea- nels of water flow along the floor, Saint-Emilion grand cru to welcome cellar to the other. The revamp called get him and two passengers up the sures as replacing tired vines and providing humidity while referencing the public seven days a week. And for pulling out the old concrete vats steep slopes, and excitedly pointed limiting grape bunches to three per the estate’s name, which means of course, the new Mule vineyard A RCHITECT and replacing them with a combination out landmarks visible from this ex- plant. With an eye to becoming fully “fountain plain.” At the far end, a tours were all his idea. Anne Johnston, of steel and wood, considered more traordinary perch atop the Saint- biodynamic, Fonplégade has also glass wall and doors open onto a adamsfrenchvineyards.com 2006 suitable to the grapes produced on the vineyard’s two distinct kinds of soil. Now, Franc Mayne can make fruity as well as tannic, highly structured wines, which can then be combined into complex blends. From the vat room, a passage beneath the reception area leads to the barrel cellar, a bright, high-ceilinged room with sculptural light fixtures. Here as elsewhere, contemporary design elements A r c h i t e c t freshen up the look yet still respect the historic setting. christian Delpace, chateau-francmayne.com, relaisfrancmayne.com 2004-2005

dOmaine Philippe Mazières has designed multi- des cOllines million-dollar wineries in Bordeaux, Rioja, Bordeaux Supérieur Russia and China. Somewhere along the way, he was bitten by the bug and decided that he simply had to have a vineyard of his very own. In 2006, the architect and his wife, Véronique, became the proud owners of 10 acres near Saint-Emilion. The fact that there was no winery on the property was not a problem for Mazières, who took great pleasure in designing his own. From the start, he wanted it to be a lively place with art exhibits and other events open to friends, neighbors and visitors, and it has become just that. Built with eco-friendly materials and a savvy dose of high design, it is a sort of winery in miniature: From just about any spot, you can see the receiving area, vat room, barrel cellar, tasting room and vineyards—all at once. It’s a fun way to grasp the entire winemaking process. Mazières, who cultivates his diminutive vineyard “like a garden,” is more than a little proud that his wines have won recog-

nition; most recently, the weekly VSD named Domaine A RCHITECT des Collines one of the top 10 Bordeaux Supérieur Philippe wines under €10. domainedescollines.com Mazières, 2008

56 France • winter 2009-10 ExtrEME saint- emilion EStAtES / & Pomerol TOP: Château Vieux Maillet has morphed from a collection of nondescript buildings into a study in savvy BELOW: In a nod to the elegant spires topping BordEABordEAux design, with this hip tasting room as centerpiece. CENTER: Edgy materials and a minimalist aesthetic have Château de Lussac’s turrets, architect Philippe Ma- redefined Château Petit-Village. BOTTOM: When renovating its cellar, Château Pavie elected to combine zières gave the estate’s vat room a contemporary the old with the new, mixing contemporary art with arches recovered from a 19th-century train station. spire that floods the space below with daylight.

château vieux maillet CoMING SooN Pomerol If the devil is in the details, Château Lassègue’s new owners Vieux Maillet is a case study in how intend to grab the devil by the tail. In 2003, Pierre Seillan, who even estates with virtually no curb has decades of experience running vineyards in both Bordeaux appeal can be transformed into fun Château Lassègue and California, teamed up with Jess Jackson of Jackson Family destinations for wine lovers. When Wines to buy this 60-acre property. First, they had the land thor- Griet and Hervé Van Malderen-Laviale Saint-Emilion, oughly analyzed and were surprised to discover that there were acquired the property in 2003, the Grand Cru more than 10 distinct types of soil. This finding led them to take 15-acre vineyard produced a highly a “micro cru” approach, meaning that grapes from each different acclaimed wine in small, nondescript type of soil would be vinified separately in a new set of smaller buildings. Bruno Legrand used a gray- vats, then blended. and-white color scheme, glass and Rather than build a new cuverie, however, they simply set up the new equipment in the old stainless steel and a lot of imagina- space, preferring this temporary arrangement until they were sure they had made the right tion to transform the tight space into choices. With a few vintages under their belt, they are now ready to have architect Philippe a luminous, modern winery. The Mazières build new chais behind the estate’s graceful 17th-century chartreuse. “We believe highlight is the tasting room, whose that just as wine should express the terroir and carry a message from the soil, winery archi- spare but stylish décor and expansive tecture should respect the site,” says Seillan’s son Nicolas, who manages the estate. The new A r c h i t e c t vineyard views invite visitors to linger. winery will therefore be a luminous space that will balance contemporary materials such as Bruno Legrand, chateauvieuxmaillet.com stainless steel and glass with classic wood and stone. 2006 The new barrel cellar will house what could be called bespoke casks: Jackson has invested in a stave mill in northeastern France, allowing his various properties to source château de lussac barrels tailor-made to their needs. “Every year, my father visits the state-owned oak forests, Lussac-Saint-Emilion working with specialists to select the trees that will be made into our casks,” explains Nicolas. “Just as important, we can take advantage of the mill’s wide range of toasting protocols, again château After touring the great Médoc estates, Pomerol vineyards seem Belgian couple Griet and selecting those that best correspond to our wines. We use as many as 10 different ones at petit-villaGe positively quaint. They are much smaller and don’t have châ- Hervé Van Malderen-Laviale Lassègue, including a few developed according to our specifications. It’s very precise, very Pomerol teaux, but as Petit-Village so seductively demonstrates, even bought this estate in 2000. high-end, but that is our approach across the board.” these tiny vineyards can be big on style. AXA Millésimes, which It was their first acquisition Work is slated to begin in 2010. chateau-lassegue.com A RCHITECT purchased the estate in 1989, invested in the vineyard and then on the Right Bank, but it improved the winemaking facilities, giving the place a chic makeover in the process. The new Philippe Mazières, wouldn’t be their last—they chocolate-colored concrete vats look like something Armani might design, 2002 now own four vineyards renovation, hiring Pritzker is investing heavily with the and barrel cellars have black walls and ceilings that contrast smartly with the here (two others are de- prize-winner Christian de hopes of lifting Soutard into pale wood of the oak casks. The hip effect is heightened by a thin channel of scribed above). With the exception of the Château Portzamparc, who also de- the elite ranks of the premiers fluorescent lighting slicing through the ceiling. Visitors can leisurely get to know minuscule Château Saint Jean de Lavaud in Cheval signed LVMH’s Manhattan grands crus classés. Part of the wines in the tasting room, with its Corian counter and contemporary A RCHITECT Lalande de Pomerol (it occupies less than Blanc skyscraper, to create new the plan involves giving the furnishings, then pick up some of their favorite vintages in the boutique. There are Alain Tiraud, three acres), they have restored and refur- chais and a tasting room. estate’s winemaking facilities a also two guest rooms and a salon for special functions. petit-village.com 2005-2007 Saint-Emilion, Work is slated to get under complete overhaul; Bordeaux bished all their properties with an eye to Grand Cru Classé improving the wine and attracting tourists. way in 2010. chateau- architect Fabien Pédela- At Lussac, this involved building a new vat cheval-blanc.com bourde’s design brief is to add room and barrel cellars. The owners wanted In 1998, luxury conglomerate modern amenities and design the design to be contemporary but not LVMH and Belgian business- elements while maintaining the futuristic; Philippe Mazières responded with man Albert Frère acquired estate’s 18th-century spirit. château pavie plans that combined traditional materials, this legendary vineyard, hir- Château An important aspect of the re- Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru Classé modern volumes and a touch of whimsy. The ing Pierre Lurton as estate Soutard vamp is the addition of tasting vat room, for example, is a high-ceilinged, manager (Lurton also man- and reception rooms; with its Parisian supermarket magnate Gérard Perse purchased the premier grand cru Château Pavie circular space; above the stainless-steel ages another LVMH property, Saint-Emilion, prime location on a hilltop just Grand Cru Classé in 1998 and immediately set about changing everything from the pruning of the vines to the vats, blond wood beams converge on a Château d’Yquem). Until outside of Saint-Emilion, the choice of vats to the décor of the château. While his aesthetic tastes did not run to the con- central skylight topped by a glass-and-metal now, the focus has been on estate has tremendous poten- temporary, the new barrel cellar built in 2000 is remarkable in that it incorpo- spire—a nod to the towers of the adjacent maintaining the stellar quality tial as a destination for wine rates 12 stone arches that were originally part of the Gare Bordeaux 19th-century château. In the barrel cellars, of this Saint-Emilion premier Purchased in 2006, Soutard is tourists. Work is expected Bastide, now a cinema complex. Built in 1853, it was one of the oldest train theatrical curtains, wine-colored walls, for- grand cru (it is Class A, of one of five Saint-Emilion vine- to be completed in summer stations in France and representative of the neoclassical style so popular in mal chandeliers and large gilded mirrors are which there are only two, yards acquired by the insur- 2010; in the meantime, con- A RCHITECT Bordeaux. To create the new chai, Bernard Mazières combined these striking both a foil for the rooms’ clean, modern the other being Château ance group La Mondiale since struction has wrapped up on Bernard architectural elements with candelabras, modern art and a backlit vaulted lines and a segue to the château’s Second Ausone). Now, the owners 1990. Like other owners with Soutard’s charming new Web Mazières, 2000 ceiling to create a unique ambiance. chateaupavie.com Empire décor. chateaudelussac.fr are planning a high-profile deep pockets, La Mondiale site. chateausoutard.com

France • WIn T er 2009-10 59 ExtrEME EStAtES / Graves BELOW: In June 2009, André Lurton invited friends to an elegant soirée to inaugurate BordEAux his new red-wine barrel cellar at Château La Louvière. OPPOSITE: The voluminous chai is almost entirely underground, avoiding any aesthetic conflict with the stately 18th- century château, a national historic monument.

A r c h i t e c t Jean-claude Duprat, 2009

château la lOuvière but has also benefited winemakers throughout writing a book on the history of La Louvière. andré lurTon’s the region. A leader of numerous profes- “He has always had a passion for innovation crown jewel sional associations, he notably spent no fewer and new technologies.” Among other things, than 23 years fighting for the creation of the Lurton created a nursery to raise his own Pessac-Léognan appellation. rootstocks, founded an oenological research A member of the famous Lurton wine center and was among the first to adopt dynasty (begun by his grandfather, who lev- machines that sort grapes by gauging their eraged his thriving distillery business to buy sugar density. several vineyards), he inherited Château Bon- When Lurton bought La Louvière in > pESSaC-léoGnan net in the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation. Al- 1965, it was in a state of neglect. Bit by bit, This past June, 84-year-old André Lurton though this gave him a start, his story is very he restored the late-18th-century château invited some 400 guests to La Louvière to different from those of the moneyed indus- and progressively overhauled vineyard prac- inaugurate his monumental new barrel cel- trialists and multinationals that have recently tices and winemaking techniques. “La Lou- lar. As the ceremonial red ribbon fluttered to moved into the area, buying up vineyards and vière produces great white wines, and while the ground, the crowd burst into emotional immediately bankrolling multimillion-dollar the reds are very good, they have never quite applause, and more than one onlooker was renovations. Lurton has built his empire brick reached the level of the whites,” says Ters. teary-eyed. Those in attendance knew that by brick, investing money only as he made it. “For years, André has been obsessed with this might well be the last great hurrah for “Every time he has acquired a vineyard, improving them.” Lurton, whose dogged determination has he has done everything he can to improve This ambition was very much on Lurton’s helped him build a portfolio of six châteaux the wine,” says journalist Didier Ters, who is mind in 2005, when he launched a multi-year

60 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 61 ExtrEME EStAtES / Graves BELOW LEFT: Pioneering winemaker André Lurton, owner of La Louvière. BELOW: Château BELOW: Last year, Château Smith Haut Lafitte got a fresh dash of design with this new BordEABordEAux Malartic-Lagravière’s glass-enclosed control room sits above the vats and beneath a web underground bottle cellar. Guests enter through a stairway hidden in the floor of the of cast-iron rafters. The estate’s chais, built entirely from scratch in 1999, were the first more traditional tasting room above. BOTTOM: Visitors standing on the glass-walled designed to facilitate the use of gravity at every stage of production. mezzanine can take in the vast barrel cellar at Château de Rochemorin.

château château malartic- smith haut laGravière lafitte Pessac-Léognan, Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé de Graves Grand Cru Classé de Graves

Smith Haut Lafitte is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing—in a good way. Everything here fairly oozes charm A RCHITECT and bucolic bliss, but behind the Bernard Mazières, 1999 sweet half-timbered façades are the frOm a distance, same laser-sharp focus and com- petitive spirit that earned owners the new cellar is poured out from the Daniel and Florence Cathiard spots bottom of the vat, then on the French Olympic ski team and is cOmpletely hoisted using a pulley propelled them to success in the system up to the top of business world. invisible. the vat, where the juice is They simply have not let up since poured back over the cap, they bought the property in 1990. thus avoiding the need to Early on, they tackled the vine- pump over. yards, eventually reorganizing and project calling for a new vat room and barrel Mazières gave the vat replanting some 30 percent of their only Bordeaux Haut Lafitte’s new Web site; Daniel It’s lovely, but “lovely” becomes cellar for white wines as well as renovated offices, room a suitably futuristic estate, adopting new viticultural vineyard to fea- Cathiard laughingly comments “wow!” at the press of a button. reception rooms, a visitors center, a boutique design, opting for an oc- techniques and instituting sustain- ture a luxury ho- that it costs as much as a Ferrari Suddenly, the center of the wood tagonal shape to house able methods that range from mak- and other facilities. The revamp would culmi- When Malartic-Lagravière extremely rigorous berry A RCHITECT tel and spa. Les but isn’t even red. It does, how- floor opens, revealing a stylish en- nate with the construction of an extraordinary unveiled its new chais in selection, vinification by the circular arrangements ing their own compost to setting up Yves Collet, Sources de Cau- ever, select only berries that are trance to the bottle cellar, a.k.a. Le of vats. A glass-encased chai for aging the estate’s red wines. 1998, they were hailed as parcel and vats selected their own weather station to using 1993-2009 dalie showcases perfectly ripe and round, and he is Paradis. “This estate goes back to the epitome of winery de- in function of the charac- control room in the cen- horses instead of plows. They also a skin-care line confident that it will make his wines the 15th century, and when working Lurton went all out, commissioning a vaulted sign. As recently as 2005, teristics of the wine. The ter of the room sits on a overhauled the dilapidated chais, derived from even better. Next year’s harvest with architect Yves Collet on various 16,000-square-foot cellar that can hold up to an Australian journalist most radical initiative was mezzanine; there are so building a new white-wine cellar, re- grape seeds that was developed by will also benefit from the latest in projects, we have tried to honor that 1,200 casks (800 is typical). The vast concrete noted, “Not even the Taj the decision to use only many dials and buttons placing the old stainless-steel vats their daughter Mathilde (their other de-stemming technology, based past,” explains Florence Cathiard. structure has two rows of columns supporting Mahals of the Napa Val- gravity—no pumps— that you begin to think with smaller wood cuves, creating daughter, Alice, runs this and other on equipment used for delicate “But this new cellar is underground, three naves, and is almost entirely below ground, ley, let alone elsewhere throughout the entire those little sputniks just reception rooms and updating family-owned hotels). raspberries. so here, we were finally free to ex- in Bordeaux, compare vinification process. might take off into outer other facilities. In 1995, they even Nearly two decades on, the But when it comes to cool, the plore the latest in contemporary de- with vines planted on top. “This design satisfied with Château Malartic- “Malartic-Lagravière was space after all. Walls the installed their own private cooper- breathless pace continues. During new tasting room wins hands down. sign.” A large, back-lit wall features the Bâtiments de France officials, who had to Lagravière.” the first to design a winery color of wine lees provide age, one of only three in the region the past two years alone, they have Built to resemble an orangery that a super-enlarged image of grapes, authorize our plans, given that the château is a The new buildings were around this concept,” a rich backdrop for the (the others are at Château Lafite added the latest-generation wine once stood on the estate, it is a providing clever lighting for a clean, registered national monument,” explains archi- part of an expansive over- says Bernard Mazières. stainless-steel vats, and a and Château Margaux). press, adopted satellite-guided comfortable space with leather architectural display of wines dating tect Jean-Claude Duprat. “From a distance, the haul launched after Belgian “We took advantage of web of metal rafters pays Meanwhile they lovingly restored harvesting and installed a new Chesterfield armchairs, an antique back some 130 years. Just the kind homage to traditional cellar is completely invisible.” This solution also couple Alfred-Alexandre the natural slope of the the property’s 18th-century char- optical sorter. You can see the lat- armoire and urn-shaped spittoons of paradise wine aficionados pray for. and Michèle Bonnie pur- land to create a vertical winery architecture. treuse, and in 1999, became the ter in action in a video on Smith with foot-activated rinsing devices. smith-haut-lafitte.com eliminated the need for air conditioning, in chased the estate in 1996 organization, with har- Next door, a glass- keeping with the estate’s eco-friendly practices. (it is now run by their son, vested grapes entering walled, centrally located But just in case Bordeaux experiences another Jean-Jacques, and his the building at ground tasting room allows visi- heat wave like the one in 2003, Duprat installed wife, Séverine). Within a level, which was also the tors to take in the cuverie, a system of pipes snaking through the ceiling, few short years, they more level of the tops of the the vineyard and the bar- than doubled the vineyard fermentation vats in the rel cellar all at once. There Rochemorin offered André Lurton an opportunity that is rare in Bordeaux: the making it possible to cool the room by circulating area, implemented new next room. So they could are already plans to reno- château possibility of building entirely new, freestanding chais so distant from the estate’s cold water. viticultural techniques, just be wheeled over and vate the latter. “The own- de rOchemOrin historic château that the architect could have total stylistic freedom. The result is Since October, the 2009 vintage has been renovated the château dumped in.” ers are passionate about Pessac-Léognan a contemporary, New World-style winery conceived with visitors in mind. An airy aging quietly in this grand new cellar, marking and created new recep- Also integral to this pro- this estate,” says cellar tasting room overlooks a theatrical barrel cellar with an arched, the official end of the renovations. La Louvière tion rooms. cess are small, custom- manager Philippe Garcia. blond-wood ceiling that picks up on the color of the oak casks “And when you’re that is now a magnificent showcase for the principles They wanted their new made stainless-steel con- neatly stacked below. The buildings’ most distinctive feature is a central spire enclosing a stair- winery to incorporate tainers outfitted with three passionate, you just can’t case that leads to a panoramic terrace with sweeping views of the Bordeaux landscape; on that have guided Lurton’s life’s work: the pro- resist the urge to always what were then the most legs and rollers; these little a clear day, you can even see the Pont d’Aquitaine, about 15 miles to the north. “There are a lot A RCHITECT tection of Bordeaux’s historic heritage and the avant-garde winemak- “sputniks” are filled with go further.” malartic- of church steeples in this area,” says architect Jean-Claude Duprat. “This was my way of refer- Jean-Claude relentless pursuit of quality. andrelurton.com ing techniques, including the fermenting juice that lagraviere.com encing those spires and making Rochemorin a local landmark.” andrelurton.com Duprat, 2003

62 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 63 ExtrEME EStAtES / Graves BELOW: Château Haut-Selve has forged a new path in Bordeaux architecture. Owner Arnaud Lesgourgues BELOW: Château La Mission Haut-Brion played up its monastic history when designing its BordEABordEAux began by asking renowned designer Sylvain Dubuisson to create a winery unlike any other; his asymmet- new barrel cellar, tasting room and cloister-inspired entrance. BOTTOM: Domaine de Che- rical design now provides a provocative backdrop for site-specific sculptures commissioned by Lesgour- valier sits like a grand ocean liner amid a vast sea of vines; the château (located on the gues, an art patron and collector. Shown here are “Castor” and “Pollux” by Spanish sculptor Juan Bordès. left side) blends seamlessly into the artfully disguised vat room and cellars on the right.

first harvest took place in 1996. The that evokes wine casks yet has an At Haut-Selve, this includes busts château on aesthetic direction. Guy Troprès château grapes were vinified in an arresting angular, rather Cubist design. representing the five senses, and then riffed on the monastic theme, haut-selve new facility conceived by Sylvain Dubuisson also designed all the the massive, muscular sculptures la missiOn creating a solemn space with a Graves Dubuisson, a French design star furnishings for the tasting room, of Castor and Pollux (sons of the haut-briOn vaulted ceiling supported by pillars Pessac-Léognan, who has dreamed up everything including an amusing visoire that mythological Leda) flanking the win- sculpted out of Frontenac stone—the Grand Cru Classé de Graves from the rippling gold façade of the reveals the full spectrum of colors in ery entrance. Both are by Spanish same material used for Bordeaux’s As a young man, Jean-Jacques Cartier boutique in Tokyo to edgy any glass of wine. sculptor Juan Bordès. French artist handsome collection of 18th-century Lesgourgues reluctantly abandoned furniture and tableware. Artist and architect Vincent Barré Yves Guérin, meanwhile, was in- buildings, now a UNESCO World his dreams of becoming an art- “We didn’t want the monumental- collaborated on the project, con- spired by the earth of the vineyards What becomes a legend most? For Heritage site. At one end is a raised ist to go into business, but he fed ity and symmetry that is so typical tributing the winery’s outsized doors to create stainless-steel sculptures Domaine Clarence Dillon, the an- platform with carved, dark-oak his passion by becoming an avid of 18th-century Bordeaux,” explains as well as the vineyard’s portail, or celebrating wind, fire and water. He swer would seem to be a carefully pews; as visitors gaze down on the collector. Now retired, he owns Lesgourgues. “That look was meant entry gate, a typical feature of the also contributed a work that is a preserved mystique combined with Architect 11,000-square-foot space, soft light- guy troprès, some 800 late-20th-century works, to assert authority, and we no longer region’s great châteaux. Here, he tribute to Giacometti’s “The Glade,” a relentless pursuit of excellence. ing progressively illuminates the rows 2007 many of which he commissioned. live in an era of lords and peasants. gave it a thoroughly modern inter- setting it amid the 15-acre park that The company owns both Château of barrels, setting a reverential mood. It is not surprising then that when But we did want to include contem- pretation, respecting the traditional Lesgourgues has planted with 6,000 Haut-Brion (since 1935) and Châ- The same décor is carried over Lesgourgues built a winery, it would porary references to tradition.” wrought iron and imposing dimen- trees—his other lifelong passion. teau La Mission Haut-Brion (since into the adjacent tasting room, be about as similar to traditional Dubuisson obliged with a low- sions yet creating a work of almost vignobles-lesgourgues.com 1983), neighboring estates that nologies have led to progressive were at the origin of its name. The where wrought-iron chairs with a Bordeaux chais as a César is to a slung building covered with panels veil-like lightness. boast centuries of illustrious history. upgrades of facilities, the most Gothic chapel the priests built in Gothic-arch motif are set around Fragonard. made of polished pink concrete Like all the LEDA properties, Haut-Brion has been credited with recent project being the construc- 1698 still stands on the property. an austere wood table. Outside, a Haut-Selve is one of several “the color of wine lees.” The sur- Haut-Selve has given Lesgourgues being the first to bottle wines at tion of La Mission’s new barrel cellar. Estate manager Jean-Philippe “cloister” doubles as welcome area vineyards that belong to the LEDA face is scored to give the illusion an opportunity to continue his sup- the château and the first to install The design choice was obvious: The Delmas supplied the technical brief, for guests. Its arched-stone walk- group, now run by Lesgourgues’s of blocks, a nod to the stone used port for the arts by commissioning stainless-steel vats, milestones that château would play up its unique which called for the very latest in way surrounds a square garden with son Arnaud. It is unique in that it is to build Bordeaux. The vat room site-specific works. Artists are typi- are emblematic of the innovative history as home to the Lazarist temperature and humidity control plantings arranged in the shape of a the only Bordeaux vineyard created features spiral metal staircases (a cally invited to spend time at the spirit that it shares with La Mission. Fathers, who owned the vineyard equipment, and owner HRH Prince heraldic crosslet cross—the estate’s from scratch in the 20th century. Dubuisson trademark), and the bar- vineyard, getting a sense of place Advances in winemaking tech- in the 17th century and doubtless Robert of Luxembourg collaborated distinctive logo. haut-brion.com Vines were planted in 1992, and the rel cellar is coiffed by an oak ceiling that they then express in their art.

A r c h i t e c t dOmaine harvesting only in the morning, be- blended wines. The acreage more buildings are sylvain de chevalier cause like all fruits and vegetables, than doubled, prompting a need contemporary in Dubuisson, 1996 Pessac-Léognan, grapes are at their best at that time for larger winemaking facilities. A RCHITECT style but are the Grand Cru Classé de Graves of day. Manager Rémi Edange likes Inaugurated in 1991, the new Hugues Legrix same color and to say that the picked berries are chais adjoin the 19th-century de la Salle, 1991 height as the res- like tiny hard drives; everything is residence just as the old ones idence, creating Since 1864, only two families have recorded within—the amount of did. But they are completely dif- a transition that owned Domaine de Chevalier, and sun and rain, how deeply the roots ferent, both inside and out. The is smooth and effortless to the eye. Olivier Bernard, who purchased the reached into the ground, the make- vat room, for example, is circular Now, the estate is once again vineyard in 1983, is proud of the up of the soil. And he prides himself and flooded with light from a planning to enlarge its winery. “As continuity that has characterized on his ability to read this informa- skylight; this design vastly improved always, it will be respectful of the the estate’s wines over the years. tion, adapting every step of the vini- efficiency and made working condi- past, suited to our current needs Yet while there have been no radical fication process to best suit the fruit tions much more pleasant. The ar- and flexible enough to accommo- revolutions, there has been steady from each plot and sub-plot. chitect cleverly integrated its curved date future evolutions,” says Edange. change, with winemakers con- In the 1980s, Bernard began to walls into the new façade, creating “Here at Chevalier, we like to say stantly examining and re-examining enlarge the vineyards, adding plots the effect of a stately rotunda. In- that we were given this unique vine- every detail of operations. that yield grapes with different char- deed, nothing about the handsome yard, and that it is our duty to make This is the kind of estate that will acteristics, thus adding new notes exterior even hints that these are in it better and then to pass it on.” go to the trouble and expense of to the composition of Chevalier’s fact winemaking facilities. The new domainedechevalier.com

64 France • winter 2009-10 France • WIn T er 2009-10 65