Our mission
REPLANTING BORDEAUX'S FORGOTTEN GRAPES
Bringing Bordeaux's lost flavours back to life: more than 45 historic grape varieties grown biodynamically, plot by plot.
A founding encounter
DISCOVERING THE HUMBLE VARIETIES
In 1997, one encounter changed everything. Robert Plageoles, in Gaillac, opened my eyes: the French vineyard is far more than the handful of varieties the appellations selected in 1936.
Twenty years later, in 2016, when I took over Château Cazebonne, one thing was obvious: in Bordeaux, nobody had systematically replanted the varieties that shaped the history of our wines. In the 19th century, Bordeaux grew dozens of grape varieties. Most of them have disappeared. We are bringing them back.
The replanting project
An investigation, a terroir, a mission
Old accounts, postcards, village archives, testimonies from veteran growers: from the day I arrived at the estate I ran a field investigation to understand what really grew in our vines before phylloxera and standardisation reduced the plantings to a handful of varieties.
THE ARCHIVES
Old texts and oral memory to identify the varieties that gave the Graves its identity before 1900.
Replanting
Massal selection, grafting, carefully matched plots: every variety finds its rightful place on the estate.
Biodynamics
Living soils, natural preparations, respect for natural rhythms: farming that supports the rebirth of these varieties.
The replanted varieties
MORE THAN 45 VARIETIES PLANTED — SOON 70!
Each variety was chosen because it was once widespread in our Bordeaux vineyards. Every grape brings its own strengths and weaknesses, and the reasons that once justified its presence have been lost. We have made it our mission to understand each of them through daily observation. That will tell us which ones can help us meet the challenges of climate change.
White varieties
Red varieties
Varieties from elsewhere
TECHNOLOGY TO ARCHIVE OUR OBSERVATIONS
AN IN-HOUSE APP TO RECORD OUR AMPELOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS
For the 45 varieties now growing on the estate, we have to observe, record and archive...
When does it bud? How does it behave after a frost? How susceptible is it to disease? How drought-resistant? What are its ripening dates, its pH and sugar levels at harvest, its yield?
Vintage after vintage, these parameters help us understand each variety a little better, so we can make the right decisions for the future. For ten years we did this empirically. We decided to equip ourselves and developed an app that makes note-taking easier and archives photos, variety by variety, plot by plot.
Our philosophy
Letting the vine speak
Little sulphur, few or no additives, gentle macerations, ageing in old barrels or amphorae: the raw material speaks for itself. We let the fruit express itself fully, for living, savoury wines that drink well young.
Oak never dominates: it accompanies, subtly, never masking what the vine and the terroir have to say. With the Entre Amis range we offer an authentic Bordeaux, faithful to its history and its original diversity.