I was not born in the vineyards. I am not the heir to a long line of estate owners. My background lies elsewhere. I have built companies, developed projects, and notably created the recipe website 750g.com. And yet, it was wine that ultimately caught up with me.

Because wine has been a long-standing passion...

I discovered the fascinating world of wine whilst studying in Lille in the mid-1990s. It was a revelation for me: a subject that bridges sensory perception and knowledge. It is difficult to taste without some understanding, and equally difficult to learn if one does not pay close attention to what is in the glass, without engaging the senses. My mind was made up: I was going to work in wine. And if I could, I would one day become a winemaker.

Becoming a winegrower was an unattainable dream...

Because you need the capital to purchase vineyards... Because you need to buy equipment (and a great deal of it)... Because you have to work for years before having a single bottle to sell. In other words, without an inheritance, becoming a winemaker is remarkably difficult. And then, the website 750g.com—which I had launched by spending my evenings on it as a side project alongside my day job—began to grow and grow... until one day, someone approached me to buy it at an offer I could not refuse. That was the turning point. I could finally become a winemaker and pursue what I had always dreamed of.

Here I was, in search of terroirs...

I have roots in the Gironde. I spent my childhood in La Réole (15 km from the estate). So, I began my search there. Finding vineyards at that time was no easy task. 2016 was a golden age for wine; everything was selling effortlessly. Neighbours were constantly pre-empting and buying up the parcels of retiring growers. Through a friend, I learned that Jean Sourget's vineyards were for sale, along with those of Jean-Marc Bridet nearby. An encounter, an instant connection, a few discussions, and I became the owner of 27 hectares in Saint-Pierre-de-Mons.

Yet now, what story was there to tell? There are 5,000 châteaux in Bordeaux. All long-established, with their expertise and distribution networks. Needless to say, had I done the same thing, I stood no chance. Very quickly, I wondered which grape varieties had historically populated our vineyards, inspired by the work done by Robert Plageoles in Gaillac. Finding answers proved impossible. No books spoke of this history; all praised Bordeaux's modern grape varieties. It was as though history had been written by the victors, and in this narrative, the undisputed victors were Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. So I immersed myself in the region, turning historian in my spare time to unearth the varieties that once thrived in our vineyards. I pulled on the thread: 5 ancient grape varieties, then 10, 25... and now nearly 70. Bordeaux's vineyard heritage is extraordinary, yet largely overlooked. From this research came a book: "Bordeaux, une histoire de cépages" (Éditions BBD), the culmination of five years of work piecing together the puzzle to understand the choices behind today's Bordeaux varieties. These forgotten Bordeaux grapes indeed represent an entire chapter of the region's viticultural history.

This is my quest: replanting all these grape varieties...

I feel like a child again. I think grape varieties, I live grape varieties. I have no other mission than to replant all these varieties, one by one. There are already just over 40 on the estate—a true quest for the heritage grapes of yesteryear. There are so many that we have established an ampelographic conservatory with one row dedicated to each variety: to observe them, understand them, and see what they can offer in the face of climate change.

Yet a winemaker's life is far from simple...

Over the past 10 years, I haven't experienced a single peaceful vintage. Frost, hail, heatwaves, disease—the ten plagues of Egypt. Not a single euro drawn in salary in 10 years, and I am reaching my personal financial limits to cover the shortfalls. Season after season, hail, frost, and heatwaves are relentless challenges to overcome. So now, we must sell wine. We are fully committed. Myrtille, working alongside me, is in charge of sales. We fight hard, but times are tough due to the economic climate, declining wine consumption, the war in Ukraine...

Yet let us make no excuses: we will succeed...

Because passion always prevails... Because our mission serves the public interest, keeping this heritage alive... Because the first bottles from our heritage variety cuvées prove us right. We are winegrowers committed to preserving and championing the extraordinary diversity of forgotten grape varieties in Bordeaux.

If you would like to lend a hand...

Our approach is not solely guided by economic considerations. It aims to safeguard a viticultural heritage, notably by replanting forgotten grape varieties in Bordeaux. The continued growth of Château Cazebonne relies on the support of our customers. We invite you to discover our wines online, which directly contributes to the sustainability of our project. These efforts, combined with genuine passion, have yielded wines acclaimed by the press, with coverage available on our dedicated page. For those who wish to delve deeper into the subject, please feel free to test your knowledge with our wine quizzes, or download the book "Bordeaux, une histoire de cépages", which details our reintroduction of ancient grape varieties. This work is made possible through the support of wine enthusiasts who have embraced our wines.