Michel Elie sent me a text written by his great-grandfather Jean Elie in 1897, right in the midst of the vineyard reconstruction following the phylloxera crisis

Jean Elie was a winegrower and nurseryman. I invite you to read this remarkably modern text. It demonstrates, if proof were needed, the exceptional work our ancestors accomplished in selecting plant material. Jean Elie tells us that he selected his varieties from his palus vineyards, which were undoubtedly spared by phylloxera. VITICULTURAL CHAT on Cabernet-Sauvignon Fads in viticulture, as in all things, are harmful, for they lead to excess. Because Malbec and Merlot produced a heavy crop this past harvest, most winegrowers now only wish to plant these varieties, turning their backs on Cabernet-Sauvignon—the king of grapes, nonetheless. Conversely, if Malbec and Merlot disappoint this year, no one will want them the following year. This is an observation that all purveyors of grafted vine plants have made to their cost. To judge the worth of a grape variety, one must not base one's opinion on a single year's yield, nor even on two or three years, but rather on a ten-year average. Well, I maintain that over a ten-year average, it is Cabernet-Sauvignon (the good variety) that yields the most wine. Let us not discard this grape variety, dear colleagues, for it is king: it is what imparts to our Gironde wines that delicate, inimitable bouquet found only in wines where its juice forms a sufficient proportion—around one third. If our wines from the Blayais—which, apart from the palus, all come from young grafted vines—are so sought after by the trade, it is, I am certain, thanks to the proportion of Cabernet-Sauvignon incorporated into the vine varieties of all vineyards, large and small. This example was set by the first planters of grafted vines in the Blayais, to whom I was pleased to supply scions of this excellent grape variety, selected from my old palus vines. Many estate owners in certain parts of the Gironde nevertheless complain about Cabernet, either regarding its yield or the quality of the wine, which is criticised for lacking colour; this is undoubtedly because they do not have the right variety, or because they failed to plant this grape in soils suited to it. Cabernet-Sauvignon, like all grape varieties for that matter, has several sub-varieties of varying merit; careful selection is essential, and this grape, like all others, has its favoured terroirs. Aside from its virtues of consistent production and the excellent quality of its wine, it possesses yet another—perhaps the most vital—in having the greatest affinity with all American rootstocks. Everywhere we see it thriving with great vigour, bearing very handsome canes, alongside other varieties displaying very weak growth, despite being grafted onto the same rootstock and planted in the same soil. Time may well show us that Cabernet-Sauvignon is the king of grape varieties in terms of resilience and longevity, just as it is the king of grape varieties for making fine wine. THE WINEGROWER OF HILLS AND PALUS, alias Jean Elie In the Feuille Vinicole de la Gironde