In Bordeaux, a new generation of winemakers

The article "À Bordeaux, une nouvelle génération de vignerons" from La Tribune, published on 18 February 2024, highlights winegrowers who are shaking up the traditional image of Bordeaux wines. These forward-thinking winemakers, close to their customers, seek to adapt to consumers' changing tastes and dust off the region's image. Jean-Baptiste Duquesne, from Château Cazebonne located in the Graves, is presented as one of the pioneers of this new approach. He was among the first to adopt a "dissident" strategy to revive mid-range Bordeaux wines. The article also mentions him as co-founder of the "Bordeaux Pirate" movement, which brings together around forty winemakers from the Médoc, Fronsadais, Entre-deux-Mers, and Blayais, all determined to evolve the Bordeaux vineyard by catering to the diverse current preferences of wine lovers. He highlights the importance of listening to consumers' desire for change, who no longer repeatedly cellar the exact same bottle. The "Bordeaux Pirate" movement, in which Jean-Baptiste Duquesne takes part, champions originality, freedom of initiative (such as reintroducing ancient grape varieties), and a more "peasant" approach to viticulture, prioritising quality over yield. Members of this collective are regularly assessed on the originality of their concept and the organoleptic quality of their wines.