les châteaux « pirates » veulent dépoussiérer les vins de Bordeaux
Withdrawn in the pampas, far from the capital, Jean-Baptiste Duquesne is one of the pioneers of this collective. At Château Cazebonne, in Saint-Pierre-de-Mons, you have to approach its biodynamic vines in order to better understand its desire to strike a blow at the bench. Of course, the former digital (founder of the famous 750g recipe site), who became a winegrower five years ago, has several hectares of well-known grape varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc or Sémillon in particular. But, not far away, there are also a few acres of Saint-Macaire, Jurançon Noir or Mancin.
“It’s up to us to reoccupy the space, to be creative, innovative, to recreate winegrower identities”
The native Réolais has already planted 26 forgotten Bordeaux grape varieties, giving birth – with five of them – to a cuvée entitled “As in 1900.” On an experimental plot, with a hundred vines each, he plans to grow 57. He already observes how much more resistant Jurançon Noir is to frost. “I want to understand what can be done with it,” he says. It may be rosé, a sparkling wine or a liqueur, I don’t know. The winegrower, in the past, spread his risk between many varietal profiles. »
He had hats or Bordeaux Pirate t-shirts made. With this collective, Jean-Baptiste Duquesne says he “cracked the match”, produced the “spark” in order to get things moving. He advocates irreverence because you have to “shock to make yourself known” and wants to put forward a third voice within the industry. “Bordeaux didn’t know how to make the core range,” he explains. We have the grands crus which occupy all the media space and the bottom of the range. Bordeaux should be three-headed. It’s up to us to reoccupy the space, to be creative, innovative, to recreate winegrower identities. He is convinced of this: “In five or ten years, Bordeaux will become trendy again. »
The seduced approach. In Cambes, at the gates of the Bordeaux agglomeration, a pirate flag flies over the Cabernet Sauvignon vines of Château Mons la Graveyre. Aurélie Carreau, agricultural engineer, former technical director at Pomerol, took over the estate in 2015 with the clear desire to make wines that suit her well. The label of its 2019 vintage clashes. A stylized bat recalls the biodiversity it wishes to promote, a moon evokes its conversion to biodynamics and its appellation, the IGP Atlantique, reflects its desire for wine freedom.
Its living room serves as a tasting room. The vat room is located in an adjoining shed. “This area is my laboratory, I experiment,” she says. I wanted to have my own wine according to the agricultural model that I expected. She pampers her old Merlot vines, which date back to the 1950s. But wonders if she, too, isn’t going to plant forgotten grape varieties or why not Chenin because she particularly likes the richness and “minerality” of the Loire wines. Leather jacket on the shoulders, punk side displayed, she asserts her independence. “I believe in AOPs,” she explains. They are necessary because they will allow wines and delimit terroirs. But in the small appellations, we should have more freedom. »