Bordeaux Mentor Week: First Edition September 2022

Mentor Week Diary: Inaugural Edition September 26-30 2022

Scholars
Audrey Annoh-Antwi – Haggerston, England
Tracy Blessing Williams – Lagos, Nigeria
Zintle Mkhize – Johannesburg, South Africa
Isabelle Mueller – Lausanne, Switzerland
Shane Shadrack Mumba – Stellenbosch, South Africa
Fernando Nieves – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tanmay Rathod – Gujarat, India

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 26
The day started with a beautiful breakfast at Château La Lagune where we met everyone including Stephane Morin and Chef Catherine Stewart (from Canada) who were looking after the scholars for week. Technical director Romain Hofstetter talked to us about the biodynamic methods that La Lagune uses throughout the vineyard.  Following this, we went to work in the vines of Chateau la Lagune on the last day of the 2022 harvest, picking Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. This was such a great way to start the week and to focus on the very beginnings of the wine making process.

After lunch we continued on our journey through what it takes to make a Cru Classé wine, by sorting grapes and discussing the distinctive pressing process at La Lagune. Before dinner, we tried various vintages, ranging from a young 2021 to a perfectly ready to drink 2004, the year that owner Caroline Frey first took over the property. Romain took us through the tasting, and it was a wonderful way to discern the subtle yet striking differences between wines from the same appellation. Monday finished with an amazing dinner prepared by Chef Catherine, during which we discussed how the key team members at La Lagune got their start in wine – such an inspiring and levelling way for the whole group to see what can be possible for their own careers.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27
On the second day, the scholars went to Le Relais du Château Pape Clemént, located at the former Château de Sartre in Pessac-Léognan, leaving the Haut-Médoc vineyard to focus on the many innovative start ups in wine found at the Bernard Magrez incubator, BMStartupWin. The many amazing startups pitched their ideas to the scholars, and we were asked to think about what we would invest in and hand out Monopoly money to our favourite. The winner was a wonderful playful brand named SmartBottle. that uses augmented reality that develop interactive labels. The other two businesses that came in second and third in the were Amble Wine, that had creates gorgeous and accessible maps for wine study, and Deep Planet, an extremely impressive company that uses AI to help precision viticulture.

After lunch, the scholars sat down to listen to Jana Kreilein from Club Dvin. She gave a fascinating talk on NFTs and wine with a particular focus on the ways in which NFT tech is a powerful answer for improving transparency in the wine industry. Next we heard a talk from Caroline Meesemaecker from Wine Services in which she discussed the importance of collecting data on the movement of the wine after it has left the château. This was particularly interesting in terms of Bordeaux’s changing approaches to wine as it seeks to integrate new technologies and beliefs around the relationship of chateau, broker and merchant.

The day finished with a relaxed dinner at Jane Anson’s house in downtown Bordeaux. Surrounded by pizza and beer, as well as, Château d’Yquem 2019, Château Phelan Ségur 2009 and Château Cos d’Estournel 2017, the scholars discussed with négociants the details of their role within the Bordeaux marketplace, from the challenges embedded in the global sales chain to the intricacies of the Place de Bordeaux.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28
Wednesday morning started with a walk into the 40ha wetlands owned by La Lagune, led by the technical director of Château La Lagune, Romain Hofstetter. On our walk, we discovered in greater depth the various biodynamic preparations being used in Bordeaux, and how this natural reserve has been preserved by Caroline Frey. We discussed the significance of the orchard, recently planted next to the château vineyards to create an ecosystem that regulates the pests in the vines. We also touched on the history of the Médoc, beginning from Dutch engineers draining the wetlands in the 17th century. Just before lunch, Romain also showed us the beautiful wild marine cows that live on the wetlands. Native to the Aquitaine coastline, they lived freely in the dunes and the marshes until the end of the 19th century, but are now extremely rare (you can also find them in the wetlands of Lafite Rothschild).

After this, we went from the Left Bank to the Right Bank to Château Troplong Mondot in the world heritage site of St Emilion. We began with a wonderful presentation of Toplong Mondot’s thorough commitment to sustainability, spear-headed by their new hire Ámelie Caplain, responsible for overseeing the work the estate is doing, and its commitment as a member of the International Winery for Climate Action (IWCA) group. Here we were given insightful and innovative information as to how this château is addressing the challenges of climate change as well as their objective to become totally carbon neutral by 2050. We were all especially taken by their decision to re-use and burn the vine shoots to heat the whole chateau and the hotel during the winter months. This protocol was developed in 2019 and involves collecting, compressing and transforming the vine cuttings into heating pellets.

After this we met with the charismatic and informative director of Troplong Mondot, Aymeric de la Gironde. After a tour of the vines and a discussion of its distinctive flinty-clay terroir, we tasted Mondot 2018, Château Troplong Mondot 2018, and Château Troplong Mondot 2015.

The day concluded with a trip to Chateau George 7, in Fronsac. The owner Sally Evans was a true inspiration for the group and her unique journey into wine was fascinating, as she changed careers aged 50 to become a winery owner and winemaker. Our tour at Chateau George 7 was an interesting example of the ways in which different wine makers use totally different approaches. Sally and her consultants Anthony Appollot and Bruno Lacoste use cold maceration and dry ice during the fermentation period, and the entire process is carried out in her small but beautifully efficient cellar, by hand. After this we tasted Château George 7 2018 and Prince 2018, followed by a delicious meal cooked by Sally, including home made chicken liver pâté, trout pâté and baked Camembert.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29

Thursday began with a blending session at VINIV, an innovative company where you can make your own Bordeaux wine based out of Château Lynch Bages in Pauillac. This was led by Lynch Bages’ winemaker Daniel Llhose and VINIV director Lorraine Carrigan. We were further introduced to the landscape of Bordeaux and the geographical history of the area that has influenced Bordeaux wine so irrevocably. This included a look at a terroir map of the Left and Right Bank and of the forest that protects Bordeaux vines from the Atlantic Ocean.

VINIV provided an extremely rare opportunity to taste and blend the 2021 vintage ourselves, selected from plots of grapes located across several of the most prestigious appellations from both the Left and the Right banks of Bordeaux. It was not only an invitation to think about the style of wine we wanted to produce but to grasp the ways in which winemakers and blenders had to think about the style of wine they wanted, and whether they wanted it for early drinking or to be laid down. The group was split into four, with all competing to make the best blend – and Team Mentos came out on top with a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend!

After this we were given a tour of Château Lynch Bages’ new winery designed by Chien Chung Pei. The building was particularly innovative for its emphasis on natural light and new technologies. We were also showed the original fermenting room of Lynch Bages from the 19th century, showing us the ways in which the wine industry is so often a meeting point for old and new technologies. After this we were treated to beautiful lunch at Lynch Bages with the team, with steak cooked over vine shoots in a huge fireplace, together with Château Lynch Bages Blanc 2019, Château Ormes de Pez 2009 and Château Lynch Bages 2005.

The afternoon consisted of a trip to Château Lafon Rochet. Here we were given a wonderful tour by the new managing director Christophe Congé (who moved to the estate after more than 20 years at the neighbouring Château Lafite Rothschild). This tour consisted of interesting discussions on the subject of wine and identity and the position of the wine maker in the relationship between terroir, vine and wine. Following this, we tasted older vintages at Château Lafon-Rochet including a 2010 Château Pédesclaux,2005 Chateau D’Issan and a 1989 Château Lilian Ladouys. This was a great exercise for further learning about how wines evolve as well as their olfactory development.

The group returned to La Lagune for a free evening.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30
On Friday, the final day, the group went to Château La Louviere in the Pessac-Léognan region to meet with the inspirational owner Jacques Lurton, together with his colleagues Claire Dawson and Florian Mezard. Jacques discussed his journey into wine making, his father’s legacy, and the ways in which his vision differs from traditional Bordeaux château owners, as he spent much of his professional life making wine in Spain, South America and Australia. Both Claire and Florian also talked about their background, as all week we asked everybody that we met to share their own journey into wine, to give inspiration and ideas for the group. After this, the scholars dispersed for personal development meetings both in marketing, wine making and sales, depending on their particular interest, with the focus on one-on-one mentoring. This was followed by a wonderful lunch at La Louvière, with wines including Diane Blanc de Noirs and Château La Louvière 2015.

After a free afternoon, the group met for a final dinner at Château La Lagune. Before eating, the group gave individual presentations to Jean Guillaume Prats and journalist Tom Mullen about their own work in the wine industry, what learnings they have taken from this week, and importantly, what ideas they are taking with them for developing their own careers. After this we ate a fantastic meal prepared by Chef Catherine, with wines Le Chevalier de Sterimberg Hermitage Blanc 2018 from Paul Jaboulet Ainé, Château La Lagune 2005, La Chapelle 2006 and Château Doisy-Daëne 2005 (in honour of Professor Denis Dubourdieu, who Caroline Frey worked with at the start of her wine career, and who was the owner of this Barsac estate).

It was a wonderful evening full of passion and discussions around the future of the Mentor Week and the amazing people that attended.

La Lagune owner Caroline Frey has previously supported the F&B industry in Asia through the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence, and the whole team at La Lagune did a wonderful job of welcoming the Mentor Week Scholars in an inspiring, warm and hospitable way.

Write up by Charlotte Hughes.

With thanks to sponsors Club dVin, Air France, Gerard Basset Foundation, Château La Lagune, VIVIV Bordeaux, BMStartupWin, Château Troplong Mondot, Château Lafon Rochet, Château George 7, Vignobles André Lurton.

Applications for Mentor Week September 2023 will open in Spring of 2023.