Mentor Week 2024 Diary

by Lauren Anson

Our third edition of Bordeaux Mentor Week was a huge success and we could not be more proud to present the seven scholars that were selected this year:
Janet Boniface, from Nigeria: wine seller and private client manager
Lethabo Mothwa, from South Africa: sommelier Marriott hotel, Johansenberg
Valeria Puga, from Ecuador: Sommelier and brand owner
Alit Susila, from Bali: Sommelier and wine educator
Rutuja Dhamanle, from India: Award-winning wine maker
Elizabel Flores, from Mexico: Sommelier
Tom Gillespie, from Australia: Specialist in wine at Archive Wine Bar, Geelong

September 23-28, 2024
Day 1: 
The week kicked off at Chateau Du Tertre who were our wonderful hosts for the 2024 edition. We were met by Cynthia Capelaere, director of the chateau who welcomed the scholars and explained that, as the estate is situated in the Margaux appellation, they were now in the heart of Bordeaux wines. We were lucky enough to have Hugo Pinsent, head of wine tourism development who is originally from Sydney show us around. He shared his story, and his knowledge of the estate, such as the Cabernet Franc massal selection ‘zone’ growing from 60 year old mother plants.

The technical director of the estate, Romain Beurienne, took us on a detailed visit of the vineyard, explaining the impact of terroir, and the scholars not only tasted the grapes including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and a selection of white grapes for the unusual Château du Tertre Blanc, but they also carried out the task of leaf trimming in the vineyard, ensuring the grapes were fully aerated and exposed to make it easier for the pickers who would be following soon afterwards for the harvest. This was followed by a vertical tasting for du Tertre and Les Hauts du Tertre, plus a barrel tasting of both 2023 reds, and 2024 whites that had just come in from the vineyard.

A relaxed supper that night in the Orangerie of Château du Tertre allowed everyone to get to know each other – and to taste wines from Ecuador brought by Valeria, and paired with superb Ecuadorian chocolates.

Day 2:
The day began at  Château Lynch Bages in Pauillac – now a regular stop on our mentor week, where the scholars take a deep dive into the impact of terroir on taste though a VINIV blending session.

This exceptionally interesting workshop was taught by Nicolas Laine who has recently become the VINIV director, stepping into a role previously filled by Lorraine Carrigan (who joined us for the morning). The seven scholars learnt about the art of blending, that is so crucial to Bordeaux wine, and the impact that soils and microclimate can have on grape varieties, as the samples gathered for blending include Merlot from Fronsac, from different sectors of St Emilion, and from Pomerol, along with Cabernets from different sectors of the Médoc. They then set about making their own blends – and deciding which of the multiplicity of terroirs would be “a good friend in a blend”. An exercise that was both instructive and fun, as ever.

Lunch was held at Café Lavinal in the village of Bages, where we were joined by Pierre-Louis Araud, commercial director of Lynch Baes, followed by a tour of the newly-completed winery with Charles Thuillier, and a tasting of Ormes de Pez, Haut-Batailley and Lynch Bages with both Charles and owner Kinou Cazes.

The day continued at Château Branc Cantenac in Margaux, where Henri Lurton, owner of this 1855 2nd Growth estate, showed us around the vineyards, and took the scholars for a detailed and fascinating barrel tasting with Florent Cillero the “barricadeur” of the chateau (which translates as Cellar Master). Florent has had this title for the last 15 years and his craft is precise and delicate – all of the barrels are 100% new oak, but come from different forests, with different lengths of toasting and ageing. The scholars were also able to taste the wines, both red and white, when young and at later stages of their development. 

A wonderful dinner followed accompanied with magical wines and with both Henri Lurton and his daughter Madeleine, and long time colleague Marie-Hélène Faurie. The wines presented varying between Brane Cantenac Blanc 2020 to a stunning Château Brane Cantenac 1985 that  left the scholars with long lasting memory of the philosophy and beauty of the estate – one that will never be forgotten. We also met our guest mentor for Year Three – Tuanni Price, who is an award-winning wine educator and owner of Zuri Wine Tasting in South Africa, originally from LA.

Day 3:
The morning began with Bernard Magrez StartupWin, an incubator programme that works with dozens of young wine, beer and spirit-related businesses in the Bordeaux region, with a second incubator based out of Strasbourg that is focused more closely on international startups.

The incubator, headed up by Camilo Gomez and Lucile Queinnic, is located in Pessac Léognan, but we headed instead to Magrez’s Cultural Institute in central Bordeaux, a beautiful building that also houses an art gallery that the scholars were able to visit. We had a packed and fascinating programme, where seven of the startups pitched their ideas and enjoyed excellent exchanges with our scholars, mentors, and Anne-Charlotte Reix of Unitec, who offers advice and support along their journey.

In the afternoon, we had two in-depth presentations from Tuanni Price on building a personal brand and turning a passion project into a successful business, and a fascinating talk from Laurent David on his journey from the tech industry to Château Edmus in St Emilion. 

The second half of the day we were welcomed by Chateau Angludet, a family business that has been passed from generation to generation since 1961. There are currently ten family members who all work on this 30 hectare property and at the family Sichel négociant business. The estate was certified as a Biodynamic in 2022, but have farmed organically since 1995 by Ben Sichel, in order to create a healthy environment for everyone working in the vines and at the winery. We were lucky enough to be met by Daisy Sichel, who is a co-owner and sales director, who shared insights into their farming and agro-forestry programme, and warm family stories. The seven mentees tasted a 100% Petit Verdot, that was for many the first time.

That evening Jane Anson led her own blind tasting showcasing the different appellations of Bordeaux, together with wines brought by the scholars from their home countries, including an exceptional Merité Merlot from Colleen Miller, Australia.

Day 4:

The week was rushing by and less than half remained, but we made sure there was plenty left to do, and our fourth day consisted of four stops. 

We began at La Maison Cardinale (formerly known as Château Fleur Cardinal) for a visit and a lunch. This property was like no other that we had visited, with the emphasis here on creativity, storytelling and innovation. Co-owner Caroline Decoster, who is also head of marketing and communication, gave us the visit in person, and introduced the group to their innovative Virtual Reality tour, where headsets are used to take visitors through the different processes of winemaking from barrel cellars to harvest. 

We were able here to see the harvest actually underway – at most of the Left Bank châteaux this week, they had been waiting to begin bringing in the grapes, as 2024 is looking to be a late-ripening year. We walked through the Hall of Seasons, a beautiful corridor that takes you through the different seasons in the vines to understand the processes and hard work of winemaking but in a beautiful way that uses colour, bird song and nature sounds. Technical director Ludivine Chagnon also prepped the mentees as to the reality of harvest, and the incredible attention to detail followed here.

Among the many quotations from spoken word poet Souleymane Diamanka that we found on the walls here was this powerful one:

“Travailler dans un domaine a taille humaine et les matins seront joyeux millésime apres millésime. Traiter dame nature comme une reine et les tanins seront soyeux millésime après millésime.”

Which translates into: “Working in a small-scale estate, and your mornings will be joyful, vintage after vintage. Treat Mother Nature like a queen, and the tannins will be silky, vintage after vintage.” 

The group then met up with Jean-Christophe Meyrou, a key supporter of the Bordeaux Mentor Week who directs six Vignobles K estates across the Right Bank, including Château Bellefont-Belcier and Château le Rey in Castillon, where our visit commenced. JC brought the group into the limestone caves situated underneath the vineyards – this was a rare occasion that brought first-hand understanding around the influence of terroir. It was followed by a grape tasting of the different varieties – and a blind tasting of an unusual grape for Bordeaux – Gamay. 

JC then took us to Château Laroque, a stunning Grand Cru Classé estate that is one of the largest and oldest châteaux in St Emilion, where we were given a horizontal tasting of châteaux members of the Fondation Terroir et Paysages Culturels. This exceptional lineup included Château Ausone 2006, a tremendous honour for everyone there, along with Château Larcis Ducasse 2014, Château la Clotte 2018, Château Bellefont-Belcier 2020, Château Laroque 2020, Château Tour Saint Christophe 2020, Clos de la Cure 2019, and the tiny Closerie du Chêne Christiana 2020.

Our final stop of the day was at Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf where we had the chance to meet the iconic François Mitjavile .

François’  tastings are always held in his cellar where the wine is taken directly from the barrels, one of the most authentic experiences that it is possible to have. He took the Bordeaux Mentor Week team on a journey that we will never forget, that perfectly showcased that his approach to wine as a philosophy to live by. As he said himself: “Do not mistake tenderness for weakness” and this is exactly what he has perfected in his wine that is Merlot dominant, with ripe flavours, nuanced and smoky with power and longevity. 

Day 5:
The scholars on the last day were given an overview of another pillar within the structure of Bordeaux wines – the business aspect. The morning was spent visiting two merchant offices, both in the Bruges district of Bordeaux, not far from the Chartrons district where merchants (négociants) would have been based back in the 15th to 19th centuries. The first one was Les Vins de Crus where Francis Anson and Pierre Darquey showed us around their offices and their warehouse, where many thousands of wine cases are stored. 

The second stop was CVBG, where owner Mathieu Cuvelier offered an insight into the negociant’s life, its many responsibilities, and the history that shaped Bordeaux into the fine wine region that it is today, and the forces that are shaping its continual evolution. Mathieu spoke also about the introduction of international wines to the Place de Bordeaux over the past few decades,  and shared a few exceptional wines for a tasting, including Château Rieussec’s dry white R de Rieussec, and South Africa’s Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance.

It was a fascinating and thought-provoking morning, and a perfect way to end the discovery part of the week.

The scholars then returned to Chateau du Tertre for the last evening. The first part of the afternoon saw our cameraman Derek filming the scholars as they explained what parts of the week had been particularly impactful, how it could influence their careers, and what they hope to accomplish in the future. The week was completed with an incredible dinner hosted by Cynthia Capelaere in the Orangerie of du Tertre, attended by 30 people in total including wine consultant Eric Boissenot, photographer Peter Aaron, and representatives from our charity supporters the Gerard Basset Foundation and the Academie du Vin Foundation.

Bordeaux Mentor Week as ever provided an incredible opportunity to see how the wine world is evolving and to allow exchanges between different cultures – providing a reminder that the Mentor Week is part of a wider movement that is working towards a common goal: diversifying not just the Bordeaux wine industry but the wine industry in general. 

Thank you to everyone who has made the 2024 edition possible, and to all the chateaux and wine businesses for their hospitality and kindness. Each has their own charm and authenticity, and seeing the contrast between them all is part of what makes the week so rewarding.