Bordeaux Off the Beaten Path: Forgotten Grapes, Pirates & Robots

In addition to visiting some well-established Bordeaux chateaux and going beyond Bordeaux along the Dordogne, I decided to explore less orthodox Bordeaux producers who might be the future of the region: Château Cazebonne & Château Luchey-Halde.  

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow.” (Gail Sheehy, journalist) 

Innovations, trends and cult followings have to start somewhere. Usually, it starts with a group of people who question the establishment and do things in an uncommon way. Then that way catches on and grows. An example in the wine world is Super Tuscans. They were declassified table wines 50 years ago, but now have their own IGT or DOC status. Many have become cult classics. This is mainly because some producers insisted on using varieties and methods that were not allowed within the regulations of the region. 

In Bordeaux, the number of producers has decreased with big companies and millionaires controlling much of the production. Plus, it’s still hard not to find a Rolland, Derenoncourt, Boissenet or de Boüard consulted property. Understandably, it’s difficult to stray too far from the beaten track because they have decades-long loyal customers, stockholders, critics and rare wine investors to please. 

On the other hand, Bordeaux is losing popularity among young consumers and more consumers are demanding organic/bio, sustainable and environmentally friendly production. This is in addition to changing stylistic trends in wine, consumers wanting more diversity, changing food trends affecting wine pairing, and Global Warming affecting all winemaking. Moreover, consumers don’t want to wait a decade to drink their wine. Most only have a budget to live bottle to bottle anyway. I should also add that wine information is much more spread out and diverse with many professional critic publications (rather than just Parker), social media educators/influencers and wine rating apps. 

Bordeaux Pirates 

In many ways a response to the above issues and current landscape of wine, alternative Bordeaux producers* are starting to mobilize. In come the Bordeaux Pirates (Les Vignerons Pirates). Founded less than a year ago, it’s an association of independent Bordeaux producers which arose out of a Facebook group started 3 years ago. Its objective is to promote independent producers, co-ops and alternative “pirate” approaches. To be a part of the association, you have to be Bio or converting to Bio and produce at least one cuvee considered “Pirate” by an independent jury, who grade on quality and originality. 

The classification of “Bordeaux Pirate” is a wine that meets the “Pirate” and Bordeaux appellation qualifications while “Cuvee Pirate” is for all other “Pirate” wines that don’t meet appellation classification requirements. However, producers have the choice to put it on their label or not. 

The Members

There are currently about 30 producers in this association.  Although there are many types of labels and certifications internationally, for France and the EU, all the producers are some form of organic, natural and/or biodynamic. Although there are some large-scale, big name Bordeaux producers like Pontet Canet in Pauillac and Palmer in Margaux who are biodynamic, still only 72 vineyards (out of ~7,000) were certified Demeter or Biodyvin in 2020. 

Besides being low-intervention and organic producers, members are different in other ways. Many are outside of the more famous appellations in Bordeaux. In addition, some producers are unique in that they have pre-phylloxera vines, use other winemaking approaches like amphorae, or make less common cuvees like the 100% Malbec La Cravate from Clos du Notaire or the 100% Malbec wines from Château de Côts. Another example is Château Tour Calon Lateyron, who makes a rare sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux–only 200 hectares of Bordeaux are used to make sparkling. 

Others delve into unofficial varieties as well. Metissage from the Ducourt family intentionally uses varieties that they believe will be naturally resistant to diseases such as Savignac and Cabernet Jura, 2 hybrid grapes. The following producer I visited is one of the leading Pirates in using unofficial varieties.  

Château Cazebonne  

Several years before the creation of the Bordeaux Pirates, I remember seeing a GoFundMe-type campaign to raise money for a project to grow and produce wine from lost indigenous Bordeaux varieties. I put it on my list of wines to seek out because it sounded a lot like Liber Pater, a Bordeaux wine I would never be able to taste at up to 30,000 euros a bottle, and only 1,000 bottles are made per vintage (only a few hundred for their white). Liber Pater tries to make wines how they tasted pre-phylloxera in the 19th century. To that end, they use some old techniques from that era, ungrafted pre-phylloxera rootstock** and a small percentage of varieties that were common in that era like Castet, Mancin and Tarney Coulant. However, most of these are outside the rules today. 

Fast-forward to 2023, I put this new project, Château Cazebonne, as the top priority for my Bordeaux visits last month and contacted owner Jean-Baptiste Duquesne. The current property, located within the Graves region about 15 minutes from the village of Sauternes and 20 minutes from Liber Pater, was purchased about 7 years ago. Depending on the conditions, about 50-150 thousand bottles are produced each year although he’s only recently started making wines from the cépages oubliés (forgotten varieties) a few years ago. He works with well-known biodynamic winemaker David Poutays. Although he offers wines with more typical Cab-Merlot blends aged in oak barrels, he also makes less common cuvees of monovarietal wines like Malbec, Muscadelle and a soon to be released Carmenere, which normally doesn’t do well in Bordeaux but did well enough in 2022 to bottle. This Carmenere and some of the other cuvees don’t see oak and spend time in amphorae.

Some of his cuvees are labeled Graves. Those have labels with a dragonfly on it. Others have to be labeled Vin de France, including ones with varieties in it that are not officially mentioned because they fall outside of the rules of what is authorized and have to be declassified. These are labeled with ladybugs. Prices for his wines range from 10-26 euros–a far cry from the 30,000 euro Liber Pater, but Chateau Cazebonne is well on its way considering its GoFundMe days. 

I was able to taste several of his wines (see tasting notes below). Many were still barrel samples and unfinished blends, so I’m just going to leave a few tasting notes but not rate them. Overall, I’d say most of the wines were between 88-92 points for me. The French wine magazine La Revue du Vin de France has also given similar or higher scores for some of his wines.

Cazebonne’s Philosophy 

Beyond his growing commercial and qualitative success, I was more engrossed in the philosophy and passion behind Jean-Baptiste’s project. He even wrote a book about it: Bordeaux, une histoire de cépages (Bordeaux, a history of grape varieties), which I’m about halfway through.      

From his book and our conversations, it’s quite clear that Cazebonne is not another Liber Pater. Beyond making money, being an extreme wine geek or being a natural wine nut, Jean-Baptiste is actually a visionary pragmatist looking at and synthesizing the past, present and future of wine and the region.

He sees current consumer trends towards organic, less alcoholic, more elegant and fresher wines. He sees current and future problems of Global Warming and disease such as mildew, fungus and other blights. Then, he looks to the past and questions present rules to find possible solutions for the future while preserving some of France’s heritage at the same time. 

At minimum, he believes winemakers should have more options than the current regulations allow. Although Bordeaux expanded which varieties can now be grown 2 years ago, this was a top-down directed study from the EU and the establishment in France/Bordeaux. Therefore, some of the varieties chosen were not indigenous while many indigenous grapes were not even under consideration. The four new red varieties ended up being Touriga Nacional, Marselan, Castets, and Arinarnoa, and the two whites are Alvarinho and Liliorila.    

In contrast, Jean-Baptiste is taking a bottom-up approach. He has identified around 70 indigenous varieties and has 26 currently planted such as Saint-Macaire, Jurancon Noir, Mérille, Castets, Beguignol, Pardotte, Bouchalès, Penouille, Fer, Gros Cabernet, Gros Verdot, Petit Péjac, Cabernet Goudable, Mancin, Sauvignonasse, Blanc Vert, Blanc Auba and Prueras.*** He’s simply testing them out to see how they do given today’s climate and trying to prove that quality wines can be made from some of them even though many have been historically dismissed as lesser varieties. This is much like the variety Pais in Chile, which has made a recent comeback. In some cases, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that “lesser” grapes do poorly because they aren’t given any consideration or equal attention in the vineyard as today’s top grapes. In addition, “lesser” is sometimes based on older wine trends rather than current trends. What’s clear though is that grapes like Merlot, which was not at all important in the 19th century, will suffer/is suffering with the increasing heat, so perhaps there are better options. Interest in his work is starting to heat up (no pun intended) with researchers recently visiting his property to check out his work. 

History of Varieties in Bordeaux    

Looking at the history of Bordeaux, it wasn’t necessarily natural selection of the best and strongest grapes that got us the 3 main reds (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc) and 2 main white varieties (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon) that dominate Bordeaux today and much of the world. When there are around 10,000 varieties known today and only 1% are being produced into wine, there must be a lot of historical circumstances, luck and choices along the way that got us the varieties we use today.

Jean-Baptiste’s book talks more than just about the phylloxera disaster of the late 19th century affecting which varieties we drink today. There were also mildew and fungus catastrophes in the 19th century. In fact, the fungus disaster hit the Graves region so hard, that only Haut Brion made it into the 1855 classifications for that reason. There was a freezing catastrophe in 1956 that wiped out half the vines. There were Depressions, Revolutions and World Wars. There were greedy merchants and classification systems based on price. Such merchants limited the amount of wines from further east from exporting as much as Bordeaux, so regions (and their varieties) like Cahors, Bergerac, etc. have always played second-fiddle to Bordeaux. 

Going back further in time, Eleanor of Aquitaine getting married to Henry II played a huge role in promoting Bordeaux all over Europe. This influence has lasted centuries, playing indirect roles in Portugal’s and Spain’s wines. Eventually, European imperialism and immigration led to Bordeaux/French varieties and styles dominating many international wine regions like Chile, California, etc. 

Moreover, the French AOC system was only founded in 1935. In some ways, it shows how current requirements are still fairly recent despite the long history of winemaking in France. It’s not like the requirements were set in stone from the beginning and must be continued. At the same time, a lot of things have changed since 1935 and although the AOC has since changed too, it’s perhaps not changing fast enough for the world we live in today. 

Ultimately, Jean-Baptiste’s approach is a balance of reevaluating and rediscovering knowledge from centuries of winemaking and seeing where wine is going today and in the future.     

*Another alternative Bordeaux group focused on new, young and smaller producers trying to make Bordeaux more approachable for the next generation is Bordeaux Oxygene.

**Read about a pre-phylloxera Merlot in Bordeaux.

***Some other Bordeaux producers who use forgotten grapes are Chateau de la Vielle Chapelle, who have some pre-phylloxera vines of forgotten varieties. Clos Puy Arnaud has some Mancin and Castets plantings. Chateau Le Puy and Château de Claribès may start producing some too. 

 

Chateau Luchey-Halde 

Unlike Cazebonne and the other Bordeaux Pirates, Chateau Luchey-Halde is far from a renegade. Its winemaking is not radically different nor its choice of varieties. Rather than looking to the past for solutions to pressing issues like Cazebonne, its focus is on integrating new technology to improve winemaking from a more top-down approach.

The Chateau 

There are a handful of iconic Pessac Chateaux that are basically urban vineyards in the southwest outskirts of the city of Bordeaux: Haut Brion, La Mission Haut Brion and Pape Clement. Château Les Carmes Haut Brion is making headlines these days too. They are all open for visits. However, not many people know about Chateau Luchey-Halde. It’s located a bit northwest of the above estates, so it has similar terroir. It was once a highly reputed producer over 100 years ago, but eventually it stopped making wine in the 20th century and was taken over by the army. In 1999, the Bordeaux Agro Sciences (a National School of Agricultural Engineers) took over and started making wine again.

It has since become a site for testing the latest technology and innovations in winemaking in cooperation with the Bordeaux Agro Sciences school, European and national partners, and private interests. The wines are affordable for everyday consumers in comparison to its neighbors, which cost $100-600 a bottle. Of course, the wines are not as profound either (see tasting notes below), but they offer great value. 

A visit and tasting is only 10 euros. Although the tour does mention some of the new methods they use, it’s mostly catered for beginners, so I had to ask extra questions and meet with their operations director, Pierre Darriet, to learn a little more. 

Technology and Innovation

While waiting in the lobby, they show a video explaining some of the new technology they use. After talking with the director, however, it’s not like all the technology they test are actually effective nor do they change much in terms of the standard Bordeaux winemaking. The main purpose of all the experimenting is to try new ways to help winemakers/growers make better, more timely and more precise decisions.

Since they are still experimental and perhaps privately sponsored, he couldn’t elaborate on which products were actually useful or not. Some of the things mentioned in the video are fixed camera sensors to get timely infrared and other image data to check on the leaves and veraison. There are tractor monitors. There are robots that till the soil (see video here). They have 3 weather forecast stations in the vineyard and use a weather app called Meteus to get the most accurate weather conditions. This can help to anticipate fungus. To further deal with fungus, they have a fungus test site to see if it grows in certain conditions so they can anticipate when to give treatment (non-toxic) to the vines. 

The only thing I actually saw in use was a Winegrid Barrique device, which they put in the barrel to measure the density, temperature, and level of evaporation. If you’d like to learn about the technological innovations being tested here, check out DigiLab.

Some of their practices are not necessarily technology based but eco/sustainability based, such as trying to keep biodiversity in the vineyard with horses, bees, other vegetation, rabbits, birds and flowers. This also includes positive insects or bats that eat other pests. Plus, they compost the skins and leaves.

Some of their research is related to Global Warming as well. They have plans to test different varieties to help deal with Climate Change, but they are going through all the “proper” protocol and registration, unlike Cazebonne, with a more controlled, scientific approach. Besides finding heat-resistant varieties, the key to combating climate change, according to Pierre Darriet, will have to be lowering the density of the vineyards. 

Finally, another important aspect of the vineyard besides the research it does is the training for students. Maybe the next great winemaker will have passed through the cellars and vineyards of Luchey-Halde. 

 

Tasting Notes 

Château Cazebonne

Although he makes both low-intervention unoaked wines and more conventional oaked blends, overall all the wines maintain a low alcohol, higher acid, less-extracted and elegant style. The unoaked reds probably won’t have the same aging potential, especially the one made with lost indigenous varieties, but the others should age as well as the top Cru Bourgeois level Bordeaux. You should also check out his funny, musical video descriptions about his cuvees, especially if you speak French: https://www.youtube.com/@chateaucazebonne12 

2022 Barrel Tasting Reds:

Merlot – ripe, round fruity

Malbec – dark fruity palate, meaty nose

Petit Verdot – vegetal, spicy nose but fruity palate

Mancin – fruity,soft

Castet- wild, animal, smoky

Saint Macaire – most acidity but dark fruit

Unfinished Assemblage Tasting:

2022 Sauvignon Blanc amphora – nose closed

2022 Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris blend – some barrel and amphora (to be the next Cuvee Argile Ocre) – nicest feel

2022 Cépages Oubliés Blanc – good length, nice texture. Lots of Sauvignon Gris and several other varieties he can’t mention to sell it.

2022 Grand Vin Blanc – good acid, fruit

Bottled Wines Tasting:

Whites:

2022 Entre Amis Graves – Semillon – waxy, savory style, medium acid and body. 90

2020 Le Grand Vin Blanc Graves– fut du chêne – floral, peach but some oak notes 60 Sauvignon Blanc, 30 Semillon, 10 Sauvignon Gris – toasty, savory spice, medium+ acidity. 91

2020 Argile Ocre Graves – a bit past, oxidative on nose but still fresh fruit palate. I won’t rate it.

2020 La Maceration Vin de France 20 days skin contact 100% Sauvignon Blanc – floral, touch leafy, lots of acidity and more orange wine-ish on the palate, savory, herbal, vegetal. 92

Reds:

2022 Soif de 1900 Vin de France– Jurançon Noir, Merille, Castets, Béquignol, Petit Verdot, Mancin, Bouchalès, Saint-Macaire and more. 3972 bottles made; 11% alcohol – lots acidity, fresh – amphora only, fresh aromatic fruity wine on the lighter side especially vs. average Bdx. Given the diverse blend, I’d be curious to see how this develops and what flavors emerge. 91+

2020 Entre Amis Graves – 70 Cab S.,20 Merlot with the rest Cab Franc and Malbec – more classic style, relatively hefty tannins vs. the Soif de 1900, but more acidic than most Bordeaux, less alcohol. 92

2019 le Grand Vin Rouge Graves– 2/3 Merlot 1/3 Cab S. 11 months in barrel. Nose is spicy and savory. Fruity, ripe palate with some green, vegetal notes, some tannins but still easy to drink – better with some food given it’s more savory nature though. 92

 

Château Luchey-Halde

Commercial yeasts used. For the reds, 12 months in barrel 33%-50% new depending if Grand Vin or second wine and they use up to 3rd use barrels. Press juice used for the second wine to add more flavor; The white spends 11 months in 20% new oak and then mixed up to 5th use. The whites are barrel fermented while the reds are fermented in stainless steel and blended in steel tanks. They have some experimental amphora with Semillon. No malolactic for the whites. Overall, I found their wines to be relatively solid Bordeaux but higher in acid, but that could be the vintages I tasted. The reds aren’t for super long aging, but the Grand Vin should last and evolve some over a couple of decades. 

2017 Les Haldes de Luchey Blanc Pessac-Leognan -Their 2nd white. Roughly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon with a bit less Sauvignon. Gris – oak notes on the nose with a bit of fruit in the background while the palate is super acidic/citrus, with savory spice oak notes on the back end. Maybe too much oak for me personally but I like the acidity and light feel. 90

2017 Les Haldes de Luchey Rouge Pessac-Léognan– Their 2nd red. Some oak and pyrazine notes. High acid too. Around 50% Cabernet S., about 1/3 Merlot with the rest Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. Moderate tannins but certainly approachable. Super fresh and fruity red on palate with some pyrazine, peppery and oak spice notes to make it interesting. 90

2014 Luchey-Halde Pessac-Leognan Rouge Pessac-Leognan – Their Grand Vin red. Shows a bit of bricking, tobacco, smoked cedar notes; ripe red fruit on the palate with good acidity, but less than the other two. More tannic. More alcohol. Drinking well if you like primary and secondary notes more than tertiary. Still not much tertiary flavor. But probably better with a bit more time. 91+