I purchased the Domaine de Lagrézette nearly twenty-five years ago now. The Château had fallen into disrepair. We restored it, renovated it; even rebuilt parts of it. Today it is registered as an historical monument.
Surrounding the Château are 60 hectares (nearly 150 acres) of vineyard ... 500 years ago, the locals were already growing the Malbec grape, which provided the Musketeers with powerful and full-bodied wines. This is one of the most ancient varieties among French grapes, and one which is recently coming back as a popular favorite. And with all due modesty, Lagrézette has had a lot to do with it. As soon as I saw this magnificent stretch of land, I had a dream of a vineyard which would be both authentic and modern at the same time.
Malbec had greatly suffered in France. Almost disappeared in fact. Established in other regions of the world, it had become acclimatized to soils of South America or Australia,
To the point of forgetting its roots?
Its beginnings are here, in these terraces of the Lot region surrounding Cahors. The challenge was to invent, on the lands of Lagrézette, a vineyard anchored in a tradition, but which would correspond to the tastes of wine lovers in the new century.
In short, I dreamed of a wine both venerable and young. A wine which would combine high spirits and elegance, conviction and subtlety.
For twenty years now we have been constantly working on it. With Jean Courtois who directs the Estate. With Michel Rolland, our consulting oenologist and friend. With our cellar masters and stewards, and all of those who grow and watch over our vines 365 days a year... Each of us shares the same ambition: to come as close as possible to excellence and good taste.
Every goal that I have given myself in my professional and personal life, first at Cartier, then at "La Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain", and now as a director of the Groupe Richemont, has always been founded on these same simple but demanding convictions: taking the long view; never compromising my vision; and carrying it through with attention to detail, modesty, and the highest standards. No passion can be sustained without hard work.
No success is achieved merely by chance: whether you are a stone-cutter, watch maker, or winemaker, you must have this same love and this same respect for the materials with which you work; the same dedication to making them great, through craftsmanship and commitment ... To create a final product as near as possible to the ideal imagined.
Such is, I believe, the Art of fine craftsmen.
Today we are opening this blog, which will be devoted to the various activities of Château Lagrézette.
Wine is more than ever a pleasure of our times. I am convinced of it. The Internet is a forum for exchanges, new meetings, sociability. Blogs are the new spaces where dialogues are born. Friendships are formed here.
Whether from here in France, from the Americas, Japan, Great Britain,... just as from all other places where our wines are appreciated, all readers are welcome here, let them come share our passion, our feelings... discover the pleasures of the wines of Lagrézette; the deep, rich flavors of Malbec.
Long live the Lagrézette blog... Welcome to this Estate, one of the proudest achievements of my life...
Alain-Dominique Perrin
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