REVUE DE PRESSE - Château Recougne

REVUE DE PRESSE
CHATEAU RECOUGNE – AOC BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR
1 route de Savignac
33133 Galgon
Tél. : +33 (0)5 57 50 33 33
Fax : +33 (0)5 57 50 33 44
contact@chateau-recougne.fr
"Il m'a été conseillé, il y a 35 ans lors d'une tournée par un restaurateur qui m'en a sorti un flacon
de derrière les fagots. Depuis, je n'ai cessé d'en commander chaque année. Il ne m'a jamais déçu."
PIERRE PERRET
MILLESIME 2014
 Médaille de BRONZE – CONCOURS DE BRUXELLES 2016
 Médaille d’ARGENT – LOS ANGELES International Wine Award 2016
 Commended – DECANTER World Wine Award
MILLESIME 2013
 Médaille d’OR – CONCOURS DE LYON 2015
 Médaille d’OR – CONCOURS DE BRUXELLES 2015
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note 85-88 – Avril 2014
« Features good ripeness, with slightly soft plum and bitter black cherry notes lined with a sinewy
structure through the finish. »
 Guide Hubert – “Nez puissant et de bonne complexité, arômes de fruits noirs d’eucalyptus,
bouche dense, franche, avec des tanins serrés, des arômes persistants et de la vivacité,
pour ce vin particulièrement tonique et énergique ».
MILLESIME 2012
 Médaille d’OR – BERLINER TROPHY 2015
 Médaille d’ARGENT – CONCOURS GENERAL DE PARIS 2014
 ROBERT PARKER : 87
 R.VOSS – WINE ENTHUSIAST – Note : 90 – Janvier 2015
« Spicy, ripe and fruity, this wine has enough structure to give shape to the broad black fruits that
are the stars. A smoky element comes from just the right amount of wood aging. Drink from
2017. »
MILLESIME 2011
 ROBERT PARKER – “THE BEST OF THE PETITS CHATEAUX” – Note : 87-89 – Avril 2012
 R.VOSS – WINE ENTHUSIAST – Note : 85 – Janvier 2014
 Médaille d’ARGENT – SAKURA JAPAN WOMEN’S WINE AWARD 2014
« This is an austere wine that’s tough on the palate and with high acidity. The black currant
fruitiness is still developing, so the wine shouldn’t be drunk before 2016. »
MILLESIME 2010
 Médaille d’OR – CONCOURS GENERAL DE PARIS 2012
 Médaille d’ARGENT – CONCOURS DE BORDEAUX 2012
 Médaille de BRONZE – DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARD
 DECANTER MAGAZINE – Note : ***3 stars – Novembre 2011
« Some firm black fruit evident, and good clean flavours, if a touch short. This wine is a classic
Bordeaux blend of 75% merlot and 25% cabernet sauvignon, and has a good balance. Eminently
drinkable. »
 R.VOSS – WINE ENTHUSIAST – Note : 82 - Janvier 2013
 BERNARD BURTSCHY – LE FIGARO – Note : 14/20
« Un joli vin dense et serré, bien construit. De longue garde. »
 “Jane MacQuitty's 50 best red wines for Christmas – under £8” The Times, Novembre 2013
 GAULT ET MILLAU – Note: 14,5/20
« Ce vin bien né sur de beaux coteaux à proximité de Pomerol nous livre un vin proche de son
terroir et plein de sincérité. On retrouve le côté pulpeux du merlot de la rive droite avec ses
touches de cerises finement épicées tout en précision et à longue allonge fruitée. »
MILLESIME 2009
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 88 – Mars 2012
« This is liberally toasty up front, with a mocha edge giving way to notes of espresso and spice, yet
pure red currant, black cherry and plum fruit emerges from behind, with a roasted cedar edge
inlaid on the finish. Drink now through 2013.»
MILLESIME 2008
 RVF - LE GUIDE DES MEILLEURS VINS A PETITS PRIX 2011 – Note: 16/20
« Ce vin est certes boisé, mais il affiche en attaque de bouche une matière de belle profondeur,
aux tanins mûrs et suaves. Il offre une complexité très intéressante entre le toast de la barrique et
le fruit noir. Complet, long, moderne, un rien flatteur et universel, il séduira le plus grand
nombre. »
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 84 – 2011
MILLESIME 2006
 LE GUIDE HACHETTE DES VINS 2010
« La finale poivrée d’une bouche grasse et de bonne densité fait écho aux élans épicés et boisés du
nez. Une bouteille agréable à déguster sans attendre »
MILLESIME 2005
 ROBERT PARKER –eRobertParker.com #219 – Note : 89 – Juin 2015
“One of the best Bordeaux Supérieurs money can buy; this blend of 78% Merlot, 12% Cabernet
Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon has an incredible track record of aging 20 to 30 or more years.
The 2005 has a dense ruby/purple color, good acidity, sweet, ripe tannin, impressive concentration
and density, and a youthful mouthfeel. This wine could go on for another two decades. It is a
sleeper of the vintage.”
 ROBERT PARKER - Wine Advocate # 178 – Note : 87 – Août 2008
« This reliable estate owned by the Milhade family has fashioned an attractive dark ruby-colored
2005 regular cuvee displaying classic smoky, cedary, forest floor, and red as well as black currant
characteristics. It is a medium-bodied, old style Bordeaux with the sweetness of fruit befitting this
great vintage. »
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 88 – Novembre 2010
« Ripe and suave, with polished tannins well-embedded in the core of mulled currant, fig and
blackberry fruit. Lots of tobacco, hot stone and roasted earth mark the fleshy yet focused finish.
Better than previously reviewed. »
 GUIDE HACHETTE DES VINS 2008 – 1*
« Des tanins soyeux soutiennent la matière bien concentrée, ample et persistante. L’harmonie se
fait déjà, mais une garde de deux à cinq ans ne peut être profitable. »
CHATEAU RECOUGNE - Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Terra Recognita
AOC BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR
MILLESIME 2014
 ROBERT PARKER - Wine Advocate # 218 – Note : 89-91 – Avril 2015
«It has a lovely, well-defined and vibrant nose, classic in style just like the old school label. The
palate is medium-bodied with fresh red berry fruit, a keen line of acidity, plenty of vibrant cherries
coming towards the graphite tinged finish. »
MILLESIME 2012
 ROBERT PARKER - Wine Advocate # 206 – Note : 85-87 – Avril 2013
«One of the more reliable names in Bordeaux, Recougne enjoys a reputation for making wines
that last three decades or more. The 2012 exhibits lots of herbaceousness, cedar wood and black
currants in a classic, old style that one rarely sees today. It still needs to shed some tannins, but
there is a lot going on. »
 GAULT ET MILLAU – Note: 14,5/20 – Primeurs 2012 – Avril 2013
« Notes entrelacées de fruits frais et vanille. Un touché fin en bouche, de l’ampleur, une belle
fraîcheur de fruit qui fait saliver. Une gourmandise. »
MILLESIME 2011
 ROBERT PARKER - Wine Advocate #212 – Note : 88 – Avril 2014
« A winner from the Milhade family, Chateau Recougne has a reputation for lasting 20-30 years in
the bottle in many vintages. I do not think the 2011 has that much staying power, but it overdelivers in body, richness, density and length. It is a shockingly good effort displaying a dark ruby
color as well as abundant notes of earth, licorice and black currants, surprising body, richness and
depth. A major sleeper of the vintage, it should drink well for 7-8 years. »
MILLESIME 2010
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Médaille d’OR – CONCOURS FEMINALISE 2013
Médaille d’OR – CITADELLE DES VINS 2013
Médaille d’OR – SAKURA JAPAN WOMEN’S WINE AWARD 2014
Médaille d’ARGENT – SELECTION MONDIALE DES VINS 2013
Médaille de BRONZE – INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE 2013
Médaille de BRONZE – DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARD
 ROBERT PARKER - Wine Advocate # 194 – Note : 87-88 - Mai 2011
«Admirers of the so-called “little” wines of Bordeaux will no doubt be familiar with Recougne,
which has been imported into the United States for nearly thirty years and can last for two
decades or more. The 2010, which they now call “Vieilles Vignes,” exhibits aromas and flavors of
cedarwood, spice box, black currants and berries. This medium-bodied, well-made blend of 60%
Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc should drink well for 7-8 years. (Although last year I drank a 1952
that was still quite tasty).»
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 87 – Août 2013
«Features a ripe core of plum and black currant fruit, lined with tobacco leaf and backed by a
charcoal tinged finish, with solid grip. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.»
MILLESIME 2009
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 89 – Mars 2012
«Very solid, with a winey currant and damson plum profile, laced with tobacco and fine-grained
structure. There's a latent grippy edge on the finish, where a mesquite note lingers. Drink now
through 2015. »
MILLESIME 2005
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 88 – Novembre 2010
« Ripe and suave, with polished tannins well-embedded in the core of mulled currant, fig and
blackberry fruit. Lots of tobacco, hot stone and roasted earth mark the fleshy yet focused finish.
Drink now. »
CHATEAU RECOUGNE - Cuvée Carménère
AOC BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR
VINTAGE 2014

Médaille d’Or – CONCOURS DE LYON 2016
MILLESIME 2011

Médaille d’Or – CONCOURS DE LYON 2013
CHATEAU RECOUGNE – Bordeaux Blanc
VINTAGE 2015
 Medal – OSCARS Bordeaux 2016
 Médaille d’Argent – Los Angeles Wine Awards 2016
 Commended – Sommelier Wine Award 2016
 DECANTER : 92 (à confirmer juin 2016)
MILLESIME 2012

Médaille d’Argent – CONCOURS DE LYON 2014
MILLESIME 2011

Médaille de BRONZE – DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARD
MILLESIME 2010
 Médaille Argent – CHALLENGE INTERNATIONAL DU VIN 2011
 JAMES MOLESWORTH - WINESPECTATOR – Note : 86 – 2011
« Fresh, with a whiff of tarragon followed by a core of white peach. A flash of clementine marks
the finish. Drink now. »
MILLESIME 2005

Médaille d’Or – CONCOURS GENERAL DE PARIS 2006
ARTICLES DE PRESSE
« Gault & Millau Gourmand » (Mars-Avril 2015)
LIEN VIDEOS
Le JDD 5 Septembre 2015
Pierre Perret : de la piquette au grand cru
Initié "jus de grappe" par un père bistrotier, Pierre Perret possède aujourd'hui des trésors
par centaines. Pour lui, toute dégustation est une émotion
Pour accéder au Graal, il faut d'abord franchir la "porte des fidèles". Une belle pièce d'église tout
en bois, achetée à un curé espagnol, que l'espiègle Pierre Perret a détournée de sa fonction. "J'ai
trouvé cela drôle de mettre une porte des fidèles à ma cave à vins, car j'y suis très fidèle, j'y vais
tous les jours", lance-t-il dans un grand rire. Dans son beau corps de ferme francilien, il cache
plusieurs milliers de bouteilles, parmi lesquelles des merveilles de pomerols, de Petrus, de Mouton
Rothschild… issus des meilleures années de récolte. Bon vivant et homme de lettres, l'auteur du
Zizi comme de Lily est un amoureux du vin comme des bons mots.
Pourtant, cette histoire d'amour n'a pas débuté par un coup de foudre. "Papa, ça pique !", lançait
le petit Pierre, 6 ans, en trempant ses lèvres pour la première fois dans du "jus de grappe". Dans le
chai d'un paysan-vigneron du Tarn-et-Garonne, il accompagnait son bistrotier de père remplir ses
barriques de vin. Dans le commerce parental de Castel-Sarrazin, le jeudi, jour sans école, il essuie
les verres. "Chaque jour, les ouvriers de l'usine à côté défilaient pour boire un coup de blanc ou de
rouge, les quantités consommées étaient impressionnantes, se rappelle-t-il. Je faisais la tournée
des fermes avec papa, qui m'a appris à dire "il est vert" au lieu de "ça pique"!"
"Accroche-toi aux branches"
Dès 10 ans, le palais du garçon s'est affûté, il reconnaît les typicités des vignobles locaux. Le futur
auteur-compositeur et ami de l'œnologue Jean-Claude Berrouet, qui a fait Château Petrus, étoffe
son vocabulaire, même s'il ne goûte pas vraiment les grandes démonstrations d'analyse de crus :
"Le vin, c'est une longue éducation. Il y a un vocabulaire précieux et un peu désuet, même si les
descriptions sophistiquées m'amusent. Quand j'en vois tourner la gorgée dans leur bouche, plisser
les yeux en disant "je sens la sueur de la selle de chameau du Sahara"… accroche-toi aux branches
! Toute ma vie, j'ai lutté pour maîtriser ces outrances de langage."
La guerre, à l'adolescence, n'est pas propice aux dégustations : les temps sont durs pour le café
familial, les barriques convoitées par les Allemands. "Un jour à un barrage, se souvient-il, ils nous
ont demandé de leur rapporter un tonneau de vin blanc. Mon père nous a dit de le remplir aux
trois quarts puis d'uriner dedans !" Avec ses premiers succès d'artiste, Pierre Perret découvre les
somptueuses saveurs de l'univers du vin. Il a 23 ans lorsqu'il est invité au restaurant par Eddie
Barclay pour fêter la signature de son premier album. Le restaurant est prestigieux, la bouteille
bien choisie : un cru classé de Saint-Émilion, Château Grand Corbin-Despagne 1947. "Une
révélation extraordinaire, j'en ai encore le goût en bouche. Plus tard, M. Despagne, qui a su que
son vin était à l'origine de ma passion, m'a envoyé une caisse de grandes années, dont 1947
justement. Je viens d'ouvrir la caisse, la veille de mes 80 ans…"
À la faveur des tournées de chant, Pierre Perret achète quelques bouteilles. Le succès aidant, il
s'offre des crus de plus en plus prestigieux, comme ce Mouton Rothschild 1945 avec le V de la
victoire sur l'étiquette… Il commence à confectionner sa "collection", à l'instinct. Lorsqu'il
emménage en Seine-et-Marne, les ouvriers qui bâtissent sa cave, ignorant la valeur de celle-ci, "se
sont descendu mes Mouton Rothschild avec leurs casse-croûte et les ont planquées, vides, dans
les tas de sable du chantier !".
"J'aime choisir le vin pour mes amis"
En tous points, le vin, qui s'invite aussi bien aux tablées d'amis qu'à celles des amoureux, colle à la
personnalité du chanteur-poète. "J'aime le choisir pour mes amis, l'accorder avec mon cassoulet
et mes jambons. Comme il est très sensuel, on peut aussi trouver les bonnes associations de
saveurs pour séduire la belle en face…" Pierre Perret écrira une chanson sur le vin, dans laquelle il
cherche une "fille de Bacchus" dont les "fraîches papilles cajoleront le grand Petrus".
L'élégance, voilà ce qu'il aime dans un vin. Perret a découvert les Pauillac "sur le tard", appris qu'il
fallait boire le saint-estèphe "plutôt vieux", se souvient de sa découverte d'Angelus 1961 comme
d'une vraie "explosion dans le palais". Il affectionne aussi un bordeaux supérieur à moins de 10 €,
le Château Recougne, dont il possède toutes les années. Pour lui, chaque dégustation est une
émotion. Celle que lui a offert pour le réveillon de l'an 2000 son ami Alain Decaux reste
inoubliable. Remis d'un problème de santé, l'historien décide d'apporter au dîner deux bouteilles
de… Romanée-Conti 1900. "C'était la tempête dehors. Éclairés à la bougie, nous buvions des
bouteilles vieilles de 100 ans. Déjà, au nez, je n'en revenais pas. À la première gorgée, ce fut la plus
belle émotion de vin de ma vie. Il était intact, les bouchons avaient été changés tous les dix ans.
On a dégringolé les deux bouteilles en ronronnant !" Pierre Perret cherche à retrouver une
émotion de cet ordre pour le dîner de fête de ses 80 ans. Le nez dans les caisses de sa cave, il
chuchote, malicieux : "Ce soir-là, il se peut que Monsieur Petrus ne soit pas loin…"
Bordeaux Week: Finding Wines that You Can Drink (Novembre 2013)
W. Blake Gray
What if I told you there’s a region with 6th-generation family-owned wineries, passionate young
winemakers, and distinctive red and white wines that are truly reflective of their terroir?What if I
told you these wines can be had for under $20? That the reds are ageworthy, but can be drunk
now? That the whites are food-friendly and delicious?
Such a region would be hip, right? And then I tell you, “It’s Bordeaux.” And maybe, you roll your
eyes. “Oh, that old place?” Bordeaux has an image problem. This is amazing given that most wine
lovers freely acknowledge that it is responsible for some of the world’s great wines.
Bordeaux is rare on by-the-glass lists. I went to nine wine bars and restaurants in a row in San
Francisco without seeing a single Bordeaux by the glass, until I hit one place that had an older
vintage of a St. Emilion — for $55 a glass. Nothing cheaper, anywhere, even though there are
plenty of cheap Bordeaux wines to choose from.
There are a lot of reasons for this, including the constant search for something new. But I’ll give a
personal one that may be a little universal: Bordeaux pisses me off.
I resent the top chateaux of Bordeaux for pricing their wines above what I will pay, even if I win
the lottery. I’m not going to spend $1,000 for a current release of Château Latour. But somebody
will: some plutocrat in Shanghai or Dubai, who will flaunt it like a Rolex. I’ll never drink LafiteRothschild again. (Continued below.) (…)
Château Recougne is more the norm. The winery was founded in the 1800s and purchased by
Xavier Milhade’s grandfather in 1938.
Fourth-generation owner Marc Milhade, in his early 30s, is doing the main winemaking now. After
graduating from university, he spent a year in Paris working as an engineer for Peugeot. “Then I
came back because I thought it would be stupid not to work with something that had been built
over three generations,” he said. “When you grow up amid the vines, it’s hard to adapt to urban
life.”
Marc Milhade of Château Recougne
Marc and his father are innovating within Bordeaux’s standards. They planted Carmenere, the
almost-forgotten sixth red grape of Bordeaux, and have released a small amount of a Carmenere
varietal wine. It’s not quite ripe-tasting enough on its own, but they’re planning to be patient.
“Look at England. Today they produce Champagne,” Xavier says. “The last 10 years were warmer
in Bordeaux. I was seeing picking dates move earlier and earlier. My thinking was, global warming
and alcohol degree. When we grow Merlot in global warming, the alcohol is higher and higher. I
think Bordeaux should be closer to 12 1/2% alcohol than to 14%. In the future, Bordeaux must
think about other varieties.”
The addition of 20% Carmenere to Château Recougne Vielles Vignes Bordeaux Supérieur 2010
keeps the alcohol at 14.5% and adds a nice spiciness to a round, ripe wine. You can really smell the
Carmenere, which makes the wine distinctive, yet completely within the rules.
It’s from a 4th-generation winemaker. It’s terroir-driven. It’s delicious. And it’s about $20 a bottle.
Which is great. If you can find it. Which is the problem of Bordeaux today.
“The price of Bordeaux Supérieur has never been so low,” Xavier says. “Bordeaux is so well-known.
If the price is very very low, it will make your decision easier.”
Issues 150 & 151 (Novembre 2013)
The Guardian.com (Novembre 2013)
Great indie wines and a Sunday-roast red
Wines from two of the best of the UK's new wave of specialist wine merchants, and an old-style
Sunday-roast red
Three Choirs Late Harvest, Gloucestershire, England 2011 (£15.99, The Wine Pantry) Remember the
miserable squib of a summer of 2012? It was, by all accounts, a bit of a disaster for English wine, and many
producers struggled to make anything at all. A little local knowledge goes a long way however, and the UK's
sole English wine specialist, The Wine Pantry, a tiny but brilliant independent wine merchant with an
enviable position in London foodie centraal as you turn onto Stoney Street opposite Borough Market, has
used theirs to good effect in sourcing a charming dry white from the vintage. The Signature blend from New
Hall Vineyards in Purleigh near Chelmsford, Essex (£10.99) has a touch of Alsace in its brisk mix of citrus
and blossom. Even better, however, is the honeyed peach of Three Choirs' sweet sticky siegerrebe, harvested
late into the mercifully Indian part of the no-less tricky summer of 2011.
Biocantina Giannattasio Bombino Bianco, Puglia Italy 2012 (£15, Vini Italiani) Another relative
newcomer to the burgeoning UK indie wine scene (it's just celebrated its second anniversary by opening a
wine bar), Vini Italiani in South Kensington has given itself a broader palette to paint from than the Wine
Pantry: Italy is the world's second-largest wine producer, England isn't even in the Top 40. Wheat-chaff
separation is the name of the game, here, and what makes Vini Italiani stand out is their willingness to root
out bottles from every corner of the country. That translates into delicious curiosities like the rarely seen (in
the UK) dry white bombino from Puglia in the south, with its herbs, flowers, and lime so pure they could
have been distilled. But it also means superior bottles from better-known regions, such as the joyously
aromatic and succulent red Tenuta Lilliano Chianti Classico 2010 (£15).
Château Recougne Bordeaux Supérieur, France 2010 (£9.99, or £7.99 if you buy two bottles,
Majestic) Bordeaux comes in for a lot of justified stick for the excessive prices and rather
charmless, alienating air of stiff formality that comes with its top wines, and for the mealy-mouthed
meanness of the bulk-bought stuff it tends to offer up in the supermarkets. But there's a lot more to
what is, after all, one of the world's largest wine regions than those two extremes, particularly in
better vintages like 2009 and 2010. For the two-bottle price of £7.99, Château Recougne's classic
blend of merlot with the cabernets sauvignon and franc, with its juicy blackcurrant framed by
trademark Bordelais freshness and gently gripping tannin, is hard to beat for value if you're looking
for a crowd-pleasing partner for a Sunday roast.
« ELLE A TABLE » (septembre – octobre 2013)
« GAULT ET MILLAU» (septembre – octobre 2013)
« LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE» n°572 Juin 2013
Where Will the Next Generation Take Bordeaux?
The challenges of the Millennial winemaker play out in sharp relief in this most traditional region
Posted: May 21, 2013 By Ben O'Donnell
[…]
Marc Milhade took the reins at St.-Emilion's Château Boutisse in 2005, when he was 25. "The only way I found to be
efficient and to learn fast was buying a lot of books and reading a lot by night," he said. "At the beginning, you
absolutely need a very good phone connection" to call pére in a pinch.
The wine biz has spent several years now wringing its hands over What to Do About Millennials. Not so long ago, it
was a received truth of this big, problematic, new generation of wine drinkers that they dismissed Bordeaux as an old
man's game. But stop in at any Bordeaux walk-around tasting and it's immediately obvious that both sides of that
formulation are wrongheaded today: More and more, what young Americans drink, young Frenchmen (and women)
made. I asked a few of these young Bordelais what it's like trying to fit 2,000 years of tradition into our modern wine
climate.
On the Right Bank especially, more châteaus than you're probably aware are run by guys and gals not so far out of
university. Of those who lead or share winemaking duties at Cheval-Blanc, Ausone and Pétrus, Olivier Berrouet is the
eldest. He's 34, and he's been at Pétrus since the 2008 vintage, following his father to guide the storied cuvée. He
agreed that the job can be nervewracking, and always gets second opinions on his blends. But perspective helps: "How
can we say—it's wine. So the pressure to reach the level of quality for Pétrus of course is very high, but we are on a
magic spot" in terms of terroir.
I asked Hervé, Milhade and Berrouet how their Bordeaux will look compared to dad's Bordeaux. Nobody's calling for
big changes at Pétrus, but Berrouet diplomatically offered this point, echoed by Milhade and Hervé: "Maybe the
power of winemaking was very high in the last two decades" in the cellar. "And the winemakers, especially the young
generation, are doing more in the vineyard, with a new approach in the viticulture, with less and less intervention.
Everything starts there."
"We are young, but we are old enough to understand that Bordeaux has to really change the way of thinking in terms
of environment," said Hervé. "Clearly the biggest challenge for us is to understand that we are no longer people from
old families with very bad [environmental] habits." Hervé and Milhade are taking explicit steps to make their wineries
greener.
Another new development is the hustle, especially crucial to châteaus still building their markets. "My father was only
involved in the wine production. But I have to be in the wine production, the communication, information, social
networks, the promotion of my wines, all those things. All that is very new and going really, really fast." said Milhade.
"It's more and more important to be in contact with the final consumers. It's something that the buyers expect more
and more." The Milhades are in the U.S. three times a year nowadays.
Fine wine today, of course, is no longer château against château: It's Bordeaux (or any other region) against the world.
But this has fostered a more social, collaborative attitude toward winemaking. "We taste together many, many times,
meeting to organize events. We have dinner together," said Milhade of his confreres. "It's very important for me to
develop together rather than only thinking of competition and selling better than the others next door."
Dinner parties are nice, but when I asked about Right Bank nightlife, Hervé responded: "Eh, a tractor." He lives in the
city of Bordeaux proper now (too old to be living with his parents, he said), but foresees the day when he'll be the
17th generation called home. "It's going to be more and more complicated not to be at the château because we are a
really small business." His dilemma is a miniature of the tension the next generation of Bordeaux winemakers faces.
"This is the challenge: trying to change but to understand the traditions and the habits we have. I mean, we still need
to have our own identity."