Laurence Civil meets Jean-Michel Cazes – a vintner of worldly distinction who was awarded La Croix de Chevalier de la Legion in 2002 and Man of the Year by the wine magazine Decanter in 2003

Jean-Michel Cazes is a French winemaker of worldly distinction, described as “the new Baron of Bordeaux.” Until 2000 he man­aged the wine holdings of AXA Millésimes as well as the Cazes family estates which he relin­quished in 2006. He is the son of André Cazes and grandson of Jean-Charles Cazes who acquired the family’s initial holdings.

In 1974 he took over management of Château Lynch-Bages. Other properties include Château Les Ormes-de-Pez, Château Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac converted into a hotel and a restaurant of two Michelin stars, L’Ostal Cazes in Languedoc, Domaine des Sénéchaux in Châteauneuf­du-Pape, Xisto in Portugal and Tapanappa in Coonawar­ra, Australia.

Having concluded salutations we start with a Chateau Villa Bel-Air Graves 2003. “Villa Bel-Air is found close to La Brède in the village of Saint-Mo­rillon in the heart of the Graves appellation” explains Jen-Michel who bought the property and restructured the vineyards in 1988. “The property is perched on a magnificent gravel brow overlooking the Gatmor Valley. The soil is composed of Garonne gravel and lies on a subsoil base of clay-lime­stone, partly ferruginous.

“Here we have a 50 hectare vineyard that covers one uninterrupted area,” he says. “The Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on the warm gravel of the plateau, while the Merlot, Sauvignon and Semillon are planted on slopes that offer freshness. The terroir of this property also benefits from an advantageous micro-climate that is ideal for winemaking. The surrounding pine forests protect it from bad weather and the proximity of the Gar­onne

River mitigates both extreme heat and excess humid­ity.” The wine is an extremely elegant blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Semillon. Its floral nose releases notes of citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit) and tropical fruits (mango, pineapple). The first impression on the palate is supple and round with a nice buttery, oaky and vanilla finish. The tech­nique of stirring the lees brings out structure, volume, fat­ness and roundness.

The next wine Jean-Michel pours is Xisto; a wine from Portugal’s Douro Valle made in cooperation with his long-standing good friend Jorge Roquette, owner of the highly acclaimed Quinto do Crasto estate.

“In the vineyards of the Upper Douro we blend the tradi­tional grape varieties of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca. The cooler summer nights, characteristic of the Upper Douro region, facilitate and enhance the aromatic qualities of the resulting wine. These vineyards are regularly monitored by Tomas Roquette and Daniel Llose – my chief winemaker.”

The wine has a smooth, modern air to it, along with an extra-sweet, exuberant fruity note that pops up as the oak peels away and the fruit asserts itself. It dominates the finish, and then develops character with more aeration.

Next,  we  move  on  to  one  of  his  wines  from  Languedoc region  L’Ostal  Cazes, La Liviniere,  Minervois  2003. “For years  I have meandered  hrough  the  roads of Languedoc,” he says. “Attracted to the ‘patchwork quilt’ of legendary terroirs which underpins the region I discovered La Livinière, a village  at  the  foot  of the Montagne Noire,  birthplace  of the greatest vineyards in Minervois. In 2002 I bought two adjacent properties, creating an estate of 150 hectares, consisting of 50 hectares of vines and 25 hectares of olive trees. Together with my son Jean-Charles, we chose the name L’Ostal Cazes, a reference to the house and the family group living there.”

The wine is a blend of 65% Syrah, 13% Carignan, 12% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre which is aged in French oak for 15 months. Powerful and feshy; this wine represents a  clear  refection of  the  terrioir.  In  the glass, a deep ruby colour; on the nose a silky texture and a spicy and explosive aroma, with scents of garrigue scrubland, ripe black fruit and morello cherry. Ten in the mouth there  is great  richness,  fatty,  ripe  fruit and creaminess that envelops elegant and distinguished tannins. A wine that can be drunk young due to the generosity of its fruit but  lef  to age  the richness and elegance of  its  tannins becomes more expressive.

Finally, we taste a glass of Chateau Lynch-Bages, a classifed ffh growth from Pauillac. “For three quarters of a century the property was owned by the Lynch family, descendents of the Irishman John Lynch. The property was  bought  by my  grandfather  Jean-Charles  in  1934 who, with my father Andre devoted all of his energy to the estate for more than 35 years. I took over the property in 1974 and set about restructuring and managing the estate. In 2006 I handed over the day to day running of the estate to my son Jean-Charles.

“The 90 hectare estate is just outside the town of Pauillac, overlooking the Gironde estuary,” he explains. “The well-drained  soil  is mostly Garonne  gravel with  solid but fairly disjointed subsoil that enables the roots of the old wines to grow to a depth of six to eight metres, with an average age of about 30 to 35 years producing small quality berries.

“The wine  is a blend of 73 % Cabernet-Sauvignon, 15 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet-Franc, and 2 % Petit-Verdot, aged in French oak barrels, 70 % of which are renewed each year. Tey are well known for their complexity, and combine elegance with a powerful structure. Their suppleness allows  them  to be drunk afer a  few years, but they will also age well over the years.”