Who are you?

I am originally from Bordeaux. I started out in communication and business development in France and abroad, mainly in the food industry.

Then, at the age of thirty, I came into wine out of love for the product. I have always been passionate about wine. At 20, I was taking tasting classes alongside my business studies.

I turned a personal pastime into the common thread of my professional life. Wine is the sector in which I have worked for more than 20 years.

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From the food industry to CSR…

I gained very broad experience, from production to sales and communication, by way of professional tasting. From this cross-disciplinary experience, I became convinced, about ten years ago, that the industry would face environmental, economic and societal challenges alike.

I was persuaded that CSR would be the lens that would allow wine businesses to grasp these challenges. So I specialised in CSR and sustainable development, as an independent consultant and also as an ISO 26000 assessor for AFNOR.

In 2022, Vignobles de Larose offered me the management of a CSR and QHSE department, extended to communication, as the question of creating value around our commitments also arises.

Tell us about Vignobles de Larose

It is four properties, four crus bourgeois of the Médoc belonging to the Allianz insurance group: Château Larose-Trintaudon, Château Larose Perganson, Château Arnauld and Château Tour de Pez. At 260 hectares, Vignobles de Larose is a historic player in the Médoc.

They are pioneers of innovation and responsible commitment in the wine industry: the first French vineyard to obtain dual ISO 9001 & 14001 certification in 2003, and the first European vineyard and first company in Aquitaine to obtain AFNOR’s Label Engagé RSE in 2008.

How do you reinvent yourself when you are in Bordeaux?

I have the feeling that Bordeaux spends its time reinventing itself. It is a vineyard in permanent motion. We have a very rich and stimulating ecosystem with a great deal of expertise in every field: education, innovation cluster, interprofession, unions, distributors, suppliers, winegrowers.

We are constantly reinventing ourselves. We still have many challenges to face, but we have many assets with which to do so. It seems to me that we have room for progress in particular in wine communication and marketing: working on the image of wine among young consumers; working on the question of formats; making our wines desirable; winning over festive and sporting venues, or even festivals.

Does your group respond to social and HR challenges?

Among other good practices, Vignobles de Larose was the first to introduce adapted physical activity, as early as 2015! We set up a partnership with a company called Opti’Mouv, founded by Romain Balaguier. In 2013, Romain, then still a student, defended his STAPS Master’s thesis on the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) through adapted physical activity.

We served as guinea pigs. We now have a room dedicated to sport for sessions led by an Opti’Mouv coach! In addition to reducing MSDs, this partnership is also a tremendous tool for cohesion.

Tell me about the 2023 vintage?

It was a growing season in which we had a hot summer lasting more than 4 months and regular rainfall despite a slight deficit. We find the aromatic freshness of 2019 and the generosity of nature of 2015 or 2016.

Our wines have profiles in tune with consumers’ expectations, with a lot of freshness, fruit and controlled alcohol levels. We are very pleased with what we presented for en primeur!

Do you have any news you would like to tell us about?

2024 is a great first. Alongside our objective of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, we had been looking since 2021 for a solution to measure and optimise our carbon sequestration. Thanks to the Inno’vin innovation cluster, we identified NetCarbon, a start-up supported by the European Space Agency and multiple winner of AIRBUS’s Challenge startups prize, of the Copernicus Masters competition (for the French version run by CNES) and of the Planet competition (an Earth-observation start-up in the United States).

Thanks to the solution offered by NetCarbon, we are for the first time able to calculate our carbon capture. In line with the agro-ecological practices put in place in our vineyards, we can see an increase in carbon sequestration of 5% a year since 2019. This tool also allows us to run simulations and thus build our carbon trajectory in a relevant way.

If you were a wine?

I would say Larose-Trintaudon. Beyond its excellent quality and its very recognisable red label, it is a brand with a great deal of goodwill. I am touched by the stories told by the customers who come to visit us and taste our wines. It is a wine with an impressive and distinctive popularity rating. We also make wine to be loved. (Laughter.)