Who are you?

It seems a simple question but I’m not sure it is (Laughter). I’m a local girl. I grew up around Saint-Émilion and I am the great-granddaughter, granddaughter and daughter of winegrowers.

I strayed a little by undertaking pharmacy studies, but after practising for a few years, I returned to my first passion. I am a scientist by nature and I enjoyed the studies as well as the very human side of the profession, but I found it more monotonous, less dependent on seasonality and less changeable than the work of a winegrower. And I was shut up in a few square metres, far from the vines and the nature I love.

So I was able to see that you realise what you love by leaving it. That is why I convinced my husband – who is quite far removed from this wine culture – to invest in the vineyard.

I would add that I love the exchanges and the encounters that wine brings. It’s in my DNA.

Tell us about your properties

I would like to begin by telling you about Soutard-Cadet, an unclassified property of less than three hectares. A truly magical place with an incredible terroir that yields very fine wines.

Château Sansonnet is our first property, the one that allowed us to dive into the deep end. Like the eldest of a family of siblings, it is the one in which we placed all our hopes and principles. We tried to understand its terroir and its vineyard in order to get the best out of it. It is unquestionably our property of the heart.

Moulin du Cadet is a pretty little property whose north-facing vineyard makes fresh, crunchy wines. It allows us to increase our production in Saint-Émilion and to start a range effect with more affordable wines that are easier to drink.

We acquired Château Villemaurine in 2021. After hesitating in view of the amount of work involved, I quickly convinced myself that I could not pass up this exceptional cru. A purchase of common sense. We are now working to reveal its magnificent terroir, which still has much to give.

Do you feel that these châteaux share a common identity?

People who regularly taste our wines often tell us that there is a touch. Our watchword remains balance.

At Sansonnet we have full wines, offering a fine texture. That is why we are very vigilant about acidity, pH and the freshness that is indispensable to the perfect balance of structured wines.

At Villemaurine, the wines are very fine and elegant, so here we pay close attention to ageing. In addition to its length, we remain demanding about the quality of the wood used.

Consequently, I would say that our wines are, overall, characterised by balances between substance, volume, freshness and the tannin touch also built during ageing.

How do you reinvent yourself when you are in Bordeaux?

Bordeaux is already reinventing itself a great deal, and has been for a long time. In the fifteen years I have been here, the efforts that have been made are incredible in terms of agroecology, wine tourism and hospitality. It is now easy to visit a large number of properties, small or large.

Bordeaux, which is also adapting its wines for the youngest, must not let go and must continue down this path to counter the old, perfectly obsolete image of expensive, austere, sometimes poorly made wines. This image is still strong despite the colossal efforts made by associations and unions to promote a major wine region of France.

I remain convinced that we must put conviviality back into Bordeaux wines, whatever the range of wines offered. Bordeaux must also regain coherence in the proposals it makes to consumers.

Tell me about the vintage

2023 is undeniably a lovely vintage, charming and quite delicious. It is a vintage about which I told myself very early on, well before the en primeur campaign began, that it would please, with very fine tannin quality, a lovely texture, sweetness, fruit and low alcohol levels.

It is certainly not THE great vintage, but 2023 is undeniably a pleasing vintage that should build consensus and bring people together.

Your favourite vintage?

At Sansonnet, I will single out 2016, which marked the start of a long series of fine vintages, even if 2012 is incredible. It bears the fruits of everything we implemented in the vineyard, for example in rebalancing the soils, and in the cellar with, among other things, the work done on barrel types and sorting methods. It was the culmination of this work on the search for balance.

I am rather critical, but here I must admit that it was a real accomplishment after all those years of work. We tasted it recently and it showed no rough edges, all finesse and elegance. Even if the vintage helped us a lot, of course.

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

Yes. We will very shortly be developing wine tourism activity at Château Sansonnet, ahead of the opening of the hotel next year at Villemaurine.

This follows the extensive refurbishment of Sansonnet, which lasted two years. With a new reception area and a new tour operational from June, we want to open our doors and welcome, with every conviviality, the people who taste our wines. This important activity allows us to exchange directly with consumers.

Your father, also a winegrower, did he pass on an adage to you?

My father used to say to me: “don’t become a farmer, it’s a job where you tremble from 1 January to 31 December!” I agree with him, but it is a motivating stress, all the more so as it is a vocation that also brings great joys. And I would add that, despite that adage, my father and his father before him remained winegrowers all their lives (Laughter).