PIERRE SEILLAN - Château Lassègue

The Truth about Lassègue
PIERRE
SEILLAN
THIS NATIVE OF THE GERS IS A MAN OF THE LAND WITH A
RARE SPIRIT, WHO, AFTER HIS TRAVELS AROUND THE
WORLD, HAS PUT DOWN ROOTS IN SAINT EMILION.
A PORTRAIT OF AN AVID VIGNERON
BY NICOLAS DE ROUYN
PHOTOS M A T H I E U G A R Ç O N
This
thirst
for
demultiplication is really
quite
extraordinary
the
vigneron who is everywhere
at once as a symbol of
modern
times.
Without
dwelling unduly on these
flying winemakers, there are
great collectors of châteaux
and estates who are not
actually winemakers in the
true sense and there are
great winemakers who are
not really collectors.
Both share an immoderate
taste for the wines bearing
their signatures. And this is
not an inappropriate ego
crisis.
Some will talk of
strategy and others of their
mission,
a
near-divine
relationship with the earth.
The truth lies elsewhere but,
strange to say, they all find
it hard to admit.
They
simply have a passion
beyond
the
normal
proportions
for
mere
common mortals. They are
consumed by vines, wine,
the
mysteries
of
fermentation, this desire to
astound the rest of the world
with exclusive tastes and
aromas, the hot pursuit of
recognition.
It is a strange story, rare
commitment and a vocation,
with an amazing shared
desire to share, just a little
…
It is also a way of
travelling,
possessing
a
whole host of laptops, a
silver Flying Blue card and
importance – with a certain
amount of impetuosity in all
this.
These men would
have done marvels leading a
battalion in the romantic
wars in history books.
However, wars are no longer
romantic and those waged
with bottles are to conquer a
VIGNERON
world that is not the great
wide world but a cosy world
of wine lovers who know the
price of their indulgence.
Pierre Seillan is one of
these men, a winemaker in
tune with the earth in the
broadest sense, constantly
hopping over the North
Atlantic and back.
It all started the day he
met Jess Jackson, a cleareyed
American
and
a
billionaire
made
in
California style.
A man
with a good heart to whom
money came naturally and
whose real pride was his
action in favour of civil
rights and not the 100point score from Robert
Parker for his Californian
wine. One day, Big Jess,
who passed away last year,
wanted to buy a second
home in the temperate
climate
of
northern
California. He found one.
It had a garden and a few
vines.
“IT’S A SORT OF CHALK
CRESCENDO
WITH
HEAVY
CLAYS, ONE OF THE FINEST
TERROIRS I HAVE EVER BEEN
GIVEN TO CULTIVATE.”
The
But the very idea of America was a
tenacious one. When he died, his
vineyard consisted of thousands of
hectares and dozens of labels. Since
clear-sightedness is also a quality of
US entrepreneurship, he soon
understood that he needed a
showcase vineyard, a driving force
to push all his other wines. He was
also logical and looked to France to
find the right man to set up in the
right place. His choice fell on Pierre
Seillan.
Jess Jackson was the
chance of a lifetime for this man
from the Gers region, with both the
accent and build of a rugby player.
It naturally turned out that Pierre
Seillan had all the qualities required
to take up the gauntlet. Otherwise,
he would have been quickly replaced
– the Americans are like that.
Seillan started out by creating the
Vérité estate in Sonoma, the valley
next to Napa (cf. Issue 5). A location
made for vines and great wines.
There he implemented his micro-cru
philosophy. He patiently identified
the promising plots among the
Jackson family vines. As he is never
wrong, it worked. The three Vérité
wines were born. One blend based
on Cabernet Sauvignon, another on
Merlot and the third mainly
Cabernet Franc. At the same time,
Pierre devoted some time to the
fabulous Jackson estate in Tuscany
near Siena. There he applied the
same methods as in California.
International grape varieties, vines
in the heart of nature, mixed
agriculture.
Today we call it
biodiversity.
And then, one very hot day, the two
men were to be found on a hillside.
Not in the South of France but on
the Pavie hillside at Saint Emilion.
A small estate was for sale there.
Château
Lassègue,
a
perfect
example of a sleeping beauty. 24
hectares
on
the
hillside,
an
exceptional location in one of the
world’s most famous vineyards.
That is all it took.
billionaire wanted the vigneron
to have a stake in the capital and
the two joined forces.
A rare
position in the world’s greatest
vineyards. Why? Pierre told us,
“We shared the same vision of
winegrowing. Jess knew that he was
twenty years older than me and I
think he wanted me to become even
more attached to his family. He also
wanted
someone
who
knew
Bordeaux well. I think my straight,
not very diplomatic way of talking
appealed to him and we always had
an honest, loyal relationship.” The
transaction was signed in October
2003 and the new Lassègue
adventure could begin.
First observation – the vines were
in exceptional condition.
The
previous owner was a proud
viticulturalist and his vines, an
average of forty years’ old, were
grafted
on
excellent
stock,
constituting first-class material that
Pierre did not touch and still has
not touched nearly ten years’ later.
PIERRE SEILLAN AND HIS SON NICOLAS
The vigneron continually walked up
and
down
the
hillside
and
pinpointed around thirty plots, from
which wine is produced separately.
“I discovered a sort of crescendo of
chalk with heavy clays, one of the
finest terroirs I have ever been given
to cultivate.
And its exposition
directly facing south-south-west is
excellent.”
He
was
secretly
delighted. He knew that he held in
his hands the material to achieve
his greatest masterpiece.
“WINE IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL. TO GET PEOPLE INTERESTED IN IT,
YOU HAVE TO DO IT REALLY WELL”
NICOLAS
PROUDLY
WEARING
JESS
JACKSON’S
FAVOURITE
HAT
Gradually, vintage after vintage, he
rose through the ranks leading to
excellence.
The
Bettane
&
Desseauve guide was not mistaken.
In August 2011, this is what it wrote
about the great Lassègue wine.
“Little by little, the wines are finding
their style, consistent and powerful,
gradually gaining in the finesse
legitimately bestowed by the terroir.”
And, concerning the 2009 vintage,
Thierry Desseauve notes that the
tannin “is much finer than previous
vintages. While the wine remains
generous and full, the palate exhibits
a quite different balance.”
Pierre prefers excellent grapes and
therefore
reduced
the
yield.
Nowadays it is below 30 hl/ha. He
then created a second wine,
Cadrans de Lassègue and had a new
barrel cellar built adjoining the
château, like a side-wing in a
traditional style.
“The long, low building with two
towers
undoubtedly
needs
improvement but should not be
knocked about. I’m from this region
and wanted to stay with Saint
Emilion stonework. I must say I don’t
really understand this architectural
frenzy that has captured some of our
neighbours, big and small.
This
region is on the World Heritage list.
There are other ways to gain
attention.” There, it has been said.
And this is not all.
Gradually, with
phrases
inspired
by
long
monologues, he has worked out a
sort of philosophy. Not necessarily
everything but a guiding principle.
He told us,
“Wine is not an essential. To get
people interested in it, you have to do
it well. If you manage to capture
messages from the earth, act in
harmony with the terroir, ordinary
wine can become exceptional.”
And, “Wine must have a signature.
A link must be established between
the earth, terroir and winemaker.
You need to seek a unique
product. There are great artists
and great craftsmen. I try to be one
of them. It is by keeping that tucked
away in the mind that wine can be
crafted in any country. Enthusiasts
show curiosity, they may be snobbish
or spirited. Each one seeks a higher
dimension. And may or may not find
it.”
People were quick to criticise this
great specialist of Bordeaux grapes,
like others before him. But he is
able to defend himself.
“I adapt to the climate of each of my
vineyards. I observe the vegetation.
The trees, the grass. The strength of
the aromas in the leaves tells me
about the nature of the soil. I direct
my winemaking according to these
messages.
I do not have one
method.” And, by listening, it is
easier to understand why Château
d’Yquem is his favourite wine. He
confirms it, “The strong point of
Yquem is the diversity of its terroirs.
This is what makes its incredible
complexity.”
He is a man of the land with a rare
character. He admits to being fond
of walks in the forest, there where
the land is omnipresent, where
telephones do not ring.
And his secret garden, a small
vineyard on the estate where he was
born somewhere between Auch and
Lectoure.
First vintage – 2011.
Those who know him are aware that
this is where he will go to feel the
pulse of the earth, the day when.
When, finally, he has taken all the
vineyards under his responsibility to
the place he has assigned them, on
the podium for each appellation.
(Good to know, Page 144)
PIERRE AND MONIQUE
SEILLAN HAVE A SON,
NICOLAS, AND A
DAUGHTER, HELENE.
IN BOTH THEIR MINDS,
CONTINUITY IS
ASSURED. NICOLAS IS
INVOLVED IN THE
FINANCE SECTOR OF
THE PROFESSION,
WORKING WITH JESS
JACKSON FOR YEARS
BEFORE
CONCENTRATING ON
LASSEGUE WHERE HE
IS NOW GENERAL
MANAGER. HE
OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT
REPLACE HIS FATHER,
WHICH SHOWS A LEVEL
HEAD – OTHERS WOULD
BE ANNOYED AT THIS.
THIS EXCELLENT
ADMINISTRATOR
SUPPORTS THE
PROGRESS OF
LASSEGUE WITH
CLEAR-SIGHTEDNESS
AND MODERATION.