Almost as if my life had been mapped out for me, I was born in 1947 at the hospital in Libourne, only four hundred metres from the Pomerol appellation, and four kilometres from Maillet. At the time, all the family lived in Maillet. It was only later -and because my grandfather already sold wines under the Bon Pasteur label, that we began to say "going to Bon Pasteur" instead of "going to Maillet". For me, however, it will always be Maillet. I grew up there, played with my brother, walked through the vines with my grandfather – all the unforgettable childhood memories of tastes and smells, and day-to-day life in a family environment in the countryside. We had a carefree time. Only my parents worried, season after season, about frost, flowering, summer heat, winter hardship, rain, rot etc – the concerns common to all winegrowers then, just as now.

Then it was time for school. It was situated about a kilometre from the house. We went on foot, across the fields, a wonderful walk through nature, grass, trees among insects, birds, flowers, colours and aromas. We used to go down to the Barbanne, a small stream which separates Pomerol from Lalande de Pomerol, and then we went up towards Néac church. The private school was just next to it. My first teacher, Madame Raynal, was waiting for me with my friends of the time. The memories of those superb days are intermingled with those of cold, rainy days when one of my neighbours, who was already big and strong, carried me on his shoulders to finish off the trip to school.

At the time, it was normal in middle-class country families, that when there were two children, the eldest studied and the youngest – considered at times to be somewhat…slow! – was destined to take care of the vineyard. So, I did technical studies, then the agricultural college, the school of viticulture and, luckily, the faculty of oenology.

I only participated in the work in the vineyard during the holidays. It was very hard, but very good training. I often did the harvests. For me, it was a constant party, inviting friends, working all day and having fun all night! All this was under my father’s watchful eye, although I am sure he was having a good laugh behind his seriousness. My mother ran the kitchen.

Speaking of destiny, it was at the faculty of oenology at the University of Bordeaux that I met my wife, Dany in 1968. We have been together since and up to now have always worked together.

It was the time when Professor Peynaud gave his Monday classes, for which people now receive a diploma. He was so interesting to listen to, that first I convinced my brother – who was studying law – and then my father- that was more difficult - to attend the classes with me. He was the first to talk about wine without being pompous, flowery, without using learned words and all those adjectives that have now become ridiculous.

The laboratory took up a lot of my time. But I still went on holiday in the summer, to the mountains in winter, I played tennis… a normal, pleasant life, until a very sad event for our family - the death of my father.

It was 1979. My brother was a lawyer. I took over the reins of the family estate with my mother. Two or three years later – especially from the 1982 vintage on - I found myself facing a dilemma: whether to run both the laboratory in Libourne and the family estate in Pomerol or develop the area of consultant oenologist.

Up to 1985, I went with the first option, but then everything changed. I was asked to go to California to study how to optimise the potential of the wines of the region with their owners. Like all young entrepreneurs, I wanted to travel and to broaden my knowledge.

It was the start of a career as a consultant which brought me to four continents, to more than a hundred and fifty different estates. A career path studded with meetings with extraordinary people, visits to vineyards – and grapes – in all kinds of conditions, in all climates and all kinds of cultures. An exceptional professional and human experience!

Of course, Dany was there to manage the laboratory and the estates. We had bought Fontenil in 1986 and were living there since 1997. It was during that period that we rediscovered our Pomerol roots, moving the laboratory to Catusseau, a new structure. Little by little, new young oenologists came and joined the company.

But over time, I was busier and busier. My work took up all my time, with thousands of tastings and analyses. The children had grown up. Stéphanie did business studies and now is in charge of the management and finance of our family business. Marie, the youngest, uses her talents as a graphic artist to enhance the image of our company.

Oenology has evolved considerably and is now state-of–the–art. I went to California to give advice, but did not neglect Bordeaux, where I work on both sides of the river: in my native Libourne region, of course, in the Graves and the Médoc, and in some estates in the South of France.

A really interesting life, between vine and wine. But now I rarely have the time to go on holidays and I had to learn Spanish and English. My timetable is rather complicated – far too many hours wasted in cars and airports, for example – but it is entirely devoted to wine – my passion – to an extent I would never have imagined. Oh, I almost forgot - a message for those who believe in luck. You need to help it along, have lots of enthusiasm and curiosity and above all don’t forget to work a lot… !!