“Calibrated to vinify ten hectares, this building was built in less than a year on the site of the old one. 2021 was the first vintage vinified. We have room to work,” says Vincent Cruège, director since 2019 of VSD and experienced oenologist, who spent more than 30 years at Vignobles André Lurton.
In front of us, about fifteen small vats (stainless steel and concrete) and a barrel cellar, where each bears the name of the property. The building is the work of Swiss architect Mario Botta, the same man who designed the cellars of Château Faugères, located a stone’s throw away. Inaugurated in 2009, they are already being modernized.
decanters of whiskey
At Péby Faugères, black tiling on the floor – an originality in the wine world – and sculpted glass door handles serve as a reminder that Lalique is also in the hands of Silvio Denz, the owner. A 65-year-old Swiss businessman who arrived in the Bordeaux vineyards in 1995 and made his fortune in perfumery.
Black, the fetish color of the Alsatian crystal factory, also floods the entire boutique which will be open in the coming months at the château. The Lalique range, particularly around tableware, will be offered alongside the house wines. Visitors will also be able to enjoy a tasting room and a terrace with a view of a veritable amphitheater of vines. Because playing the wine tourism card is part of the overall strategy (1).
The wines are moving upmarket, the less good plots are sold
At the reception of the castle, an old barrel placed on the ground attracts attention. “It comes from Scotland where the group has just acquired a very old whiskey distillery,” explains Marie-Amélie Sarthou, marketing manager and daughter of winegrowers from Entre-deux-Mers. This spirit is another piece to the house puzzle.
The Swiss businessman is indeed strengthening his brand portfolio with Glenturret, a nugget acquired with Hansjorg Wyss, a compatriot who made his fortune in the United States in the medical field. Whiskey will be marketed in decanters coming out of Lalique; and casks that have contained Sauternes will have a second life in Scotland to age this whisky.
Chefs in the kitchen
This business of reusing barrels is in vogue in a world of sweet wines, where the group gained a foothold in 2014 with the acquisition of Lafaurie-Peyraguey. This 1855 classified growth symbolizes as much a general upscaling of the group’s wines – the least qualitative plots are sold – as the place of choice given to the cuisine. This castle is home to a starred restaurant – as well as a hotel – with Jérôme Schilling in the kitchen… and where some of the furniture is black. This chef was previously at the restaurant – also starred – at Villa René Lalique, in Alsace. And to complete this culinary circle, another gastronomic table has just opened in the Scottish distillery.
If we add a Lalique boutique in the heart of Bordeaux, and a wine sales site based in Zurich – Denz Weine – the synergies really come into play at all levels.
(1) In 2013, Château Faugères received a Best of, recognition in the world of wine tourism.