Chef de caves of one of Champagne’s cult family estates: “Wine bonds us and binds us”.
The third interview in Le Figaro Vin’s series takes us to Champagne to meet Sébastien Le Golvet, #48. A genuine hedonist, dedicated to enjoyment, he tells us how his winemaking trajectory and his passions are intertwined.
As befits a true bon viveur, Sébastien Le Golvet smokes a cigar throughout our interview. He inherited this passion from his father-in-law, Claude Giraud. He has been able to fit in seamlessly with his in-laws by embracing the spirit of innovation and independence so prized by the family. The outcome is champagnes that are unique, remarkable, vinous, and resolutely hedonistic.
Le Figaro: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?
Sébastien Le Golvet: I see myself as more of a leader than a champion, insofar as Maison Henri Giraud is above all a team. To use a French expression, I am the one pulling the cart rather than pushing it.
Have you been training for long?
We have been training to produce great wines for a long time, going back a number of generations. Our Réserve Perpétuelle, moreover, was launched by Claude Giraud in 1990 and we continue to develop this ground-breaking work, which is the signature of the estate, to this day.
Who is your mentor?
Claude, of course, who has had the patience to pass on to me his own passion for wine. It is also through him that I have learnt to make wine while smoking cigars. He has taught me the similarity between the great terroirs of tobacco and the great terroirs of wine. He has always been at my side. He is a visionary, which is so important for making champagne – you need lots of perspective.
Is wine a team sport?
Yes, you can go fast on your own but you go much further as a team. Speed is all very well but it frequently leads to excessive haste.
What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?
In my view you cannot separate them. You cannot replicate the terroir, it is unique, and if the winemaker does not understand his terroir he will never make a great wine. For us what comes first – the terroir – forever depends on the well-being of, and respect for, nature.
To what do you owe your success?
I think I owe it, above all, to the history of the Giraud family, which has worked the vineyard at Aÿ since 1625. It’s a long history, and we owe our success to our terroir and to our family tradition of passing on know-how as well as assets.
Is your mother proud of you?
Yes, I think that she is very proud of how far my work has brought me in my devotion to wine. I think that the most satisfying achievement is to see your children flourish.
Who are your best supporters?
Our best supporters, first and foremost, are our customers, who come to our house, visit the Henri Giraud estate, stay at the manor, and enjoy an experience of well-being, through immersion in the terroir, and especially through “Craÿotherapie” (a concept of chalk baths and applications devised by Dr. Anne Le Golvet-Giraud, Sébastien’s wife, ed.). These are the people who then spread the good word about us far and wide, and they are our best ambassadors.
Your favourite colour?
My favourite colour – and I don’t know if it’s really a colour – would have to be gold, because for me it represents the lustre of Pinot Noir. Blanc de Noirs is thus the stroke of genius which has allowed us to make a great white wine with black grapes. That gives champagne its golden colour.
The king of grape varieties?
Pinot Noir, without question.
Your favourite wine?
I don’t really have a favourite wine because each wine has its moment, in every case an occasion for sharing and pleasure. For example, if I’m partying, I can drink litres, even bucketfuls of wine, but, conversely, the Arḡonne cuvée requires a different approach. Each wine has a distinct function.
Your favourite vintage?
2004. That’s the year my winemaking career began. I joined the domaine in 2002, and 2004 was the year of my first vinification alongside Claude. And, at the same time, it’s the year that the 15th generation arrived (with the birth of his eldest son, Arthur, ed.). Every time I open a 2004 it reminds me of both my life’s journey and an extraordinary vintage.
If your wine was a person, who would it be?
Our wines are all about joy, good humour, pleasure, fun and laughter, fine dining, and taste. If I had to compare them to a person, I would choose François-Xavier Demaison, an actor from the film Champagne. He paid us a visit and he is a truly exceptional person; brilliant, a true comedian!
What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?
Let’s deal with the basics first: a decent glass and the right temperature. These are the first two requirements, and then the magic does its work, because wine bonds us and binds us. It helps bring people together.
With whom?
To start with, you need to be curious about other people. When you have that curiosity and you are sharing a good wine, that’s when wine works its magic. People open up. You can talk about anything and everything, you take your time – it’s like smoking a cigar – and, if you are in the company of people who are curious about each other, you can pass an entire night conversing over a glass, or rather over a bottle.
Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine?
I tested negative at my latest drug test (laughs)! As for our wines, we are in the heart of an extraordinary vineyard here in Aÿ and I therefore think that today, rather than using chemicals, we ought to show nature the greatest respect, using minimal additives and interventions, by sticking to what is natural. We don’t need to do any more than that. It is rather a case of being in the right place at the right time, for the vines and wines alike.
For what price would you be prepared to sell your estate?
Selling our estate today is out of the question, so I cannot name a price. We are in the process of passing the estate to the next generation. Emmanuelle, my sister-in-law, who is taking over the reins at Domaine Henri Giraud, will write a new page marking the passage towards a new generation. Our wish is to perpetuate our know-how through the generations to come. And that is invaluable.
Who is your strongest competition in Champagne?
We don’t have any competitors because we feed off each other. Once again it’s about curiosity, visiting our peers, inviting them to our estate, getting to understand each other. We cannot be competitors, because we each have our own market. In our case we occupy a very specific niche. I don’t look at my peers as competitors but more as people that we can use as models, as sources of inspiration.
What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?
In the vineyard we now use an absolute minimum of agricultural products. Furthermore, our Coteaux Champenois is called “triple zero”, with zero pesticide residues. For us this is something that really matters, something modern, and the fruit of our labour in the vineyard.
Turning to the cellar, our most innovative technical development there has been understanding how to marry two exceptional terroirs – the terroir of Aÿ Grand Cru with that of the forest of Argonne. I always say that it’s the story of the Beauty and the Beast. We have understood how to create this synergy between the two terroirs, which now produces an exceptionally great wine. For example, contrary to what you might expect, the Cuvée Arḡonne, vinified exclusively in new barrels, is not at all oaky, but expresses the terroir of Aÿ thanks to the forest of Argonne. With the Cuvée Arḡonne, the trema on the “g” alludes to the “y” of Aÿ, and thus to the fusion of the two terroirs.
Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?
Our ideal successor would be the 15th generation of the family. What excites Emmanuelle and me is the prospect of one of our children taking over. That is what we live for.
Le Figaro Vin
February 22, 2023
The worthy successor to his grandfather and father on an estate that produces some of the greatest Rieslings of Alsace: “Being a winemaker is not about measuring performance”.
For the second in Le Figaro Vin‘s series of the 50 best winemakers in France we head off to Alsace, where we meet Jean Boxler, #49. He embodies the latest generation of an iconic Alsace estate, whose grands crus are equally seductive for lovers of natural wines and for the most sophisticated palates.
Domaine Albert Boxler is a family property, founded in 1672, on the hillsides of the Upper Rhine commune of Niedermorschwihr. Having worked side by side with his father for 25 years, Jean Boxler pursues his craft with the artistry of a goldsmith, producing wines of exceptional finesse on terroir known, nevertheless, for being extremely harsh. With great wisdom, despite his relative youth, he reveals his vision of a vocation which is based, for him, on passion, resilience, and sensitivity.
Le Figaro: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?
Jean Boxler: There are no champions. Being a winemaker is not about measuring performance but something far deeper and far less tangible. When you choose to do this job, you should not aspire to be the best. You must simply love your vines and try to do your work with as much sensitivity as possible.
Have you been training for long?
I started in 1996, so I have 26 vintages under my belt. At the same time, each year feels like my first. I attempt to refine things year by year, to avoid acting impulsively, and to focus on quality. Just as in sport, it is practice that allows you to manage the difficult times and cope with the random contingencies, and it’s precisely the charm of the unpredictable that makes life interesting.
Who is your mentor?
My father (who passed away in November 2022, ed.) and, until I reached 17, my grandfather. They taught me my passion for the job.
What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?
You need a winemaker to make good wine. But it takes both to make a great one.
To what do you owe your success?
I am not sure whether success can be measured by any specific criterion, as I don’t like to be pigeonholed in a particular style. I think that wine involves something more conceptual. First and foremost, wine is a social bond. In current winemaking talk I notice a kind of radicalisation in the approach to production methods, sometimes to the detriment of the wine. Sadly, that creates a disconnection from the true purpose of production. There is no rule book for making good wine, rather there are different ways of getting there. The secret of success is therefore more to do with passion, conviction, and self-denial, which invariably end up paying off.
My parents and grandparents had a certain style, taste, and a concern for balance and simplicity, combined with a desire to produce grapes of exceptional quality, without ever resorting to cutting corners or to technical excess. Our success is measured by the loyalty of our customers, some of whom have enjoyed our wines for over 30 years. That has given us our greatest satisfaction; we make wines that we like to drink.
Is your family proud of you?
It’s not a subject that we ever touch on. My father and I shared our passion for wine, day by day, for 25 years. He was my best guide. We never spoke about pride but about wine and nature.
Who are your best supporters?
I would say our American importer from the 1980s, Robert Chadderdon. It was a serendipitous meeting, with an outstanding taster, and we were on the same wavelength. He had a great deal of respect for our work.
Red or white wine?
I have a soft spot for Rieslings, so it’s whites. But balance, emotion, and vibrancy are what I look for most of all.
The king of grape varieties?
Riesling. It is complex, has a lot of character, and is completely uncompromising. It perfectly reflects how you nurture it. It is incapable of hiding its feelings. This is no doubt down to our transparent terroir, with its crystalline granite soils on which Riesling is an open book. Riesling combines great purity with great candour.
Your favourite wine?
The Riesling Sommerberg Grand Cru “E” (lieu-dit Eckberg).
Your favourite vintage?
2017, which was a complete vintage across the spectrum. Otherwise, no doubt, 2023!
If your wine was a person, who would it be?
A wine is made in its maker’s image
What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?
When you are relaxed.
Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine?
No, because winemaking is not a competition. Everything depends on being able to mitigate any defects by making the right decisions, especially during the harvest. By keeping tuned into your plots, your work is already done. Doping and comparable interventions are an admission of failure. Their consequence is that your wine can never achieve greatness.
For what price would you be prepared to sell your estate?
I have three boys, two of them interested in winemaking, so the question does not arise.
Who is your strongest competition in Alsace?
Probably Gérard Schueller, even if his son Bruno has gone down a different route. The father’s wines were monumental.
Which competitions do you dread the most?
The harvest. It is, at once, the most beautiful of times and the most anxiety-inducing, because you have to manage the human, the climate, and the condition of the vines. I would say that the greatest challenge today, because of the climate, is the fear of destabilisation.
What was your greatest win?
Passing on my love of winemaking to the next generation.
What has been your most innovative strategy?
Understanding how to work with people. Wine is a team sport.
Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?
My sons.
The technical director revolutionising Pomerol’s Château L’Évangile: “If my wine was a person, it would be Catherine Deneuve”.
Wine Lister’s parent company, Le Figaro Vin, has launched its inaugural series of the 50 best winemakers in France in 2023. Interviews with each winemaker making the top 50 will be published throughout the course of the year – in French on the Le Figaro Vin website, and in English on Wine Lister’s blog. The first in the series, #50, is Olivier Trégoat – Technical Director of Pomerol’s Château L’Évangile. Here he shares the highlights of his viticultural journey so far. In just a few years, Olivier Trégoat has managed to realise the full potential of l’Évangile, getting the most out of the appellation’s natural generosity, while reinstating a remarkable freshness in the wine.
Le Figaro: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?
Olivier Trégoat: I am very happy, but give most of the credit to the team, as it is, above all, a real collective effort. Alone, I would be good for nothing.
Have you been training for long?
Yes, I’ve been training since 1997. Everything I’ve done in my previous winemaking roles contributes to what I have achieved at L’Évangile. I got my start in Saint-Émilion, which catalysed my interest in soil studies – while my previous job as an independent consultant for large Bordeaux estates (including Château Cheval Blanc) was invaluable.
Who is your mentor?
At the start of my winemaking journey, it was Kiss Van Leeuwen, a viticulture professor at Bordeaux Sciences Agro and the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (ISVV). Today, my mentors are my neighbours in Pomerol – whose proximity prevents me from making mistakes and provides me with constant inspiration.
What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?
The terroir. For me, climate and soil make up 80% of the wine.
To what do you owe your success?
To my education, my curiosity, and the tools at my disposal – a triptych of soil, vine, and wine.
Is your family proud of you?
Yes, I’m sure they are.
Who are your best supporters?
Paradoxically, some of my competitors, but also my former clients from when I was an independent consultant.
Red or white wine?
The older I get, the more white wine I drink!
The king of grape varieties?
Cabernet Franc. At Château L’Évangile, it’s a grape variety that we will continue to plant and conduct research into – particularly because of its freshness. And also because I love the wines of the Loire Valley!
Your favourite wine?
Château L’Évangile 2006. It is a harmonious vintage that offers the delicate touch of l’Évangile’s hallmark tannins, alongside a more fleshy characteristic – but without excess, and still retaining a beautiful freshness.
Your favourite vintage?
2011 – something slightly different. It was not well understood around the time of its release, and it came after 2009 and 2010, which were widely-recognised as exceptional vintages. It’s just starting to open up today.
If your wine was a person, who would it be?
Catherine Deneuve. A great, timeless actress who knew how to challenge herself in different roles.
What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?
Drink it with people you love.
Have you ever thought about chemically-enhancing yourself, or your wine?
No, never. Nature is generous in Pomerol; I always say that I have my foot on the brake rather than the gas.
Who is your strongest competition in Pomerol?
Château Lafleur.
Which competitions do you dread the most?
Frosty periods in early April.
What was your greatest win?
I had beginners’ luck. My entire career in wine so far has been a bit like a race in which I have ended up on the podium against all odds!
What has been your most innovative strategy?
While we do things in a very simple manner in the winery, in the vineyard, we make very rigorous intra-parcel selections on different soils. I sometimes say that we harvest in a Sauternes style. We love to split hairs during this critically decisive period. It’s a real challenge to be a winemaker in Pomerol today.
Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?
On the podium, Château Lafleur. They are very sharp and precise in what they do, with consistently good ideas. And for my successor at the estate, I don’t know yet…
A few words about the estate:
The property was founded in the mid-18th century under the name “Fazilleau”. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Léglise family, who played a significant role in expanding the vineyard, sold it to a lawyer named Isambert, who renamed it L’Évangile. He expanded the estate to around 13ha – not far off its current size.
Since 1990, Château L’Évangile has been under the helm of Baron Éric de Rothschild, who also owns Château Lafite in Pauillac (among others in the appellation), as well as Château Rieussec in Sauternes. His daughter, Saskia, a former New York Times correspondent writing from the Ivory Coast, and the author of a novel, joined her father in Bordeaux in 2017. The estate has benefitted from significant investments, as well as the technical expertise of the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) teams for over 30 years. Juliette Couderc was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2020, having previously managed the vineyards of Chinese estate, Long Dai, which also belongs to the group. She works alongside Olivier Trégoat.