France’s 50 best winemakers: Château Beauséjour’s Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse

Co-owner and winemaker of Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse: “I do not believe that the land belongs to us”.

The 20th interview in Le Figaro Vin’s series takes us back to Bordeaux, where Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse, #31, maintains her family legacy at Château Beauséjour, Premier Grand Cru Classé B de Saint-Émilion. With her impressive maturity and depth of insight, she ranks among the most talented winemakers of her generation.

Her seven-hectare estate, in the iconic Right Bank appellation of Saint-Émilion, boasts an exceptional limestone plateau terroir. The vineyard is planted with rows of Merlot and of Cabernet Franc, which produce wines of extraordinary vivacity.

Having been passed down the generations since 1847, Château Beauséjour underwent a tumultuous sale in 2021. It now belongs jointly to Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse, 33 – the last of the family remaining at the Château – and Prisca Courtin, 35, granddaughter of Jacques Courtin, founder of Clarins. Joséphine draws to good effect on her ten years’ experience on estates ranging from Burgundy to Mexico, by way of New Zealand, and finally to Bordeaux, notably with Bernard Magrez. Today she oversees the production of her estate’s wines with great panache, supported by two renowned consultant oenologists, Axel Marchal and Julien Viaud.

Le Figaro Vin: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?

Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse: If that is how you regard me, then I feel a degree of pride!

Have you been training for long?

Yes, for quite some time. My grandparents on both sides were great wine connoisseurs. They were a formative influence from my earliest years and had me tasting well before I came of age. I have deep aromatic memories that underpin my keen sense of smell and taste. My nose has been practising for a long time. As far as vinification is concerned, there is only one vintage per year, and each one is different. We always tell ourselves that we will do things differently next time. So every year involves further training.

Who is your mentor?

Axel Marchal and Julien Viaud (who embody the new generation of consultant-oenologists in Bordeaux, ed.) are part of my team. They challenge me but their job is not, strictly speaking, to mentor me. I would suggest, rather, that nature is our mentor. From one year to the next, we have to aim higher.

Is wine a team sport?

Yes, very clearly, because wine starts with the vines, and I am not on my own in the vineyard. Some members of my team have been at Beauséjour for 30 years, and without them – Izilda and Christophe – it would be difficult. They bring their own insights and their deep familiarity with the property. To give some context, Izilda’s parents were originally hired by my great-grandparents. As for the vinification, I have Axel Marchal, Julien Viaud, and Camille de Villenaut to support me. We challenge each other and move forward as a team!

What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?

That’s a really tricky question. When you have a great terroir, if the winemaker makes a mistake, in terms, it is the terroir that can rectify the situation. On the other hand, a good winemaker might make something fantastic from a poor terroir. But, if I have to decide, the terroir comes out on top.

To what do you owe your success?

It’s partly a question of upbringing, which I owe to my family. They taught me the value of the land and of hard work. As for the success of Beauséjour, that is down to meeting Prisca (Courtin, President of the Clarins Group’s Oversight Committee, ed.) who believed in our project. My upbringing has enabled me to follow through on our acquisition, and to persevere in the face of stressful conditions.

Are your parents proud of you? And is your dog?

Yes, I think so. My dog Tokaj is too, and happy to spend every day here at Beauséjour.

Who is your biggest supporter?

Prisca Courtin.

Your favourite colour? 

Blue.

Your favourite grape variety?

Cabernet Franc.

Your favourite wine?

I love Domaine de Vaccelli’s Granit. It is the wine which, in a blind tasting, I always place in Burgundy, even though it’s from Corsica!

Your favourite vintage?

1990 (the Beauséjour vintage which has acquired legendary status and the year that Joséphine was born, ed.).

If your wine was a person, who would it be?

Someone with quiet strength who opens up over time.

What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?

Over a good meal, with a delicious piece of meat, and with friends.

Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine? 

Never.

For what price would you be prepared to sell your estate?

I do not believe that the land belongs to us. My grandfather used to say – and my father would repeat it – men pass through while the terroir remains. I cannot sell what isn’t mine. So I will never sell, not for any price.

Who is your strongest competition in Saint-Émilion?

That’s rather a loaded question. We are often told that we are the next Ausone. In terms of terroir, I believe that to be true.

Which competition do you dread the most?

I don’t feel as though we are in a competition with our neighbours. If all the Saint-Émilion Grands Crus perform, that has an international reach. I don’t have the competitive streak. Contrary to what people might think, we do not compete with each other in Saint-Émilion, we compete for our appellation’s international ranking. I check out the ratings of my neighbours’ wines, of course, but you have to behave in the right way. If our neighbours, like Bécot, Canon, Angélus etc., were to come to us tomorrow asking to borrow some equipment, then of course we would help them out.

What are you most proud of?

The revival of Beauséjour.

What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?

There have been technical innovations, of course, but I feel there has been a return to common sense. My most innovative strategy has been to refocus on observation and intuition. We have gone through a phase which has brought in a mass of technology, like measuring probes, and infrared. We have also learnt that innovation is not the answer to everything. We need to get back to the basics.

Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?

It would be someone with common sense, humility, and an open mind.


France’s 50 best winemakers: Domaine Ganevat’s Jean-François Ganevat

Owner and winemaker of his family estate in Jura: “Thirty years ago no one believed in Jura wines”.

The 18th in Le Figaro Vin’s series brings us to the Jura, a growing force as a wine region, to meet Jean-François Ganevat, #33, who ranks among the most successful and respected natural winemakers in France. He creates his exquisite wines, which are increasingly prized and hard to get hold of, at Domaine Ganevat, in the hills of Rotalier.

Le Figaro Vin: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?

Jean-François Ganevat: That is always great news. It makes me blush, because I don’t make wine to win medals, but I am delighted by all the excitement around natural wine and by the fact that real aficionados are happy to drink ours. Thirty years ago no one believed in Jura as a wine region, and the great majority of our wines were sold in Franche-Comté. Today we sell wine in 63 countries!

Have you been training for long?

For 14 generations. I have been immersed in it since I was a little boy, and I don’t know how to do anything else.

Who is your mentor?

I have mentored myself. We were introduced to Pierre Overnoy’s wines as children, but when we tasted them, we didn’t understand them. I still remember his visit to our school, and we thought his wines tasted revolting! It was quite some time before I got it, and it was my encounter with Didier Barral, in Languedoc, that really opened my eyes.

Is wine a team sport?

Of course, because to get good grapes you have to work the land, and you need manpower to do that. The term “organic” is meaningless if everything is mechanised. You need an authentic terroir, a philosophy, and a know-how to impart.

What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?

It’s a combination of things, but a winemaker must know how to get the best from his terroir.

To what do you owe your success?

To my ancestors, because we are lucky enough to come from a family that has always pampered its vines.

Is your family proud of you?

I hope so. My father died in 2018, and he had already taken in how much progress we had made with the estate, in relation to the vines as well as the wines. He would have been proud today. There is no standard instruction manual for the winemaker’s profession, you learn something new every day. After 40 years I still don’t know what I will be doing tomorrow.

Your favourite colour? 

I love the Jura reds. They have unbelievable drinkability and have really made a name for themselves.

Your favourite grape variety?

Savagnin for white wine and Poulsard for red.

Your favourite wine?

I really cannot answer that question because I am constantly being surprised.

Your favourite vintage?

2018, because the wines had real warmth, combined with high yields. Though when I tasted them as young wines, I found them thin and watery, with a sugary and not very aromatic aspect. A long period of maturation has produced an amazing patina and resonance.

If your wine was a person, who would it be?

The person who made it.

What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?

A wine should be tasted outside, and you should take your time over it. It should be drunk by people who are down-to-earth, because, as I always say, I want to make good wines, not grand wines.

Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine? 

The more time goes by, the better you get to know your vines. I don’t need anything else. You have to learn how to discover your wine, and the wine learns to discover itself.

Who is your strongest competition?

Fear of frost, that’s what makes us sweat every year, because we no longer have proper winters.

Which competition do you dread the most?

The month of April.

What is your greatest trophy?

Recognition, from those who didn’t necessarily believe in me when I started out. However, from the beginning, I have been making the wines that I want to drink myself.

What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?

Trust. I pamper my wines, and then the less I interfere with them the better things turn out.

Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?

I pass the little I know on to young colleagues who are just becoming established, who represent the future. A good wine is a complex of overlapping details. I would love to pass on my passion to my son, but he is only ten!


Burgundy tomorrow – trends according to the trade

Our Burgundian blog series continues, bringing you new snippets from our recently published Burgundy market study. Included in the study are findings from a survey answered by Wine Lister’s Founding Members – 52 CEOs, MDs and department heads from companies representing over one third of global fine wine revenues.

The most-cited trend was one that we have already explored in our latest blog on Burgundy price performance, namely untrammelled price increases. However our panel of merchants, retailers and auction houses also identified trends such as new styles of winemaking, as well as pinpointing some of the region’s rising stars.

The new generation of Burgundian winemaker seems as committed to quality as ever, while maintaining a more open outlook than their predecessors. This often means a strong focus on terroir transparency and a light touch in the cellar.

According to the trade, many Burgundy winemakers of today seek lower extraction levels , less sulphur, and less oak influence, concentrating on purity of fruit, sometimes by means of whole bunch fermentation.

Buying trends on the consumer side match this freedom of expression, with merchants citing the lesser-known villages, such as Saint-Aubin and Fixin, as up and coming.

This being said, our Founding Members’ consensus on the new domaines to watch for quality and acclaim remained very much among Burgundy’s upper crust, with the likes of Comte Liger-Belair, Vougeraie and Roulot.

You can read about more trends in the full Burgundy market study by subscribing here. Alternatively, a preview of the first 15 pages is available here.