A weekend away for EDHEC Alumni wine-tasting group

The Edhec alumni oenological group’s weekend of wine-tasting and discovery began at 1 pm on Saturday 31 March, in the glorious sunshine of Libourne station, where we got the coach to the internationally famous village of Saint-Emilion.

The afternoon began with a tour by vineyard-soil specialist, Pierre Becheler, in his capacity as geologist and pedologist. It was truly amazing to be able to wander around the moats of Saint-Émilion with not a tourist in sight (off-season!), the sun blazing down, and our eyes and ears absorbing the knowledge imparted by our guide about the soil and the vines. I can’t resist quoting our expert geologist’s definition of ‘terroir’ which seems to come so close to that of the personality: "A set of potentials, motivations and behaviours whose homogeneity and permanence form the ensuing unity and individuality." This open-air conference brought back a few memories of life science lessons from our former schooldays. M. Bécheler also reminded us that the physical soil is not the only player in the story, but that man is also there to get the best out of the terroir, notably by the choice of varieties, farming techniques and vine-training methods.

Following this initial terroir-focused introduction to our topic of interest, we headed for the Grand Corbin Despagne estate (Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé) to finally discover the produce of the soil we had just been speaking about, where François Despagne, the estate’s owner, personally showed us around. As we took a closer look at the vines, Mr Despagne gave us an in-depth account of his passion for his work, adding how important it was to listen to and respect nature. After acknowledging the gardener’s green fingers, we continued to drink in the wine producer’s expertise and refinement as we were led into the cellar where he detailed the different steps of vinification. To end the visit, we were able to savour wines of different years and productions: Côte de Castillon Ampelia 2007 and Château Grand Corbin Despagne, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé from 2008 and 2000. While the Côte de Castillon was a winner for its well-ripened fruit and fine balance, the Saint-Émilion stood out for its greater aromatic delicacy, its body and complexity, especially for the year 2000.

With our new knowledge and expanded taste buds, our indomitable team was now ready to spend the evening in the château Couffins (an elegant 18th century château) for activities based on.... wine-tasting! With a blind-tasting of the wines that each of the guests had brought with them, four teams were formed to test their gustative, olfactory and wine culture skills. The final, extremely close scores proved the extent of the participants’ expertise and enthusiasm!

After a sunny and musical breakfast, we continued our weekend with a visit around Saint-Émilion and its underground (impressive monolithic church) and land-based heritage treasures! We then moved on to Les Trois Petiotes estate (Côtes de Bourg), where we were welcomed by Valérie and Denis Godelu (Edhec 95 and 96) who had prepared an excellent barbecue cooked over vine shoots and… free-flowing Trois Petiotes 2009! The fruity aromas of blackcurrant in this delicate wine were readily picked up by our members, who thus confirmed their oenological skills (whether budding or seasoned). It was also really nice to meet some EDHEC people from Bordeaux who joined us at Valérie and Denis’, where together we discovered the brand new cellar, the soul of the Trois Petiotes: an exceptional product, resulting from intelligent organic farming agriculture and the constant care of our wine-producer artists. Walking around their vineyards covered in a generous carpet of soft grass for a pleasantly digestive stroll, we talked about the vine and the work of the wine producers: their passion. After they’d finished explaining to us how to prune vines, we got back in the coach to go back to Paris, weighed down by some excellent bottles (superb value for money), with:

- a suntan
- the enjoyment of being with other Edhec people in a warm and relaxed atmosphere
- the knowledge of having extended our wine culture that little bit more
- the proof that an enthusiastic and determined EDHEC person can become an excellent wine producer
- newly expanded taste buds and senses
- the budding or ever-growing passion for wine and the work of the wine producer
- top quality produce (pâtés, preserves, duck scratchlings...) from the Maison Dupérier for each guest following the Saturday evening activities.

We would like to thank EDHEC Alumni for its help, support and excellent work beyond the borders of our school.

NB: was it enough for you to have seen the buds on the vines showing the signs of the first leaves? If your answer is a resolute ‘no!’, then don’t miss our next meeting on 29 and 30 September (to be confirmed) when you can come and pick the fruits for a grape-harvesting weekend at Valérie and Denis (an educational cheerful and fun-packed weekend)!!!

All the best to all you wine lovers,

Thibaut for the Oenological Club

Mathieu FREDON (GE 2001)
Renaud VAN KOTE (GE 2013)
Thibaut GALLINEAU (GE 2013)