I made a cold call from my home in Pasadena, California, to the owners of Chateau Beauregard Ducasse in the Graves area of Bordeaux. The Perromat Family owns the estate, the French call it une exploitation. Exploitation is the French word for a farm, property, or general enterprise in the agricultural sector. In the world of wine in Bordeaux, especially the Medoc, there are few family owned and run estates. For the most part in the Medoc, they are owned and run by insurance companies, banks, major private equity groups and such-like. In the right bank and further south in the Graves appellations, some families have held onto the land and still run the estates. The average size of a property on the right bank is considerably smaller to that of the left bank. The right bank averages out at roughly seven hectares; if I am not mistaken, in the Medoc it can exceed the twenty-hectare level.

Descending toward Leognan which is a village just to the south of Bordeaux, there are numerous estates similar to the big boys in Pomerol, St Emillion and the Medoc such as Smith Haut Lafite, Malartic La graveiere, Latour Martillac, Carbonieux. It doesn’t stop there, its just famous estate one after the other. Even further south we hit Sauternes, famous for its sweet dessert wines, notably d’Yquem. This is a small enclave in the bigger patchwork appellation called Graves which translates to gravel. The soil types here are only fit to grow vines. Very poor soil types are the major ingredients to making the finest of wines. I am now about thirty-five miles due south of Bordeaux where I have a meeting scheduled with a young man who has accepted my request to meet and show me around. I am hoping I will get my sleeves rolled up and discover Bordeaux. A fairly closed shop is Bordeaux until you show the spondulux, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me as its a tester on the eyes and the mind. There is so much history behind the labels, Bordeaux is also in a way very like the city I was born in which is Dublin. It has all of the characteristics, the houses date back to the 1700s and they all look like they could do with a good sandblasting, however there is a ton of character. The history is the driving force and is encouraging me to discover for myself. Anyway if I am going to sell these wines, I need to know the lay of the land.

I had called Albert Perromat the day before we were scheduled to meet. We agreed to meet at the family property on the Friday before a major holiday weekend. In hindsight that was rather silly of me, and I was grateful that Albert had patiently waited for me and was kind enough to welcome me and made no fuss whatsoever. After our introduction, we headed into the large hangar where the wine is made. Huge investment has gone into this business, all based on sales of the family brew. Albert is twenty-four and has a huge appetite for life that is highly infectious. He has such enthusiasm for what he does. His family has been making wine in the Bordeaux area for generations. He told me he has been to the States four times already this year promoting the family interests, and it’s only mid-March. Uggh. Grueling stuff, but Albert has it all under control. It had been about forty-five minutes since we met, not sure if our meeting was going that well, it’s hard to tell. So many people come and go that I’m sure the winemakers become desensitized to meeting new faces; its kind of like, ‘what does this guy want of me?’ To my surprise, Albert took a good look at me up and down, enquiring if I had any plans for the rest of the afternoon. It just so happened I had nothing on. ‘Let’s go see my grandparents place, we make some wine down there too.’ There is a very stoic nature to Albert, but his leadership and charisma provoked my inquisitive nature once more. Into his car we hopped and drove about ten miles to Chateau d’Armajan des Ormes at the edge of the village of Preignac. Whilst driving, Albert was pointing out all the well known Chateaux to my left and right. Five communes or hamlets share the right to the appellation Sauternes. They are Sauternes, Barsac, Preignac, Fargues and Bommes. This wine makes up about two percent of the production of all wine made in Bordeaux. An expensive, time-consuming business since the grapes undergo noble rot, the disease desiccates the fruit, and picking is a delicate process that can only be done by hand. After about fifteen minutes driving through the rolling hills with none other than Alain Prost at the wheel, we arrived at the exquisite chateau. I could see our wake, a trail of smoke and dust that would have made Batman feel very proud. Everything you heard about French drivers is true. All of a sudden, there I was standing in the courtyard of this amazing architectural feat with the latest generation of winemaker, promoter, and modern-day executive by my side. In front of me was the late eighteen hundreds at its finest. We took an in-depth walk around the property for well over an hour, soaking up all its character and splendor. What kept popping into my mind was a realization of time. From then until now, a journey through history in which one hour seemed to last forever. Perhaps I am now at an age where I can appreciate such beauty. It was a great moment realizing the family have survived and continue making great wines — not to mention that from this day forward I would have some sort of connection to this great tapestry of culture and history. Art appreciation is a discipline and can be thoroughly captivating; people visit museums such as the Getty to be mesmerized by the likes of a Monet, Renoir, or Van Gogh. I realized I was grappling with strong emotions. When I moved to New York, I discovered the arts; I saw what the rave was all about. However this was different from a still life. It was a culmination of art history, culture, and modern business; Albert is living proof of this family’s success and continuity. I said to myself with a wry smile, as if I had just discovered the double helix, ‘this is Bordeaux’. I left the currency trading world where everything was virtual. This was tangible, truly a fantastic afternoon that I will never forget.