Pierre Peyronie's approach to winemaking is just as traditional. "Wine is a reflection of the soil, but also the work of the winemaker. We don't make wine by computer here. We like to give nature maximum leeway and respect what the Good Lord has given us. We don't "manufacture" wine. Some people like to play around with temperatures during fermentation. They heat the wine, cool it down and concentrate it by reverse osmosis. What has the world come to? It seems to me that this all tends toward standardised wines that all resemble one another... At Fonbadet, every vintage is different from the previous one ... "

In a similar vein, Pierre Peyronie comes out in favour of the intelligent use of oak during barrel ageing. " The oak must compliment the wine's intrinsic quality rather than competing with it. I am very much against "oak cocktail" wines, some of which are nevertheless quite in the limelight. My grandfather told me that his ancestors always made sure to use barrels in a moderate and well-thought-out way. He explained that, in reality, the oak flavour was used to hide the off-taste of poor vintages that had suffered from mildew... "

At this stage of the interview, we are in the ageing cellar. Pierre Peyronie points out the numerous spiders' webs on the beams and walls, and tells a final anecdote. "Once, when I was a child, my grandfather found me "cleaning" these cobwebs in the cellar, because I found they were ugly. This prompted him to give me a good kick in the behind... and an explanation. He told me that cobwebs were a way of getting rid of gnats that invade the cellar when the new wine is run off from the vats. These gnats also congregate around the barrel bungs and have a harmful influence on the wine... As you can see, I learned my lesson well!"

We have learned the lesson too, though in a much more orthodox way! The proof of how valid the lesson is can be found in the wine - as proved by a glass of 1996 Chateau Fonbadet with a simply marvellous bouquet that Pascale Peyronie has just poured.

Contact :
Pascale PEYRONIE
Pascale@chateaufonbadet.com

Tel. 33 556 590 211 - Fax.33 556 592 261

Conception :

© Class 2000