From Sailor to Winemaker : Let Me Tell You My Story

Some journeys do not follow a straight line…
They are paths shaped by detours, silence, and a return to one’s roots.

I grew up among the vines in Fronsac. My father, who started with no experience, worked his way up step by step to become cellar master and later estate manager at Château La Vieille Cure, one of the finest vineyards in the appellation. It was alongside him that I learned the craft — hands in the shoots, feet in the soil — spending every summer leaf-thinning, shoot-pruning, harvesting.

But above all, I saw a man who worked tirelessly. No weekends. No holidays. The vineyard as a calling. And even as a young man, I knew I needed to step away, to see the world, to choose a different path.

So in 2006, I joined the French Navy.
20 years of service. Missions. Storms that taught me courage, resilience, and brotherhood.
Operations against piracy, drug trafficking, terrorism. Sea rescues. International military cooperation.

Yet deep inside, one thought remained: one day, I will return.

🚜 2016 – Back to my roots

During an assignment close to home, an opportunity arose:
2 hectares of poorly maintained vines were looking for a new owner.
Foreign buyers were already interested.

But I felt a calling — not to let our land slip away.

It became our project. My father and I. A return to our roots.
With limited resources, but immense determination.

We are not château owners. But we do have a “carrelet” — the iconic fishing hut of the estuary. The name was obvious:

Domaine du Carrelet | The Smallest Vineyard in Bordeaux

A human-sized estate. A place of transmission, sharing, and passion.
A symbol of our story, between sea and land.

🍇 A 100% Merlot micro-cuvée — our family signature

The grapes, once destined for a cooperative winery, deserved better.

Together, my father and I decided to create our own micro-cuvée, guided by high standards, patience, and tradition:

✔️ Artisan winemaking in the historic concrete vats where my father once worked
✔️ Late harvests, 100% manual, to capture the full expression of Merlot
✔️ Long aging, at least 3 years, in carefully selected barrels with specific toast profiles
✔️ A wine built on four pillars: Fruit / Sweetness / Roundness / Freshness

No artifice. Just terroir, time, and hard work.

🌍 A simple ambition: to make people love Bordeaux differently

I want to prove that exceptional wine can be made with limited means —
but with sweat, heart, and vision.

I am an Ambassador of Bordeaux Wines – CIVB 🍇