Q&a / Style Edit: Bruno Borie of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou celebrates 20 years of leading the winery, from managing the stately vineyard to discussing sustainable approach to winemaking – interview
- Bruno-Eugène Borie celebrates 20 years of leading his family’s winery in Bordeaux, France – and because it’s a family-owned estate, he outlines there is less focus on short-term gains
- Growing up at the estate has helped the forward-looking CEO understand the terroir better and he has worked with artists like Jade Jagger to create unique labels and cases for the bottles
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou in the Medoc region of Bordeaux has a history stretching back three centuries, with current residents, the Borie family, having owned it since 1942.
This year, the third-generation owner and CEO Bruno-Eugène Borie celebrates 20 years at the helm of the stately vineyard. Here, he discusses his sustainable approach to winemaking.
What are the advantages of being a family-owned estate?
It is important to be both a private and a family-owned estate. As a private estate, there is less focus on financial results, and you can prioritise long-term objectives over short-term gains.
With a family-owned estate, you are immersed as a young child and it becomes part of your DNA. Growing up at the estate and playing among the vines has brought me closer to the ecosystem. I know when there is higher mildew pressure, when there is too much sun or too much rain, or when the vines will start budding.
What are the most important lessons that have been passed down through the family?
The first lesson is the importance of being open to science and innovation. When my grandfather headed the estate, my father trained with the legendary oenologist Emile Peynaud in the mid-1950s. They implemented many practices, such as early harvesting, fruit selection and temperature control during alcoholic and malolactic fermentation to raise the quality of the wines. These are now standard practices in modern winemaking.
The second is the value of being open to the world. For more than 30 years, we have had clients and consumers across the globe. My father learned to speak fluent English as a teenager, which was uncommon at the time. He was among the first from Bordeaux to promote his wines in England, then the US in the 1960s, and Japan in the 1970s.
What was your vision for the estate when you took over, and how has it turned out?
When I took over in 2003, I had to choose to either pursue the path of quantity that will result in volume and high returns, or sacrifice quantity for quality. I chose the latter with the goal of outperforming our classification, producing less volume at a higher price point and establishing our brand for posterity.