1190
The earliest known owner in this area of Margaux is Pétrus d’Auzac. He received the land from Richard the Lionheart, King of England, Count of Poitiers, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Maine and Count of Anjou.
The property
An exceptional estate
Château Dauzac, a Margaux Grand Cru Classé according to the 1855 classification, is fortunate to have a single 49-hectare vineyard: 45 hectares in the Margaux appellation and 4 in the Haut-Médoc appellation.
Situated close to the Gironde estuary, which plays a vital role in the vineyard’s ecosystem, the estate is protected from ocean winds thanks to its ideal location surrounded by 120 hectares of meadows and woodland.
A highly ambitious managing director
‘Our goal is to always improve the quality of our wines and to continue to increase the visibility of the Dauzac brand in all major markets.’
Laurent Fortin, Managing Director of Château Dauzac
Laurent Fortin, Managing Director of Château Dauzac
Interview with Laurent Fortin
Please introduce yourself.
I’m passionate about ampelography, viticulture, wine, marketing and innovation, and I have spent a large part of my career abroad, particularly on the Asian and American continents. I have been in charge of Château Dauzac since early 2013.
Tell us about your ambition to innovate.
Innovation is the only way to move a company forward; it’s part of Château Dauzac’s DNA. We’ve never lacked bold initiatives in recent years. In 2021, we unveiled our first vintage of a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon cuvée, which was made from a plot of ungrafted vines and aged in dolia.
Château Dauzac is now more committed than ever to innovation in support of biodiversity with our Cuvée Neutre en Carbone (Carbon-Neutral Cuvée) project, which aims to decarbonise the entire estate.
To this end, a carbon assessment of the various Margaux appellation wines is currently being carried out by the company Climate Partner, in order to identify areas of improvement. For this project, Château Dauzac is working with partners who have the same environmental commitments, at each stage of production, from tillage to bottling the cuvée. When it comes to tilling, we are working with our first partner, Bioboon Agrology, who provides us with inputs made from 100% natural raw materials that stimulate the plant’s natural immunity and improves the biological life in soils.
But that’s not all and we’re going to continue to innovate and progress among the best 1855 Grands Crus Classés. We are currently looking into how we can use AI in sales and marketing.
Can you tell us more about Château Dauzac’s biodiversity?
Biodiversity is impossible without encouraging the cohabitation of animal species. Sheep graze in our 120-hectare park. There are also around 15 beehives next to the main building which produce Château Dauzac’s second nectar.
How do you envision Dauzac’s future?
Our goal is to always improve the quality of our wines and to continue to increase the visibility of the Dauzac brand in all major markets.
Finally, what major challenges lie ahead?
We are facing, and will continue to face many challenges: the current climate changes will accelerate and we will need to innovate to cope with them. Another important issue is the transmission and continuation of wine and vine professions; we need to attract and train a new generation of talented people. These professions are evolving and require greater technical expertise and specialisation. Marketing our wines is more complex than ever, and the shift towards digital technologies and AI needs to be sped up.
See moreSee less
A family affair
1545
As early as 1545, the Benedictine monks of Sainte-Croix Abbey in Bordeaux were the first to describe the Dauzac estate, in their records, as a ‘Bourdieu’ which, at the time, referred to a country house with a vineyard. Until the end of the Ancien Régime, the owners of Dauzac, which had become an elegant Château, were wine merchants or eminent members of the Bordeaux Parliament.
1685
Pierre Drouillard, a wine merchant from Bordeaux and Treasurer General of France, turned Château Dauzac into one of the finest wine estates in the Médoc region.
1700
His grandson, Jean-Baptiste Lynch, appointed mayor of Bordeaux by Napoleon and then Peer of France under Louis 18th, would see it through the regimes, maintaining its leading position.
1855
For two decades, the Wiebroock family firmly established Château Dauzac as one of the Médoc’s finest wines, and earned it a place in the wine of the year ranking.
1884
Alexis Millardet, with the help of Ernest David, the estate manager, developed the bouillie bordelaise or Bordeaux mixture (a mixture of copper sulphate and quicklime) which saved the Bordeaux vineyards – and ultimately the wine industry worldwide – from mildew.
1924
The Johnstons, a powerful family who also owned Ducru-Baucaillou, took over and introduced the first yellow label.
1939
Mr Bernat, the owner of Glacières Bernat, purchased Château Dauzac. In order to regulate the temperature of the vats, he came up with the idea of placing blocks of ice in them during the fermentation process, thus taking the first steps towards thermoregulation, which was used from 1940 onwards.
1989
After the Miailhe and Chatellier families, MAIF, a French insurance company, took over the Château, becoming its sole owner. Recognising an exceptional terroir, MAIF set about maximising its potential and built a new gravity-flow wine cellar in 2004.
2004
Construction of a new gravity-flow wine cellar.
2013
Appointed Managing Director, Laurent Fortin changed the business model and returned to the Place de Bordeaux with the goal of taking this exceptional wine to the next level.
2014
Laurent Fortin and his Technical Director, Philippe Roux, felt that it was possible to gain greater knowledge of fermenting grapes. With the help of the Seguin Moreau cooperage, the first wooden vats with two transparent staves were created.
2016
Acquisition of expertise in the selection and multiplication of indigenous yeasts from Château Dauzac’s vineyards, used in the fermentation process.
2017
Château Dauzac replanted a plot of one of the greatest terroirs in the Margaux appellation with ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon vines (without rootstock) following massal selections of the Château’s best vines, with the aim of rediscovering the original flavour of this emblematic Médoc grape varietal. Château Dauzac continued to innovate: it is the first Grand Cru Classé to produce 100% vegan wines.
2019
Château Dauzac was purchased by the Roulleau family, becoming once again a family-owned estate.
