By Juliette Cardinale
Published on
May 3, 24 at 8:36 p.m.
“It’s an exceptional adventure that’s happening to us,” says Noémie Tanneau, winemaker at Château St-Ferdinand in Gironde, a few days After being received at the Elysée Palace. Saturday April 27, 2024, she personally delivered bottles of three vintages from her Lussac estate to Thomas Maimbourg, financier and maître d’hôtel of the Elysée.
In September 2023, his wine in organic conversion had already been tasted by the King of England Charles III. Passing through Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, the monarch had tested local products. And in particular the Source vintage of Château St-Ferdinand from 2022 on the Cité du vin stand.
Tasted by Charles III
This 100% Merlot red wine was selected by the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) knowing the monarch’s interest in ecology. And since the passage of the king, orders exploded.
With 6 hectares, the estate produces around 10,000 bottles in total per year, a “small volume”. Nothing remains of the vintage tasted by King Charles. ” We have everything sold in two weeks”, explains the winemaker.
During a trade show in Paris last February, she was to meet two butlers and money managers from the Elysée. “The King of England had tasted it, but not the President of France! », exclaims Noémie Tanneau, contacted by Bordeaux news. The first day, one of them shows up and everything goes well. But the second, “I was disappointed, Thomas Maimbourg, did not come “, remembers the agricultural engineer. Finally, she receives an email inviting her directly to the presidential residence.
And so, Saturday April 27, she lived “a unique and magnificent moment » with her family – her husband and her two daughters – when she discovered the living rooms and the backstage of the Elysée. And above all, she personally delivered bottles of Château Saint-Ferdinand 2021, Prestige 2021 and Source 2022 (the last of the vintage). All three are in the Lussac-Saint-Emilion appellation (AOC).
“They must be tasted by the sommelier, I’m waiting for a return,” she emphasizes with a trace of impatience in her voice… To know the rest of the story (already very beautiful) for this young Bordeaux castle.
“A little crazy”
“For a small area like ours, it’s incredible. I resumed alone in 2020, without winemaker parents,” explains Noémie Tanneau. Previously a social worker, she returned to school to make her dream come true.
Today she does everything by hand at the estate with Chantale, wine worker, and Laurence, secretary. “And one day a week my husband,” she emphasizes.
To start a wine business from scratch in Bordeaux in 2020, we were a bit crazy.
A risky bet, but successful. “It’s rewarding to see our work rewarded today! » It doesn’t matter if the wine ends up on the Elysée table.
And for amateurs, it is possible to taste the same wines as King Charles III or the sommelier of the Elysée at the property, on May 4 and 5, on the occasion of the open days of Saint-Émilion. The estate takes the opportunity to highlight “all the artists with whom we have collaborated since 2020”, meaning that you will be able to find jewelry, sculptures, photos, watercolors, lithographs, etc.
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