Focus on Anne Le Naour, Technical Director of CA Grands Crus
«I am of Parisian origin. I had no specialities to the world of wine except that my parents were in the trade. This allowed me to acquire a sensitivity to tastes, smells and more generally to French gastronomy.
The opportunity to study led me to do a scientific training, math sup / math spec with a specialty in biology, then studies in agronomy. Arriving in the first year with the objective of becoming an agricultural engineer, I realized that I was far from the biology that interested me in the beginning. I naturally turned to the professions of wine and cheese production. These two products have many similarities to which I was sensitive: a strong impact of the place of production (the terroir, the men…), a transformed agricultural product, known and recognized internationally, non-delocalizable. Wines and cheeses are carriers of the fame of France abroad, but also vectors of History, sharing, culture and conviviality. In order to make my choice I then decided that I was going to do an internship in these two areas, then that I would decide. I did my first internship in the world of wine and finally I stayed in this sector because it fascinated me.»
Why did you choose to come to work in the vineyards of Bordeaux and not elsewhere?
«I practiced in virtually every major wine region in France. As soon as I finished my studies, I went to work in Australia (Yarra Valley). I liked the idea of being able to then work in a vineyard not far from a large agglomeration and Bordeaux naturally imposed itself. The size of the farms as well as the hiring prospects for an agronomist also reinforced my choice. After my Australian epic and even though this country and its prospects interested me a lot, I decided, for personal reasons to return to France. I then occupied a property tracking post, an oenologist for Maison Ginestet who, at the time, had follow-up contracts with small producers. It was followed by a position of cellar manager for William Pitters International, within the group Bernard Magrez. Upon the sale of WPI, I followed Bernard Magrez in his property project and I worked for him for more than seven years. In January 2010 I had the opportunity to take over the technical management of all the Bordeaux properties of CA GRANDS CRUS and notably the Château Grand-Puy Ducasse. It was a very nice challenge, because many of them easily identified themselves as «beautifully sleeping».
In seven years we have evolved a lot.
Concerning the other properties of the group, we have also done a lot of work at Château La Tour de Mons, at Clos Saint Vincent (taken over in 2011) where we went from 5 hectares to 17 hectares where again at Château Meyney we brought back the Quality levels in connection with the magnificent terroir and production capacities.»