Meeting with Philippe Baillarguet - Vignobles et Châteaux

Clos des Baies - Bordeaux

Discretion and precision have been the building blocks of Philippe Baillarguet in Saint-Émilion since his début as cellar master at Château Moulin Saint Georges and then in 1997 at the legendary Château Ausone.

His quest for excellence is strongly upheld. For this winegrower’s son and grandson, being connected to the land where his fruits of labour are deep-rooted. In 2006, the opportunity to take over a few acres presented itself and in 2010 Clos des Baies was born. Convinced of the benefits of organic methods from the start, Philippe works the 1.15 hectares / 2.85 acres with practices oriented towards organic viticulture to produce two wines produced in minute quantities: Clos des Baies and Face Baies distributed exclusively by Vignobles et Châteaux.

How was Clos des Baies conceived?

Initially, it was not a part of my plan to own a vineyard. I aim for excellence on a daily basis at Château Ausone and after the birth of my children, the desire to make wine grew.

In 2006, an opportunity to lease 0.75 hectares / 1.8 acres presented itself, then I was lucky enough to be faced with beautiful clay-limestone soils in Saint-Laurent des Combes. I fell in love while going to the vineyards. It was an intuitive experience and I had no doubts about the place. This spot thrilled me. Everything came together wonderfully. In 2010, Clos des Baies started.

I was lucky enough to find beautiful clay-limestone soils in Saint-Laurent des Combes. This place thrilled me. This was in 2010, when Clos des Baies started up.

Philippe Baillarguet

What is the working philosophy on the property?

I have always worked the vines of Clos des Baies organically, consequently obtaining the “Ecocert” label (2023). The vines were quite old, around 50 years old, so the priority was to replant. It’s a job for the long game and I’m always working small yields. A technical vine advisor also brings me his expertise on the life of the soil in order to transition to biodynamics in the coming years.

How is life organised at Clos des Baies?

I take care of the vinification and aging process from start to finish. Winemaking is a barrage of decisions that will have an irreversible impact on the wine. This is a step that I am unable to delegate because in order to be precise, you need to master various sequences. In the vineyard, Jean-Luc takes care of the pruning work, the green harvest… He is an outstanding vinegrower. We work in complete confidence and I don’t even compare to him on this part.

How do you like to talk about your two wines?

I seek to produce wines that make people feel emotion and that procure pleasure.

We are on very different soils. Clos des Baies is on clay-limestone soils. It is an ample wine with character. Face Baies, on sandy-gravelly soils, is a 100% Cabernet Franc cuvée that never ceases to amaze me with its immediate pleasure and the complexity that develops over time.

For this, I work the two wines in a similar way. I bring in the manual destemmed harvest without crushing because of the small quantities, then the grapes are worked into whole bunches by punching down. I seek to enhance the fruit and produce complexity with longer fermentations.