Meeting with Marielle Cazaux - Vignobles et Châteaux

The moon still illuminates the vineyards of Pomerol. At the crack of dawn, we join Marielle Cazaux and the team at La Conseillante. The smell of coffee fills the small kitchen nestled at the entrance of the cellar, the steam rising from the cups fuels the conversations, and in a few minutes, the ballet of the day is organized. Smooth, simple, and efficient.

Marielle Cazaux, managing director of La Conseillante since 2015, exudes an energy that oscillates between the powerfulness of an exacting woman, a rustic finesse, and affability. There are experiences where wine tasting represents the chemistry of the team, showcasing the wine’s various vintages at their best possible advantage. La Conseillante is one of those great wines where the excellence goes beyond the terroir and its history; it’s a story of the individuals behind the label. Marielle speaks to us with spontaneity, consideration, and simplicity about her vision as the director of such a prestigious cru in Pomerol.

What is your story?

I am convinced that we are shaped by where we come from. I grew up on a farm surrounded by animals in the Landes where my father was farmer. I was quickly made aware of the livestock we raised to feed ourselves, with a farmer’s approach that is not always scientific.

Originally, I wanted to become a perfumer. During my studies in biology and mathematics, I met peers from winemaking families, which piqued my curiosity. I started with internships during the holidays and eventually retrained to pursue a degree in oenology.

My first experience was at Château Suduiraut in Sauternes. There, I was fortunate to be recruited as the operations manager in Côtes de Bordeaux: 93,9 acres with few resources. It was a formative experience and a first milestone. After a stint in Pessac-Léognan, I joined the team at Petit Village from 2012 to 2015. It was for a brief period because I was headhunted to manage La Conseillante. 2024 marks my tenth vintage!

What are your current inspirations?

I realize that over the years I have returned to a form of craftsmanship with a “less is more” mindset. Since I’ve been at La Conseillante, I’ve shifted to the essentials with ancestral practices. For example, we tie the vines with wicker and have stopped adding sulphur or bacteria during vinification.

We have a more holistic approach and are less focused on pure aesthetics and don’t believe in following old protocols without questioning them. The idea is also to be less interventionist, going as little as possible into the rows of vines and encouraging biodiversity. Our tractor driver, Julien, was very unsettled at first because we asked him to work the soils only once a month! But the visible benefits on the plants have helped implement these changes in the team.

Paradoxically, we keep an open mind about using technology. We use drones to monitor the vigour of the vines and adjust our treatments accordingly. We study the electrical signal of the vine’s sap flow, which is transcribed by AI to indicate whether the plant is under water stress or not. These actions are very innovative and allow us to fine-tune our vinification and agronomic decisions.

What is the boldest decision you have made at La Conseillante?

This decision kept me awake for several nights… We stopped using sulphur during the winemaking process in 2015! We were conducting a lot of experiments with the ISVV (Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences) on barrels during vinification. This trial was successful, and based on this experiment, Patrick, the cellar master, postulated: “If this works, let’s make vats without sulphur!” In 2016, all the vats were managed this way. This is not something you improvise; it requires precise and controlled monitoring.

I had moments of stress, but today, I no longer use sulphur in the vinification process at all and I cannot see myself going back. The addition of sulphur is done very late, after the malolactic fermentation. It requires a lot of monitoring, it’s a risk, but it pays off. This decision, given the stakes of a grand cru, was a bold move from the team.

I initially thought of the decision made in 2017 to rent a helicopter to protect the estate from frost, even though all my neighbours mocked me. “You’re crazy! It never freezes in Pomerol!” Ten days later, the frost warning was real because it was a black moon of Easter, and my father had always told me that these were the most intense frost risks. It was intuition.

Teamwork seems essential to you. What words do you use with your team to steer them in the same direction? What kind of a manager are you?

I do nothing alone. I work in a team. I’m the one who opens the doors every morning, and I make a point of being the first. I turn on the machines, we all have a coffee together, and it allows us to quickly touch base on the day ahead.

A coach is very demanding, and I come from the “sink or swim” school. My parents are hard workers. I am made of hardened stock where I am rarely overwhelmed. Work stimulates me, but that’s not the case for everyone. I had been coached to get to know myself better and to be more attentive. You need to know how to pace the team, who works very hard, and adjust when necessary, such as being on deck for several nights due to frost risk, or conversely, knowing when to ease off when there is no urgency.

Management is linked to the remuneration of the teams and the recognition of their work. We are fortunate that the Nicolas family is very attuned to this subject and knows how to show appreciation. This boosts employee engagement with the estate because it is a family business. They know who they are working for.

What are the key skills, in your opinion, for managing La Conseillante?

Being demanding. Every detail counts and you must constantly question them. Another quality would be empathy. This means understanding the vine, listening to the team, and also maintaining our relationships with neighbours helping each other out, exchanging ideas, and evolving together.

What constitutes the DNA of La Conseillante?

The family is the strength of La Conseillante. The Nicolas family has been making wine for 150 vintages, which is substantial. The grape blend is selected each year by the family and voted in using a secret ballot system for the team. It’s amusing because we always find a consensus.

La Conseillante is a wine that has one foot in Pomerol and another in Saint-Emilion, both geographically and in style. The power is balanced by more refined plots of Merlot and Cabernets grown on gravel and not just clay. Aromatics are key in La Conseillante wine, with floral notes of violet and iris in its youth. Then, truffle notes develop with time. The mid-palate is creamy, possesses great length, gives a rounded structure with a fresh finish that tightens the wine.

I like to say that we are halfway between Petrus and Château Cheval-Blanc. Depending on the vintage, we may lean more towards the expression of clay or gravel, but we are an atypical Pomerol with fine tannins and intensity – my raison d’être!

What fascinates you the most at La Conseillante?

There are terroirs that, on paper, are not Rolls Royce. From a technical standpoint, producing great wines from them is not obvious. Is it due to climate change? In sunny vintages, these terroirs astonish me! In 2015, I made the mistake of excluding these terroirs from the grand vin. In the end, I have a Duo (the second wine) that is dazzling and a grand vin that is a bit too “round,” lacking finesse. It was my first vintage, and I quickly learned that these terroirs bring refinement to the grand vin.

Another point that I can’t explain is the typical cocoa notes of La Conseillante, which come from a Merlot plot on gravel near Certan, and the iris notes from another Cabernet Franc plot. I also know that I need to harvest the Dubuche Merlot plot when there is a taste of white peach during the berry tasting. All these details have come with experience, and they fascinate me.

How far would you like to take the quality of La Conseillante's wines?

To infinity and beyond! (laughs) I would especially like to procure emotion when tasting La Conseillante’s wines.

We are currently in a growth period at the estate and are striving to achieve consistent vintages and great wines. This also involves adjusting a multitude of details, such as introducing Cabernet Sauvignon (1,98 acres planted) into the blend.

What anecdote or story would you reveal to encourage someone to (re)discover a La Conseillante wine?

During an interview that I entrusted to Patrick, the cellar master, I really liked his response to this question: “What do you like about La Conseillante’s wines?” “Oh! It’s simple! When it’s good, it’s orgasmic!” I fell off my chair. But it’s true that tasting La Conseillante is always an unique and incredible experience that sways between the aromatic and creamy mouthfeel of Pomerol.

What is your favourite memory at La Conseillante?

I have so many… it’s difficult to choose just one! I often reminisce 2017 vintage and the frost episode where we spent several nights in the vineyards. I remember eating a pâté sandwich at dawn. The sunrise was magnificent. There was smoke everywhere, and we were relieved because we had succeeded. Yet, it’s a period I hate because it’s extremely stressful and dangerous for the team. It was a ubiquitous moment of success shared by the whole team.

A more recent memory would be when we received our first 100 points from Parker for the 2020 vintage and… 2022. A breakthrough moment and rewarding for the bountiful work of the entire team. So, I asked them what they would like to do to celebrate, and they said: go to a nice restaurant! We all went for lunch to ‘Aux Belles Perdrix’. That was one of the most delightful moments I have experienced with them.

Portrait

A film: Tarantino’s Kill Bill. I love the character who is a bit like a Jedi.

Music: Aretha Franklin.

Book: Louis Vuitton, l’Audacieux by Caroline Bongrand. As someone who loves craftmanship at its best, this is an incredible life story of someone who never gave up and paid attention to every detail.

Sport: Yoga. I do it for 10 minutes every morning to get my body moving.

A vintage: 2005.

A dish: Duck confit… Duck is life!

A memorable bottle: Yquem 2016 and I’ll also add Lafleur 2012.

A scent: A cornfield after the rain.

A perfect Sunday: A good book, a sofa or a deck chair! Sundays are reserved for reading.