Château Le Sèpe: a successful career change

Nathalie and Dominique were 50 years old when they decided to leave Paris to embark on a winemaking adventure. The project led them to Château Le Sèpe in the Bordeaux region where they settled down and pursued their dreams.

Dominique calmly tells us their story.

At 50, Dominique Guffond became a winemaker

The couple bought Château Le Sèpe in 2009 to build their new life project

Dominique and his wife were working in Paris when the opportunity arose to realize their dream: to become winemakers. The couple wasn't impulsive. They carefully considered and developed their business plan. " I wanted to do this job because you work on the entire process, from the vine to the bottle, " explains the man who would become a winemaker.

Moreover, fruit fermentation and wine are not completely foreign to Dominique Guffond: " I come from Normandy, the land of apples. I already knew a little about fermentation. Then, in Paris, I belonged to a wine club. I have always bought directly from winemakers, never from large retailers. "

Dominique settled in step by step: first training " I went back to school then I worked as an intern in the vineyard and the winery "; in parallel, they searched for and found their happiness in 2009: the Château Le Sèpe in the Bordeaux region .

The goal is to make your own wine, as Dominique points out: " We didn't buy a property to hire a cellar master and a vineyard manager. I work alone in the cellar and make the wines. I'm proud to make my own wine. "

Reasoned culture as a given

The vines of Château Le Sèpe are planted on hillsides, allowing for the production of very rich and concentrated grapes.

The estate is located within the Bordeaux and Entre-Deux-Mers appellations. " The plots are situated on hillsides, which is perfect for the quality of the grapes. When purchased, the vines were in good health. Moreover, the location is truly delightful and offers great potential for developing wine tourism . "

Working in the vineyard is crucial. That's why Dominique converted the vineyard to sustainable agriculture as soon as he arrived. " For me... it's obvious, " the winemaker says.

In the vineyard, as in life, Dominique remains very phlegmatic: " I don't go to extremes, I work rather in moderation. I take things with a lot of perspective and reflection. "

Dominique Guffond: "I want to be as non-interventionist as possible."

Since arriving at the estate, Dominique has been working her vines using sustainable farming practices.

This is the winery's philosophy: " I try to be as hands-on as possible ," explains Dominique. The winemaking methods are very traditional, allowing the winemaker to craft fruity wines that express dark fruit, dominated by blackberry and blackcurrant, powerful and highly concentrated. " I don't make a branded wine ," he explains, " in fact, I don't make the same wine every year; there are variations linked to the vintage. "

To achieve concentration in his wines, yields are limited and Dominique selects the most concentrated grapes directly from the plot.

As for the white wine, a cuvée that remains very limited due to its small production volumes, it is vinified and aged in barrels. The wine is rich, with a lot of roundness and a very pleasant mouthfeel.

Winemaking takes time. Patiently, Dominique works on the blends until they are ready to be bottled. " I make wines that need to age a bit. Except for the white, which I sell year after year. Otherwise, the aging process for the reds is quite long. " And, realistically, he adds: "Winemaking takes time. Today, we're in professions where it's often instant gratification. Winemaking is a craft with a longer production cycle. You have to take the time to make it and let it age. That's what I do: I take my time. "

In the winery, Dominique is aiming for quality with a project to diversify the winery: " We want to make smaller volumes and even more single-vineyard cuvées ," he tells us.

Our favorite wines from the estate:

Château Le Sèpe, Cuvée Classique 2012

Initial vintage 2012

Between Two Seas 2017

Château Le Sèpe: developing the commercial side

When Dominique bought the Le Sèpe estate, all the wine was sold in bulk. The then-novice winemaker decided to develop bottling. " I wanted to make a product that could be distributed ," he explains. " I want to control the distribution channel. "

It's a long-term undertaking, but Dominique is persistent. " Building markets is a very slow process; there's a whole system to put in place. Initially, I started with direct sales through family and friends, then I expanded into the hospitality sector, and now I'm moving into exports. I've also found an agent to cover certain regions. I'm trying to leverage different distribution channels. "

His work has certainly paid off, but it still requires a lot of effort. According to the winemaker: " The project now is commercial development to be able to self-finance ."

After these 9 harvests, what does Dominique think of his career change?

“ What I like is the independence . I don’t regret at all my choice to have left the Paris region. Here, I can control my time. Stress becomes positive stress. I like the peaceful side of my work,” the winemaker concludes.

Find Château Le Sèpe wines on Les Grappes, here.

Manon Mouly (for Les Grappes)