Domaine d’Espeyran
The history of the Domaine d’Espeyran site, owned by Blaise de Bordas, is very old. The first occupation dates back to seven centuries BC with the installation of Greek colonists. In the Middle Ages, the abbots of Saint-Gilles made it their summer residence and introduced the cultivation of vines in 1257. After the French Revolution, in 1791, the Sabatier d’Eysperan family, of which Blaise de Bordas was the heir, acquired the estate. The family made it a hunting and leisure area, building a castle there (now classified as a Historic Monument) but also a large wine cellar. The estate was then one of the pioneers in vine grafting techniques. Nine generations later, it covers 535 hectares, including 50 of vines, cultivated by Blaise de Bordas, an engineer by training but who chose, after a first professional life spent abroad, to return to France to take over the family estate.
As if it was obvious…
The return to my roots was not easy. The workload and stress caused by taking over the estate required a lot of effort. But was compensated by the additional motivation linked to the sentimental attachment to the estate. “It’s a fairly magical place in which my brothers and I have lived since we were children, and where our family’s history was built… It seemed obvious to me to take over when the time was right. came.”
Head full of projects
“If we have been producing wine here for almost a millennium, it is because there are good reasons,” he enthuses, won over by the Costières de Nîmes terroir. He thus intends to reposition the estate’s wines on a more upscale market by initiating a restructuring of the vineyard. The objective is to replant 10 hectares of vines in two years as well as to modernize winemaking methods by purchasing equipment. He also wants to open a cellar for visitors in the future to present the history of the estate.
L’Envol, his favorite vintage
This vintage is already a name, with a lovely story. It is in fact a tribute to his grandfather, General Henri de Bordas, companion of General de Gaulle during the Second World War, who liked to take his beloved, Françoise Sabatier d’Espeyran, for a plane ride above the vineyards of the estate. As for the wine, a red is the pride of the estate. “When I go to a professional to have it tasted, I have a 100% conversion rate! The 2018 is exceptional, very delicious with aromas of red fruits and blackcurrant. There is roundness and the tannins are very silky.” To be enjoyed with a nice meat or even as an aperitif.