It’s the time of year for reflection and as I think about the past year and look forward to the new, (they’s a newsletter coming shortly so sign up now if you haven’t already!). I realised it’s been over a year since Philippe Raoux left us in October 2023. Some news takes a while to digest.
It’s tempting to sum up Philippe’s life through his passion for sharing art in the vineyard. It’s certainly the most visually stunning mark he has left on Bordeaux. But it’s far from the only one. Philippe Raoux bought Château d’Arsac in 1986, one of the oldest and once the largest property in the Médoc dating back to the 12th century. It was owned by such historical names as Pichon and the Segur and at its 19th century heyday, under the ownership M. Dubosc, it covered 250 ha of vines.
Phylloxera, falling sales and indifferent owners who uprooted almost all the vines meant that, when Philippe acquired the property, it was a shadow of its former self. There were just 3ha of vines, a ruined cellar and the chateau in a sorry state, the only thing that worked were six industrial chicken barns on one of the best gravel outcrops! Philippe rose to the challenge.
A family history
The Raoux family were no strangers to wine or Bordeaux. Growing grapes in Algeria since the 1880s, they moved back to Bordeaux in 1962. In the 1920s his grandfather created Chamvermeil, the first, and by the 1980s, the largest French Negociant house specialized in selling bulk wines directly to over 600 000 consumers in France and Belgium.
Back to Margaux
Philippe set about restoring Château d’Arsac to its former glory. Although unplanted, the domain covered 250 ha of which 160 were in AOC Haut Médoc, an attractive project for someone with Philippe’s vision.
Shortly thereafter, he discovered that Arsac missed inclusion within the Margaux appellation in 1953 (also Philippe’s birth year) as it was not then under vine. He commissioned a terroir study by the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières comparing the Arsac terroir to other Margaux vineyards, concluding that they were the same as certain properties within the appellation. This led to a long and tortuous legal battle, that ended in 1995 with AOC Margaux boundaries being changed to include part of the vineyard of Château d’Arsac. A decision reconfirmed in 2008.
Today the 250 ha property has 108 ha of vines; 54 in Margaux, 50 in Haut-Médoc and 4 in Bordeaux blanc, the remainder covered by forests and fields.
In her book ‘Inside Bordeaux’, that dives deep into Bordeaux terroir, Jane Anson states, ‘Although it caused some bad feeling at the time, it did lead to a far clearer understanding of what type of terroir constitutes Margaux; so perhaps we can all be grateful to Raoux for that’.
That alone is quiet a legacy!
Quality
Château d’Arsac was promoted to ‘Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel’ in 2020 one of just 14 châteaux in the classification. A recompense for the work that he has undertaken in the vineyard and in the cellar.
The vineyard as a sculpture garden
In the wine tourism world, Château d’Arsac is well known for its contemporary art collection spread through the vines, cellars and chateau. The inspiration for this collection came in 1988 with a visit from The Peter Stuyvesant Foundation. The foundation’s philosophy was to bring art into the workplace. They were fascinated by Arsac that was both a working vineyard and, at the time, had virtually empty cellars with lots of room for works of art, as the vineyard gradually came back into production.
Together they organised a summer art festival and the 1989 harvest was brought in under the watchful eye of works from artists Indiana, Vasarely, Appel, Viallat, Morellet and de St Phalle. The harvest finished, the works of art left, leaving the chateau bereft. Philippe continued to organise art festivals from 1990 until 1996.
By 1994, his investment in the vineyard started to pay off, the vines were gaining recognition for their quality and the chateau could afford to curate its own collection. The vines funded the art, the original budget was one French franc per vine, they had 600 000 vines.
Each vintage saw a new work installed in the park, the vines, the cellar or the chateau. The art and vines grew together, with works chosen for their link to wine. The enormous flowerpot ‘Le Pot Rouge’ by Raynaud, a reminder that they are gardeners of a vineyard, and ‘la Diagonale’, a large metal girder resting on the chateau, illustrates the continual ‘work in progress’ to constantly improve the vineyard and the wines.
From art to label
This work created a lot of comments and questions, was the chateau still under construction? Philippe loved this idea of the property as a continual work in progress, always looking towards something new. The Diagonale became so intimately connected with the property that since the 2015 vintage, it graces the labels. In 2018 Le Kid d’Arsac, a second label from the Margaux appellation, joined the wines of the property. True to his artistic and slightly irreverent style, the label is a hand drawing of the big brother’s label featuring the iconic chateau outline and the infamous girder.
The chateau itself is a work of art. It was in such a dire state when he bought the property, he almost destroyed it, finally making it inhabitable in 1999. The fire-damaged roof has been replaced with glass tiles letting light down through the centre, showing that respect for tradition and a desire to innovate.
The ensemble is the most striking example of a permanent art show in the Medoc including the bright blue cellars, a colour certified by the Yves Klein foundation as being Klein blue and created as a nod to the past use of copper sulphate.
The blue cellar as a work of art © LAURENT CERCIAT, CLIMAX, 2009,
Universal Welcome
Under Raoux’s management, everyone was welcome. Local primary schools, whose visits are commemorated by the drawings the children leave behind as a thank you, wine lovers and art schools from around the world. It remains one of the most visited properties in the Médoc open all year, 7 days a week by appointment for tastings or in depth art and wine tours. including the new musical son et lumière in the cellar, ‘Si Arsac m’était chantait,’ an original way to discover the history and renewal of the property. Visitors can also explore the park and the art by themselves during the week and stay for tasting plate to accompany the wines of the property.
Wine tourism and La Winery
Raoux’s vision for wine tourism expanded beyond Château d’Arsac. In 2007 he created La Winery, a few kilometres from the chateau on the D1 road heading to the Atlantic coast. He was ahead of his time, creating a futuristic structure of metal and glass wanting to share a different vision of Bordeaux from classic chateaux.
Moving the negociant company from Bordeaux centre, he transferred the business here and created a wine shop, wine bar, restaurant, an interactive tasting experience, conference rooms and of course more works of art.
Amongst the thousands of bottles from around the world on sale were his Winemakers Collection. Each year he handed over the same plot of Haut Médoc vines to a visiting wine maker. Famous names from Bordeaux and further afield included Michel Rolland, Denis Dubourdieu, Andréa Franchetti, Stéphane Derenoncourt, Eric Boissenot, Zelma Long, Susana Balbo, Ntsiki Biyela, Dany Rolland and Alain Raynaud.
In 2014, La Winery was sold to La Passion des Terroirs, the Lurton family negociant and it continues his vision of selling and tasting wines from around the world.
A pioneering signature
Philippe talked with great affection and passion about his ‘aventure en Arsakie’ his desire to create a lasting and original image for the property, imbibing it a real and unique personality.
He signed the wines ‘Le Mariage du Beau et du Goût’ (the marriage of beauty and taste). In his desire to share this passion for both wine and art, he broke conventions and pushed for change. He wanted to make both art and wine accessible to all, young and old, neophyte and connoisseur. He was ahead of his time in many ways, but what once seemed outrageous is now accepted. A signature of a real Bordeaux pioneer.
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