There’s been no shortage of brand-new cellars in Bordeaux in recent years, each one more spectacular than the next, the architectural prowess combining functionality with beauty. 

Part of this has been a reflection around the environmental impact of these buildings, their carbon footprint, their insulation and their integration into the surroundings, some more successfully than others. 

I’m fascinated by the different solutions properties have come up with. Not all of them are multi-million-euro creations, although, deep pockets help, and a few do smack of vanity projects. But leaving a marvellous piece of architecture as your legacy is nothing new in Bordeaux, look at what owners in the Médoc did in the 18^th and 19^th century, where chateaux were built as show cases for the wine. Then, owners wouldn’t have dreamt of inviting guests into a winery. Now, cellars are an integral part of the visitor experience and the image that the property portrays. 

It’s hard to choose which cellar projects to talk about here, recent exciting cellars include Lynch Bages, Beychevelle, Le Dome, Haut Bailly, Cheval Blanc.….

Working with what you have 

Cellars were always designed with an eye to controlling the temperature, even more important before air conditioning and temperature control and some properties are lucky enough to have inherited cellars that have already worked with nature. 

The two cellars of Château de Cérons were built at the end of the 17th century, the same time as the Château (now a classified monument). The wine making cellar was built on the southern side of the courtyard to receive warm sunlight to help the fermentation, whereas the barrel or aging cellar faced north protected from the light with no openings and shaded by trees. 

In the 1970’s the father of the current owner built one of the very first ‘modern’ cellars in Bordeaux to reintroduce gravity instead of pumps. Using gravity is common practice now but it was very innovative at the time. The harvest arrives at the top of the cellar feeding down to the next level for alcoholic fermentation and down again for the secondary, malolactic fermentation. The recent renovation by Caroline and Xavier Perromat has reserved their historical advantages.

A history of innovation. 

Gravity cellars were already being used in the Médoc back in the late 1800s, winching the harvest to an upper floor and allowing the sorted and crushed grapes to fall into tanks using gravity rather than pumps. At Château Lynch Bages the 19^th century two-storied vat rooms have been preserved as a witness to past innovation. 

The system, invented by Pierre Skawinski, around 1850, not only used gravity but had slatted flooring allowing  air to circulate to protect workers from Carbon Dioxide. Wooden hoppers would run along metal rails to deliver grapes into the vats below. The vats were elevated to allow the wine to run off but also to allow embers to be placed underneath if the vats needed warming to get fermentation started. This design was reproduced across the Medoc with the remains of similar systems still visible at Pontet Canet, Mouton and Giscours.

At Lynch Bages this preserved vat house is a fascinating reminder of how history repeats itself; it isright next door to the brand-new cellar to be officially inaugurated this year. 

Back to the future

In 2006, an analysis of the Lynch Bages vineyard identified over 80 distinct plots. It was impossible to vinify  these plots separately in the existing structure. In 2009, they started  four years of planning with architect Chien Chung (Didi) Pei and Bordeaux architect Arnaud Boulain. In 2017, they demolished the existing cellar, digging down 10 meters to create once again a gravity flow cellar – but a very different one!

The impressive 11 000 M2 glass building, as befits the architect of the Louvre pyramid, has 80 stainless steel vats to accommodate all the plots across the 100ha property and barrel cellars that can house two vintages of 2 000 barrels each. 

Soil to cellar

Henri Lurton is the fourth generation Lurton at Château Brane Cantenac in Margaux. His environmental credentials are impeccable. He is well known as a pioneer of eco-friendly agriculture and passionate about the microbiological life of the soil. He started experimenting with biodynamic viticulture in 2009 and was certified by DEMETER in 2016.

He had already applied the same philosophy to his cellar, building  a new ecological cellar in 1999. Built on sustainable principles to minimise its impact on the environment, reduce the carbon footprint and preserve the terroir. The energy-efficient winery uses natural ventilation including an innovative, and stunning system of shutters to control air circulation and sun exposure 

Carbon footprint 

In 2010, Bordeaux was the first vineyard region to measure their carbon footprint. An online carbon footprint calculator, available for all producers and merchants, allows them to understand exactly where and how carbon economies can be made. Some properties have taken this a step further. 

Another sustainability pioneer in Bordeaux is Château Smith Haut Lafitte. They built their ‘Stealth Cellar’ in 2013 to receive grapes from younger vines destined for the second wines of the property; Le Petit Haut Lafitte and Les Hauts de Smith.  With a name inspired by its location, and designed to minimise its environmental impact, it was built around existing trees, with the moss and shrubs growing on the roof to blend into the environment and increase insulation. It is low energy and local, the thick walls are built from local materials by local builders and the natural humidity and geothermal heat exchangers maintain cool temperatures. Solar panels help power the cellar and since 2014, CO2 from fermentation is recovered to make bicarbonate of soda 

Owner Daniel Cathiard says “it is a cellar in keeping with the times: discreet and technical, eco-friendly and effective.”

Carbon negative

Martin and Olivier Bouygues bought Château Montrose in 2006 and invested in a spectacular cellar that took over seven years to create, as they worked around the constraints of each vintage. 2013, was the first vintage from the new cellar.

Sustainability was at the heart of the project from the get-go. The 10,000-m² renovation was conceived to give the property the best winemaking facilities, but also to take every opportunity to save and to produce energy. They have installed a geothermal heating/cooling system and 3,000 m² of rooftop solar panels, without affecting the 18^th century architecture the Château. 

They now generate enough electricity to meet most of the day-to-day needs of the buildings. Geothermal energy heats or cools water for air conditioning in the barrel hall and for the stainless-steel fermentation vats and they also produce bicarbonate from the CO2 produced during fermentation making the property carbon negative. 

The centrepiece is a breath-taking 1,000-m² barrel cellar 11-metres high that visitors can admire from above on a unique walk around balcony, bringing the consumer into the heart of the production. 

Sun powered 

Both these sustainable power sources are being used by more and more properties. Château Pontet Canet, the first classified growth to become certified biodynamic, (Biodyvin in 2010 and Demeter in 2014) uses heat pumps and insulation to reduce energy consumption and solar panels to produce green energy. Château Chasse-Spleen in Moulis is self-sufficient in energy thanks to solar panels, and Château Lagrange installed 800 m² of solar panels in 2019 that now supply about 15% of power used at the winery. 

It’s not only classified growths, Cru Bourgeois Château Paloumey in Haut Medoc has installed  400 m² of solar panels on the south facing roof of the tractor hangar, enough to be autonomous in energy. 

Château d’Eyran traces its origins back to the 1300s, with a history that bears witness to the highs and lows of the Graves appellation. Inheritance laws, economic crises and the German occupation lead to the vines finally being uprooted in the 1930s. In 1984, Stéphane and Brigitte Savigneux started replanting the vines. In 2015 their son and daughter in law, Charles and Fernanda joined them and they wanted respect for the natural environment to be at the heart of the property. In 2016, they built a unique eco-friendly cellar. From the outside it looks like a traditional U-shaped winery, but clever insulation economizes energy thanks to locally made bio-bricks and light is maximized with floor to ceiling windows reducing electricity use.The wooden cladding, terracotta tiles and paint using natural pigments allow it to blend into and respect the environment.  

Back to nature 

Among the many new cellar projects my favourite (it’s a tough call) must be Chateau Haut Bailly in Pessac Léognan. Here environment and aesthetics go hand in hand. It took 100s of people working together for five years to create this stunning structure that perfectly integrates into the surroundings.

It helps that chairman of the board is an ecologis.  Chris Wilmers is a Professor of Environmental Studies at Santa Cruz University. The family bought the property in 1998, Chris was always a board member becoming chairman in 2017 on the death of his father.

The cellar is not only carbon neutral but has increased biodiversity on the estate.  Part of the back lawn of the château was excavated to create the semi submerged cellar with a biodiverse roof garden, purposely sown with plants to offer a mix of seeds and berries to support fauna. 

From grapes to bottling the wine is protected under an asymmetric 38 M diameter roof, even more impressive when you know there’s a garden growing overhead. As well as beautiful, the garden keeps the temperature constant in the cellar.

It is also surprisingly discreet,  the domed structure is an echo of the gravel outcrops in the vineyard, and blends into the view from the garden over the vineyards. 

Despite the living roof, skylights allow natural light to enter the space that descends 10-20 meters underground. This gives natural cooling and needs little energy to moderate temperature. 

It is built on the gravity principal, good for both wine and energy consumption. The barrel cellar in the basement is also stunning with the technical equipment cleverly hidden away behind wooden walls. 

The building has a HQE (High quality environment) certification and even the tasting room has a stunning view over chateau and vines. 

Managing director Véronique Sanders explains that she wanted it to be positive for the total environment, both for nature and as a working environment and you can see that she is thrilled with the result as she shows you around. It  gives more space for winemakers to work in comfort and is more aesthetically pleasing for both staff and visitors. 

The whole effect is one of elegance and discretion, just like their wine and the team that is behind it. Another example of imagination and innovation working together to serve both the natural and working environments as well as the quality of the wine.

In the next post I’ll look at the challenges that packaging and transport pose for the industry.  Please sign up here to receive future blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. 

To learn more about Bordeaux, you can buy Bordeaux Bootcamp here, and to learn more about Wine and Wellness, with The Drinking Woman’s Diet here.  

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