When we contacted Noémie Tanneau this Sunday, so that she could tell us her feelings after King Charles III tasted her wine on Friday during his visit to Bordeaux, she wanted above all to re-establish the truth about her absence from the event. ” I read that 20 minutes had written that I couldn’t come because I was harvesting, frankly, if I had been asked to come, I would have dropped everything to go, harvest or no harvest,” she bursts out laughing.
Mea culpa, then. “Seriously,” she continues, “I really asked to come, but it couldn’t happen because there were already a lot of people for this event at Place de la Bourse, and ultimately for me, the main thing was that my wine be there. » Especially since “apparently, the king appreciated it”.
“Around ten people came by to buy the “king’s vintage””
Winemaker at Château Saint-Ferdinand, in Lussac-Saint-Emilion, Noémie Tanneau is a young 36-year-old winemaker, who started late, in 2020. Friday, therefore, is her wine, the Source pour être cuvée. precise, which was selected by the CIVB (Interprofessional Bordeaux Wine Council) to be presented to the King of England Charles III during his stroll at Place de la Bourse.
And, “since Friday, it’s just been crazy,” explains Noémie Tanneau. “I have an incredible amount of feedback, the phone doesn’t stop and I receive lots of messages of encouragement. Well, I don’t have a delirious crowd in front of the house either, but there were still around ten people who came by to buy the “king’s vintage”, and I received around fifteen orders. »
“This comes at the right time, because I’m struggling”
For the 36-year-old young woman, all this “comes at the right time, because frankly I’m struggling: I only have 6 hectares, but I do the tractor, the wine, the trade… We run everywhere to go to the fairs and living rooms, while we also have two little girls aged 8 and 10. » The royal tasting therefore represents “a tremendous spotlight” and “reboosts as much as possible”. “It’s good to see that we don’t give of ourselves for nothing, because I communicate a lot on social networks, but it’s so difficult to make yourself known among the 5,000 winegrowers in Bordeaux, without counting all the others in France. »
Noémie Tanneau also emphasizes that “it’s great to have also highlighted a small winemaker during this tasting, in a context that is not obvious. We often see the big châteaux, and that’s very good because their reputation reflects on everyone, but it’s also good to show that there are also small properties that offer affordable wines. [le vin du château Saint-Ferdinand est vendu entre 10 et 25 euros la bouteille]. Even the village winegrowers are happy, because we know Saint-Emilion a lot, minus the satellites, this is the opportunity to talk about the Lussac-Saint-Emilion appellation. »
Light bottle, without capsule and sugar cane label
But how did the wine from this small castle end up in Charles III’s tasting glass? “The king’s visit to Bordeaux revolved around the theme of the environment, the CIVB therefore wanted to highlight an organic wine, and it selected me because I won the Bordeaux committed vineyard trophy, organized by Terres de vin and the CIVB, among 300 winegrowers. »
It must be said that Noémie Tanneau’s environmental approach is no joke. “I started the activity in 2020, and I began my organic conversion in 2021. At the same time, I implemented several actions in favor of the environment, in particular I am a refuge of the League for the Protection of Birds , I installed 270 hedge plants all around the vineyard with the Trees and Landscape association… Concerning the wine tasted by the king, it is a 2022 vintage, without added sulfur or sulphites. It is part of the Sauvage collection, the particularity of which is to go even further in terms of the environmental approach, with a lightweight bottle, without an aluminum capsule, and with a label made from sugar cane molasses to avoid deforestation. We sell it in eco-designed boxes, which our customers bring back to us for reuse… In short, we try to follow through on the process. »
An “atypical profile, which refreshes the image of Bordeaux wines”
The thirty-year-old also recognizes that she has “an atypical profile, which refreshes the image of Bordeaux wines, that must have helped a little too. » From a family originally from the Paris region, she settled in the Arcachon basin at the age of 12. “I started by working in the social sector with young people in integration, then after three years, I realized that it was the agricultural environment that attracted me, the nature side, so I took a BTS in viticulture-oenology, alternating at Château Haut-Vigneau in Pessac-Léognan. »
Noémie Tanneau continued her retraining until she completed her agricultural engineering diploma at Bordeaux Sciences Agro, “then I worked at the Puissegin cooperative cellar, that’s where I met the winemaker from Château Saint-Ferdinand. She was in her sixties, she wanted to retire, and she came to see me so that I could take over the castle. »
Today, she runs the farm “with Chantal, a part-time agricultural worker, and Laurence in apprenticeship as assistant manager secretary, and my husband who supports me”. “We are simple people,” she continues, “and we are open every day to welcome customers. » Please, all the same, make a quick phone call beforehand, “whenever I am on the tractor. »