QUENTIN CECCHINI

Our only “Cru Artisan” Estate

In the turmoil of the 1940s, an Italian from the Florentine mountains, Septime Cecchini, worked to defend the coastline. “The Diguayres”. Above all, he fell in love with the Médoc and…with a Pauillacaise, Odette Eyquem. Married, they had one daughter and seven sons. Mr. Cecchini, who became French, learned, and became a postman in Jau-Dignac and Loirac. Outside of his work, this lover of good food acquired 4 hectares of vines which, almost 50 years later, would produce the smallest vintage of Château La Hourcade. In 1985, Gino, his youngest son, bought the vineyard. But Gino, a distinguished horseman, serves in the French mounted cavalry. Until 1988, the harvest will therefore be brought to the cooperative cellar.

But during his years of service, the latter did not lose sight of his native Médoc and with his brother Florent, they bought adjoining plots to expand the vineyard. In 1989, returning to his region, he left the cooperative to make his own wine and start a family. Today the owner of more than 18 hectares of vines, former municipal councilor then mayor of the village until 2014, Gino is now passing on his passion to Quentin, his son, who returned from Bordeaux to devote himself to the family property. Gino Cecchini, a winegrower attached to working the vines, loving and respectful of the land. “For reasoned and reasonable viticulture. »

Gino Recently passed the baton to his son, Quentin, and his wife, Judith. Quentin, with “almost” a master’s degree in biochemistry (he chose to take over the estate before graduating), directs the vineyard in an eco-responsible way to nurture the ecosystem of his vineyard for future decades and generations. He bought meadows adjacent to the estate that were natural habitats to endangered local mammal and bird species (10 hectares). He registered these little forests as natural reserves so they will stay untouched by mankind. On top of this initiative, he Heavily focuses on biodiversity by re introducing wild vegetations to attract wildlife that help prevent diseases. Quentin also breeds horses, practices polyculture, and applies sustainable farming techniques (no weedkiller nor fungicide). He takes the challenging path of producing high quality wines by lowering naturally his yield: vines are planted in high density fashion with 5,500 vines per hectare. It results in an average volume of 45-55 hectoliters per hectare. Quentin only releases 25,000 bottles per year while Chateau Lafitte Rothschild usually does a million a year (sold several thousand dollars each). 

Thanks to his hard work, ethic, and dedication, Quentin was granted the appellation Cru Artisan, which is only granted to a very small number fully family owned and operated vineyards in Medoc. This certification validates agricultural, winegrowing, and wine making processes as being solely done by the family who owned the estate (and practices polyculture).

We were really impressed by the work being done by Quentin and Judith with how little they have at their disposal. Every part of the estate is thought through, making it a unique ecosystem in the Medoc. Quentin’s first goal for the next few years is to promote his estate as a Cru Artisan, a brand that he is a proud ambassador. A fantastic estate to discover, visit, and wines to savor!