Your memory is part of Marqués de Cáceres, of the 35 years we worked together.
A student of Émile Peynaud, several opinion leaders in France spoke to us about you when we were looking for someone to succeed Prof. Peynaud. That’s how my father and I invited you to Cenicero. It was before the height of the Parker era. Your gaze was direct and lively, you knew what you wanted, and you embraced my father’s strong character, understanding that everything would flow by integrating the personality and culture of our family. Until this March 20th, when news of your passing struck us like a blow. We still cannot come to terms with it. Your personality left a lasting mark on us, vibrant, generous in sharing your knowledge. You were an open book.
You were among the most enthusiastic when the winery held a tribute to Émile Peynaud at Chapon Fin in Bordeaux in the late 1980s. There, we invited his students, including Isabel Mijares and you, all in the prime of your youth.
You haven’t changed since then, although over the years you became one of the most influential figures in contemporary oenology. You also advised us at Château Camensac, then owned by the family. We shared so many hours defining vinifications, tasting, planning, refining nuances with our team… that today we are left with a great void: your absence. We remember those meals at the winery before you set off on your return journey to Bordeaux. You loved good food, you delighted in championing great wines—they were your way of crossing borders and letting us enjoy your jovial spirit. That is how you lived, like a shooting star, savoring life as if it would never end. You have left too soon. You still had projects to live for, and above all, as you often said, your family and Dany, the pillar of everything you built. To them, and to your team, we send our deepest condolences.
…How much we have learned from you. From the oenologist and from the person. We will keep you in our memory.
Rest in peace.
