The wines of Bertrand Fauvette: an incredible heritage!

At 53, after a rich career in which he served successively as an air force pilot, pilot for Jacques Chirac, HEC graduate, and CEO of GL Events Toulouse, Bertrand Fauvette has gone from the sky to wine…

It is in his apartment, in the heart of Lyon, that Bertrand Fauvette welcomes us for the launch of his wine brand "Bertrand Fauvette Héritage". At 53, after a rich career in which he served successively as an air force pilot — having completed the highest number of airlifts to Sarajevo during the war — pilot for Jacques Chirac, HEC graduate, CEO of GL Events Toulouse, Head of Operations France at EasyJet, and then airline pilot once more, Bertrand Fauvette has gone from the sky to wine… He was kind enough to share his extraordinary adventure with us on the occasion of his first vintage, the Bertrand Fauvette Héritage rosé.

BF: I have long had a passion for wine and always dreamed of making my own. I made two attempts to acquire vineyards. It was extremely complicated because there are many stakeholders: the SAFER, chambers of commerce, chambers of agriculture, the gendarmerie, customs… You cannot simply buy a vineyard. You need an operating licence. The SAFER looked quite favourably on neo-winemakers like me. Our strategy was "We are not experts, we are people who want it." We invest and bring in a young winemaker whom we set up to manage the viticulture, vinification, and so on. Our project was well received by the SAFER because for half of all wine estates, the operators are over 70 and young winemakers cannot afford to buy the properties. After a year of negotiations, we were about to sign the deed of sale at the notary's office when the SAFER told us, "By the way, you are not buying vines but a forest, and we will sort it out later." I did not understand, as we had visited and clearly seen the vines. The SAFER explained that "these were originally woodlands that the operator should not have converted into vines. However, we want the activity to continue, we do not oppose the sale, and we will regularise everything." On the advice of my lawyer, we cancelled the transaction to avoid being liable for back taxes and/or social contributions… Two years later, we made a second attempt to buy a vineyard. This time, it was the gendarmerie who called to say the transaction was frozen because they had found the 10 viticultural tractors stolen in the region over the past 10 years — at the vineyard operator's property! After these two setbacks, I abandoned my project until I met the Saint-Olive brothers. They have been working in the wine industry for 25 years and notably have an urban chai (winemaking cellar) in Lyon. They drew inspiration from an American philosophy where the notion of terroir is not necessarily paramount: grapes are an agricultural product, and if you have a good product, you can make a good wine. The wines are made in small quantities, in small spaces, and are therefore known as "garage wines". This model was brought to France by Jean-Luc Thunevin in the early 1990s, who produced excellent wines sold at over 100 euros a bottle. I was apprehensive about embarking on this process because I had neither a name, nor an estate, nor a château — so the wine simply had to be good… And for the wine to be good, I needed a good oenologist, good barrels, a good cellar master, but above all good grapes — the very best. If I used ordinary grapes, it would not work. The Saint-Olive brothers asked if I had any names in mind, to which I replied with the great names of the Rhône Valley: Gaillard, Cuilleron…

They replied: no problem, we will go and meet them! We met Yves Cuilleron and Jeanne Gaillard, who offered to reserve a plot for my wine, assuring me they would handle the first part of the vinification (making the must) according to my wishes. The musts are then transported back to Lyon in refrigerated trucks and aged in barrels in Lyon. I have a Syrah, a Merlot, and a Chardonnay cuvée. I wanted these to be the best wines possible, wines that reflect who I am. The Rhône Valley leans more towards fruit, whereas I prefer an oak-aged style, as much about the wood as the fruit — a somewhat more Bordeaux-like approach. I was supported by my oenologist Vincent Hudon, who works notably for Château Miraval. We also had custom barrels made to match the wine I envisioned. I had both colours but I still needed a rosé. And on that front, I had no choice — it had to be a Côtes de Provence. While I can accept not having an AOP for the white and the red, the only rosé recognised at the premium end is the Côtes de Provence. I achieved this thanks to Sacha Lichine, who developed premium rosé, notably by controlling the temperature during fermentation in the barrels, which preserves the aromas and the freshness of the fruit. It is this particular vinification process that makes this rosé much paler than others. Sacha Lichine was the first to release rosé wines at over one hundred euros, and everyone has copied him since. Côtes de Provence is the rosé the whole world wants to buy — demand is so high we can barely keep up!

SP: If vinification has turned the Côtes de Provence into an exceptional wine, what would stop, say, an Anjou from becoming as good as a Côtes de Provence?

BF: The difference is undoubtedly the terroir. The Côtes de Provence remains dry and taut despite being rich, whereas an Anjou will be richer in fruit and therefore more of a table wine. Nevertheless, I believe that in 4–5 years, in Anjou and in the Bordeaux region, they will make wines as good as in Côtes de Provence. However, worldwide, if you sell outside France, the name Anjou means nothing in terms of rosé — it would be like saying Champagne makes rosé. And to return to the production of the Bertrand Fauvette Héritage rosé, I went to meet Sacha Lichine to see if he could make a cuvée for me. He could not, but he gave me the contact details of someone he works with. And it is this person who makes my rosé, handles the bottling, and delivers them to me by the pallet at my home in Lyon.

SP: What are your sales channels?

BF: We launched our online sales website, but at this stage, it is mainly I who handle deliveries during this start-up phase. Currently, sales are primarily to private customers through my networks and those of my two partners. I also do business with professionals — local restaurants and retailers. I started a bit late in the season; the professionals ordered 3–4 cases whereas, had I started in March, they would have taken a full pallet! The vintage was not yet released, but that is fine — it is encouraging for next year. I also learned that wines sell well at professional trade shows. You exhibit and the restaurateurs come to you, rather than you going to them. That is easier for us. I also have a project for a cellar fitted out in the heart of Lyon where I would store my wines, complete with coffee tables, armchairs, and lighting… I would rent my cellar to private clubs for tastings, all surrounded by my bottles.

SP: Why did you name your brand Bertrand Fauvette Héritage?

BF: As I said, I have neither a château nor an estate, but what I do have is a story of which I am very proud. My surname Fauvette comes from my great-great-grandmother Pauline, who was a slave in the sugar cane fields of Mauritius. In 1835, when slavery was abolished, like all slaves she had to choose a surname, and because she was small, she was given the name Fauvette (warbler — a small songbird). Her daughter Eugénie became the planter's seamstress. Her son became a train mechanic in Mauritius and eventually managed the entire mechanical team on the island — some 300 people — which is quite amusing when you consider that I managed the pilots at EasyJet, essentially the same role as my great-grandfather. His son, my grandfather, was a doctor and opened a hospital in Réunion. On my grandmother's side, she came from the old Provençal nobility and held the title of Marquise de Bionneau d'Eyragues, in the Alpilles. In 1789, the French began to dismantle the château and my ancestor fled to Haiti — Saint-Domingue at the time. Then came the revolt of the Black population against the nobility, so he fled again and was picked up by British ships (at war with France). He was imprisoned in Jamaica, and after 6 months they were told to leave. Since they could not return home, they went to Louisiana. Their children, including my great-great-great-grandmother, decided to return to Eyragues to reclaim what was left of the château, which had been completely demolished. Her children all went on to careers as ambassadors, diplomats, or military officers. It is thanks to them that I developed the desire to study, serve my country, and found my calling for the business world. It is because they were courageous that I was able to do what I have done. Some were slaves and descendants of slaves, others could have ended up on the guillotine, and others served France. This is my heritage, and I wanted to leave a trace of these people beyond simply telling their stories to my children. It was in making wine that I found this wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to them, by giving each vintage a profile that corresponds to my ancestors. That is why the first rosé vintage features a "dodo" — to recall Mauritius, where Pauline, the first Fauvette, lived. The cork is also made from sugar cane fibre. The other red and white vintages will also bear symbols honouring my ancestors. All vintages will have a black tin capsule.

SP: And so the next wines will be?…

BF: The Chardonnay and the Syrah, coming out in September, and the Merlot in December. I am very excited about the Syrah, which promises to be extraordinary. The Bees are proud to support Bertrand Fauvette in this new and wonderful adventure.