Not Classed, but Classy: Haut-Bergeron 1961-2019
BY NEAL MARTIN |
One of my New Year resolutions for 2023 was to glue more words into sentences about the most auric appellation of Bordeaux: Sauternes. True to my word, this entire piece was started and finished on 1 January, once the effects of the previous night’s libation had ebbed. Instead of a familiar classified growth, the spotlight shines upon an estate omitted from the 21 selected Classed Growths in 1855: Château Haut-Bergeron. There is a logical reason that I shall explain in the history insofar that the wine as we know it today had not really formed at that time. Nevertheless, vintages have impressed in recent years, and when flitting about Sauternes last April, I spent a useful couple of hours with the owners, who organized an insightful vertical tasting.
History
The story of Haut-Bergeron centers around several generations of the Lamothe family. The oldest documents mentioning their name date from 1756, when Pierre and Jeanne Lamothe purchased a scattering of small plots. However, these should not be considered the genesis of contemporary Haut-Bergeron, not to mention the fact that it predates Sauternes as an intentionally botrytis-affected wine. François and Catherine Lamothe succeeded them, then Jean and Thoinette, who started out as millers before becoming winemakers, and François and Françoise Lamothe, who also worked as clog-makers and wheelwrights. In 1820, the fifth generation of Célérin-Pierre and Jeanne Lamothe took over the holdings. They oversaw the construction of a bell tower, plus an expansion of vines, thanks to Jeanne’s dowry. These were located in the lieu-dit of Haut-Bergeron, hence their cru adopted that name. However, at this time, nearly everything was sold off in bulk. In 1881, their son François took over, and they established their own cooperage business to supplement income. In 1918, the holdings passed to their son Gaston after he returned from the Great War, aged just 18. Gaston married Fernande in 1929, whose dowry not only included further parcels but also the present château in Preignac. Around this time, they commenced bottling themselves, though Fernande had to tend the vines when her husband was conscripted in 1939 and made the vintages between 1942 and 1945.
In 1950, Gaston was joined by his son Robert, and they made further purchases in the communes of Bommes and Sauternes. Six years later, Robert’s wife Mady inherited five hectares of vines in Barsac (Domaine de la Fôret) that was incorporated into Haut-Bergeron. Finally, their parcels resemble those that constitute Haut-Bergeron today. Robert was deeply involved in the administration of Sauternes, creating the Maison de Sauternes in 1973 and serving as the president of the Sauternes union for over three decades. He was joined by his sons Hervé in 1979 and Patrick in 1989, the former more involved in the winemaking and the latter out in the vineyard. The next generation is already working alongside them, as Hervé’s son Léo takes the château into the future.
