Thierry Manoncourt (22 September 1917,[1] – 27 August 2010) was a French winery owner of the Grand Cru estate Château Figeac in Bordeaux, and for many decades a major figure of Bordeaux and the Saint-Émilion appellation.[2]
Thierry Manoncourt was the son of Antoine Manoncourt and his wife Ada Elizabeth, born Villepigue. Ada Elizabeth was the daughter of André Villepigue and his wife Henriette, born de Chevremont. Henriette's father (Thierry Manoncourt's great-grandfather) Henri de Chevremont bought Château Figeac in 1892.[3]
Bottle of Châteu Figeac 1995 with a label commemorating Manoncourt's 50th vintage; 1943 and the 49 consecutive vintages 1947-1995.
Manoncourt served in the French army during World War II, and ended up in Germany as a prisoner of war.[1] He was back in France to participate in the 1943 vintage, which was his first and then enrolled at the Institut National Agronomique (INA) in Paris where he graduated as an agronomical engineer (ingénieur agronome). In December 1946, Manoncourt's mother Ada Elizabeth Manoncourt received the responsibility for Château Figeac. The estate had previously been held by Manoncourt's grandmother Henriette Villepigue, who had died in 1942, after which it had been unclear if Manoncourt's mother or his uncle Robert Villepigue would inherit this family-owned estate. Thierry Manoncourt took over the running of Château Figeac in 1947, at a time when it was very rare for the head of an estate to hold formal agricultural or viticultural training.[1] His background in engineering and science resulted in Figeac being a pioneer or early adopter of many winemaking practices new to Bordeaux.[4]
Winemakingedit
Manoncourt was thus in charge of the estate when the first classification of Saint-Émilion wine was formally drawn up in 1955. Château Figeac is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé (Class B), the second tier in Saint-Émilion below Premier Grand Cru Classé (Class A), which was held at the time by only two estates, Château Ausone, and Château Cheval Blanc. Having Château Figeac being classified on par with these two was a lifelong ambition of Manoncourt, and he was very disappointed that this was not done in the disputed 2006 reclassification, in particular since the wine's price rather than its quality was cited as the reason for keeping it as a Class B.[5]
Manoncourt's son-in-law Comte Eric d'Aramon (married to Laure, daughter of Thierry and Marie-France Manoncourt) took over the daily running of Château Figeac in the 1980s, but Manoncourt continued to his death to be active in Figeac's marketing activities and continued to be seen as the estate's front face.[2]
Manoncourt was a co-founder of Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux.[4]
Relationship with wine writersedit
As a well known Bordeaux personality, Manoncourt was the subject of many anecdotes. When Robert M. Parker, Jr. toured Bordeaux in 1986 to taste the 1985 vintage from barrel ahead of the en primeur campaign, he was accompanied by Jay Miller who had brought along a copy of Parker's recent book on Bordeaux and was collecting signatures in it from estate owners he encountered. Manoncourt received the two at Figeac, and signed the entry in the book. He then read Parker's entry on his estate, and saw that he had written that Château Figeac was of a quality comparable to a Médoc second growth. This annoyed Manoncourt, who crossed this out and instead wrote in "first growth" after which he proceeded to tell Parker what he thought he should have written.[6]
^Stephen Brook: St-Emilion classification: the bloodletting begins, Decanter, September 21, 2006
^McCoy, Elin (2005). The Emperor of Wine. New York: Harper Perennial. pp. 123–124. ISBN0-06-009368-4.
May 08, 2024
thierry, manoncourt, september, 1917, august, 2010, french, winery, owner, grand, estate, château, figeac, bordeaux, many, decades, major, figure, bordeaux, saint, Émilion, appellation, contents, early, life, winemaking, relationship, with, wine, writers, refe. Thierry Manoncourt 22 September 1917 1 27 August 2010 was a French winery owner of the Grand Cru estate Chateau Figeac in Bordeaux and for many decades a major figure of Bordeaux and the Saint Emilion appellation 2 Contents 1 Early life 2 Winemaking 3 Relationship with wine writers 4 ReferencesEarly life editThierry Manoncourt was the son of Antoine Manoncourt and his wife Ada Elizabeth born Villepigue Ada Elizabeth was the daughter of Andre Villepigue and his wife Henriette born de Chevremont Henriette s father Thierry Manoncourt s great grandfather Henri de Chevremont bought Chateau Figeac in 1892 3 nbsp Bottle of Chateu Figeac 1995 with a label commemorating Manoncourt s 50th vintage 1943 and the 49 consecutive vintages 1947 1995 Manoncourt served in the French army during World War II and ended up in Germany as a prisoner of war 1 He was back in France to participate in the 1943 vintage which was his first and then enrolled at the Institut National Agronomique INA in Paris where he graduated as an agronomical engineer ingenieur agronome In December 1946 Manoncourt s mother Ada Elizabeth Manoncourt received the responsibility for Chateau Figeac The estate had previously been held by Manoncourt s grandmother Henriette Villepigue who had died in 1942 after which it had been unclear if Manoncourt s mother or his uncle Robert Villepigue would inherit this family owned estate Thierry Manoncourt took over the running of Chateau Figeac in 1947 at a time when it was very rare for the head of an estate to hold formal agricultural or viticultural training 1 His background in engineering and science resulted in Figeac being a pioneer or early adopter of many winemaking practices new to Bordeaux 4 Winemaking editManoncourt was thus in charge of the estate when the first classification of Saint Emilion wine was formally drawn up in 1955 Chateau Figeac is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classe Class B the second tier in Saint Emilion below Premier Grand Cru Classe Class A which was held at the time by only two estates Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc Having Chateau Figeac being classified on par with these two was a lifelong ambition of Manoncourt and he was very disappointed that this was not done in the disputed 2006 reclassification in particular since the wine s price rather than its quality was cited as the reason for keeping it as a Class B 5 Manoncourt s son in law Comte Eric d Aramon married to Laure daughter of Thierry and Marie France Manoncourt took over the daily running of Chateau Figeac in the 1980s but Manoncourt continued to his death to be active in Figeac s marketing activities and continued to be seen as the estate s front face 2 Manoncourt was a co founder of Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 4 Relationship with wine writers editAs a well known Bordeaux personality Manoncourt was the subject of many anecdotes When Robert M Parker Jr toured Bordeaux in 1986 to taste the 1985 vintage from barrel ahead of the en primeur campaign he was accompanied by Jay Miller who had brought along a copy of Parker s recent book on Bordeaux and was collecting signatures in it from estate owners he encountered Manoncourt received the two at Figeac and signed the entry in the book He then read Parker s entry on his estate and saw that he had written that Chateau Figeac was of a quality comparable to a Medoc second growth This annoyed Manoncourt who crossed this out and instead wrote in first growth after which he proceeded to tell Parker what he thought he should have written 6 References edit a b c Serena Sutcliffe Thierry Manoncourt Decanter interview Decanter April 11 2008 a b Stephen Brook Thierry Manoncourt dies Decanter August 29 2010 Chris Kissack thewinedoctor com Chateau Figeac accessed 2010 09 04 a b Jancis Robinson Sixty vintages under his belt March 31 2007 Stephen Brook St Emilion classification the bloodletting begins Decanter September 21 2006 McCoy Elin 2005 The Emperor of Wine New York Harper Perennial pp 123 124 ISBN 0 06 009368 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thierry Manoncourt amp oldid 1157262452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
