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Pauillac estate Château Pichon Baron appoints new winemaker
Château Pichon Baron has announced a new technical director to head up its winemaking team, as Jean-René Matignon announces his retirement after 36 years at the historic Bordeaux wine estate.
The Pauillac estate has appointed Pierre Montégut, technical director at Château Suduiraut to the role, in addition to his existing responsibilities. He will assume the role at the end of April 2022, following the retirement of Jean-René Matignon. Christian Seely, managing director of parent company AXA Millésimes, said that Matignon had taken Pichon to ever greater heights during his 36 year tenure of the vineyard and he very much miss working with him.
“It has always been a huge pleasure to work with him on this wonderful property, and to share his passion for the place and for the great wines it can produce, so it was with great regret that I learned of his decision to retire,” he said.
“As well as a devotion to the pursuit of perfection in the vineyard and in the chai, Jean-René has always brought to the job a style of management marked by the finest human values, which have made Pichon Baron a happy place to work, with a team in place working together in harmony towards a shared objective, which is the pursuit of the dream of making each year the finest wine which Pichon Baron is capable of.”
Seely said he was confident that Montégut would undertake his new role with “dedication and passion equal to that of Jean-René”.
“I have worked together with Pierre Montégut since his arrival at Suduiraut in 2004, and during this time he has been responsible for some of the greatest wines that Suduiraut has ever produced. He has achieved this through a passion and dedication of similar intensity to that of Jean-René, with a similar commitment to the idea of achieving such outstanding results through the creation of a harmonious and happy work environment,
enabling the team at Suduiraut to devote themselves to the pursuit of excellence both in the vineyard and in the chai,” he said.
He added that although part of the role was to ensure continuity, part of Montégut’s mission would be “the pursuit of excellence” in the estate’s wines.
“I am extremely happy to see Pierre arrive in Pauillac, and I know that Jean-René shares my satisfaction that the great work will continue with the same team as today, under Pierre’s brilliant direction and outstandingly competent leadership.”