Master Winemaker 100: Bertrand Léon

The technical director at Château d’Esclans features in this year’s Master Winemaker 100 guide. He tells db about facing nature with patience, focusing on individual parcels and why winemaking matters because it endures.

Wine is a way of life for Bertrand Léon, who has been technical director at Château d’Esclans since 2011. As the son of this property’s founding consultant oenologist, the late Patrick Léon, he has maintained an important sense of continuity, while ensuring that the d’Esclans portfolio continues to stand out in an increasingly crowded rosé market. This mindset applies equally to the ambitious quality of barrel-fermented prestige cuvées such as Garrus and the consistency of flagship Whispering Angel, even as production continues to grow.

A wise person once told me that there’s more than one true path to making a great wine.

A great wine should be balanced and elegant.

A great winemaker should stay humble and patient before nature.

Perfection is a difficult objective to achieve; the goal is to get close to it.

The thing I’d most like to change about the wine world is not to have fungal diseases like downy mildew and oidium in the vineyard.

I wish I could tell the consumer who drinks my wine that wine is made to be shared, preferably with people who appreciate it.

The last time I asked a sommelier for advice, it was for a Champagne to be used as part of a wine and food pairing. We ended up with a blanc de noirs 2018 paired with Dover sole, and it was splendid, particularly as it was shared with friends.

If I couldn’t be a winemaker, no idea what I’d do. Being a winemaker is very satisfying, because it connects you to the earth and nature, creating something that lasts over time. The process blends craftsmanship with patience, producing a product that reflects the land and endures for years.

I wish our vineyards could still be present for future generations.

My next ambition is to know with greater precision each parcel of Château d’Esclans.

If I won the lottery, then I would not have to worry about having the very best equipment for the vineyard and winery.

If there were more hours in the day, I would do more sport. I particularly enjoy windsurfing, running and skiing.

When it’s all going wrong, I drink a good bottle of wine with friends.

My desert island wine would be Château Mouton Rothschild 1986.

Bertrand Léon’s Master medals

Garrus 2023, The DB Asia Masters 2025 & The Global Rosé Masters 2025