a bit of history...
It all began in the Second Empire, on the estate of the Marquis de Calvimont. The lands of Château de Cérons were split into two parts following the construction of the national road linking Bordeaux to Spain. As a result, the Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons gained its independence, accumulating over 200 years of life.
A few centuries later...
Giorgio Cavanna, born in Rome, Italy, studied French and then moved between Italy and France to pursue a career in industry. Whenever he had time, he returned to Tuscany, to the Castello di Ama estate. This magnificent winery was bought by his father and three other partners in 1972. Thanks to their hard work, the estate has become one of the most renowned in Tuscany. Giorgio spent a good part of his adolescence here, and regularly rubbed shoulders with one of the greatest names in oenology, Patrick Léon, who put the Cavannas on the path to great wines.
His long association and friendship with Patrick Léon and his son Bertrand led him to purchase Grand Enclos. This Graves terroir produces white, red and sweet wines.
The team of enthusiasts...
Giorgio is going to surround himself with the best people to revive the estate: Bertrand Léon, the local boy, an oenologist who has already established his reputation as an outstanding winemaker and oversees the implementation of a family know-how that has long since proved its worth. Xavier Dauba, the manager and technical director at Cérons, a wine enthusiast and another native of the region, ensures that the grapes are brought to an irreproachable stage of ripeness. The tandem then works together to produce an ever-improving wine every year.
Giorgio Cavanna, Xavier Dauba and Bertrand Leon.
(Tasting of full Cabernet Sauvignon vinification batches).
"Wine-making is a real school of life."
Patrick Léon and his son Bertrand.
A unique terroir...
An exceptional location
Graves, an origin dating back thousands of years, an alchemy of stone, sun and vine. They represent the oldest appellation in the Bordeaux region. It is estimated that the first vines were planted here over two thousand years ago. They form an enclave 50km long by 10km to 20km wide, stretching from the south of Bordeaux to Langon.
Bordeaux's Graves are protected from the elements by pine forests on one side, and protected from the rigors of the summer sun by the Garonne River on the other.
Finally, a landscape, almost flat, imperceptibly undulating, between forest and river, which is the very image of the Gironde vineyards.
"Las Grabas de Bourdeus
Bordeaux Graves in Gascon. Graves are the only French wines to bear the name of their soil. Their particularity lies in the very nature of the stones that make them up: they accumulate the sun's heat during the day and slowly release it again at night. This phenomenon enables the vines to ripen evenly, favoring an early harvest.
These miraculous stones also have other assets: they ensure good soil drainage by helping rainwater to run off. Last but not least, the poor quality of the lower layers of the soil means that the vines have to dig deep down to draw the nutrients they need from the subsoil.
Inside the Enclos and on the superb Plateau de Podensac, this mixture of pebbles, gravels and sandy deposits, with great viticultural potential, occupies meters and meters of depth.
While Grand Enclos stands out for the quality of its dry Graves red and white wines, the terroir of Cérons, also a communal appellation for sweet wines such as Sauternes and Barsac, offers the unique feature of combining the same gravelly soil, in the heart of the ideal microclimate for the development of noble rot, with the production of a top-flight sweet wine with a freshness unequalled by its Sauternes peers. To find out more