Pierre Seillan
A Legendary Winemaker
We didn’t know until later that we had just met one of France’s finest winemakers when we stopped on a country road in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux curious to watch the grape harvest taking place roadside.
Pierre Seillan - Mastering the Art and Science of Wine
Pierre Seillan appeared from the vineyard and we struck up a conversation. He was probably as surprised to see us stop as we were that he came over to talk to us. He was in the vineyard looking at his grapes as they were hand-picked on what was the last day of harvest.
My impression of Pierre Seillan was he is a proud man, wanting to share his passion for winemaking. He is down to earth. He gets his hands dirty. A man with character. A man of principle to his craft and of independence to do what he thinks is right regardless of what others are doing. A person who likes talking to people about wine.
Pierre graciously invited us to see the grapes being processed close-by at the winery, Chateau Lassègue, where he is the winemaker and a partner. He talked about his belief about terroir. His philosophy of ‘micro-cru’ was new to me.
Micro-Cru is the concept of many small blocks of land that are unique because of its soil, aspect, sun and rainfall. The fine nuances from the grapes harvested from these areas define the winemaking and characteristics of the wine. The blending of the wines produced from each small “cru” is the magic and produces elegant and complex wines.
He showed us the picked grapes, how they are further selected for quality by visual selection and optical sorting, and the fermentation process. He is proud of the technology in the winery.
Chateau Lassègue harvest, optical scanning and winery. Estate vineyard photo below.
Winemaker in France, USA and Italy
The more Pierre talked to us the more we realized how exceptional he is. In fact, Pierre is the vigneron in estates in France, US and Italy. He described his winemaking path, originating in Gascony at his family’s estate, Bellevue-Seillan, then to Loire Valley where he worked with Edouard Pisani-Ferry at Chateau de Targé, followed by 20 years working with Raoul and Jean Quancard in Bordeaux.
In the mid 1990’s Pierre met Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson of Jackson Family Wines in Sonoma, California and worked with them to create Vérité (a winery with 50 micro-crus and 4 appellations producing exceptional wines) and Anakota, which is a single vineyard, single appellation, single varietal, (Cabernet Sauvignon) winery in Knights Valley, Sonoma.
In 2003, the Jackson/Bankefamily and the Seillan family partnered to acquire Chateau Lassègue, in St Emilion. Pierre is also working in Tuscany, Italy with the Jackson/Banke family’s new venture, Arcanum from Tenuta di Arceno. Pierre has returned to his family estate in Gascony, Bellevue-Seillan, 100% owned by the Seillan family, to also produce wines there.
Family Connections
Pierre and his wife Monique are fortunate to have both their children working in the family business. Their son Nicholas and his wife Christina spend most of their time at Chateau Lassègue making the wine under Pierre’s guidance and they manage the Estate. Their daughter, Helene, is primarily involved in Vérité but also works very closely with her brother and vice versa.
Exceptional Collector Wines - Sixteen Vintages of 100 Point Score Wines
To say Pierre Seillan is an accomplished winemaker is an understatement. My later research uncovered that Vérité Wines are exceptional, sought after by collectors and consistently rated among the best in the world. Pierre, now with his daughter Helene also working with him, has achieved sixteen 100-point scores from Robert Parker for Vérité vintages – an outstanding accomplishment! Over his five decades in the wine industry Pierre has produced award-winning wines in several countries. His focus has always been Bordeaux style wines, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our visit with Pierre was short because we had an appointment, but I would have liked to stay longer. It was a very memorable visit, made so mostly by it being spontaneous, receiving an unexpected warm welcome, and my impression of the passion, independence and authenticity of the man. I hope to meet Pierre Seillan again someday.
