▻ Jean-Michel Cazes (Ep. 3)
▴ Jean-Michel and Thereza Cazes, early days in America
Episode Three – The AXA Years – Venturing Outside France
Episode Summary:-
The final part of our Great Wine Lives series.
Jean-Michel talks about how he joined his friend Claude Bébéar to create AXA Millésimes and buys some of the world’s most sought-after names; Château Pichon-Baron, the second-growth Pauillac estate; the legendary Port house, Quinta do Noval; and the Tokaji-producing Disznókő estate in Hungary – all whilst running his own family businesses which were rapidly expanding.
Here, Jean-Michel talks about his years with AXA Millésimes…
““My first visit to Noval was a shock, it was so beautiful.””
Running Order:-
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0.00 – 11.07
Buying up the neighbours
“The property was run-down, it was in terrible shape, it was down to a small vineyard, they’d not been replanted – all the marks of the depression still there.” Jean-Michel is asked by his friend Claude Bébéar, of the insurance giant AXA, to help buy some properties, including the second growth estate Château Pichon Baron. Jean-Michel talks about how he came to run the new wine division, AXA Millésimes, besides running his family estates.
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11.08 – 20.00
Restoring Hungary’s greatest fine wine
“The state farm owning practically the whole region of Tokaji went bankrupt because the only customers were Russia, and Russia stopped buying Tokaji.” The story of how AXA Millésimes bought Disnókö in Tokaj in Eastern Hungary. Jean-Michel’s first impressions of Hungary, and how he decides on location, with an eye to the future for wine tourism.
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20.01 – 27.51
Falling in love with the Douro Valley
“I went to the Douro Valley, which was my first visit there. It was a real shock, you know, because the place is so beautiful.”An introduction to Christiano Van Zeller of the famous port house Quinta do Noval, takes Jean-Michel on his first trip to the Douro, where he falls in love with the region. When the Val Zellers decide to sell the estate, he persuades Claude Bébéar of AXA to buy it. Jean-Michel employs a young Englishman, Christian Seely, to run the property.
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Further reading:-
Further episodes:-
Great Wine Lives | Jean-Michel Cazes
Ep. 1 | The Early Years
Ep. 2 | 1973 – A New Era for Wine
Philippe Guigal is the third generation of the illustrious Guigal wine family from the Rhône. A fascinating interview with one of France’s most dynamic producers, whose family is at the heart of everything.