{"id":23795,"date":"2022-10-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidelaplace.rcassocies.com\/2022\/10\/21\/inside-la-place-the-man-close-to-its-customers\/"},"modified":"2022-10-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T00:00:00","slug":"inside-la-place-the-man-close-to-its-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insidelaplace.rcassocies.com\/en\/2022\/10\/21\/inside-la-place-the-man-close-to-its-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside La Place – The man close to its customers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Augustin Lacaille<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Commercial Director vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti<\/p>\n

Working at the estate since\u00a0 2014<\/p>\n

Met by Gerda at the Ch\u00e2teau<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e2teau d’Issan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

3\u00e8me Grand Cru Class\u00e9 en 1855<\/p>\n

Margaux<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Gerda: <\/strong>Tell us about you…<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Augustin Lacaille<\/strong>: I like working with customers directly. Being in contact with them, growing our relationship, and constantly knowing our markets. I think I’m an open-minded person and I like to be creative. I am always learning on the field to offer tailor-made operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gerda: <\/span><\/strong>What are the main challenges you personally face in the practice of your work?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Augustin Lacaille<\/strong>: As with great wine, finding the right balance.\u00a0By listening to my family, the estates team (d’Issan, Pedesclaux, Lilian Ladouys and Lafon Rochet), the customers and the markets.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

First feeling of 2022 vintage<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gerda<\/span><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0After the harvest at Ch\u00e2teau d’Issan, I had the privilege to ask Eric Pellon a few questions. Eric has been technical director at Ch\u00e2teau d’Issan since 1993. 2022 is his 30th vintage at the Ch\u00e2teau. He is the best person who can answer questions about the new vintage coming. Harvest started on September 15th and finished on September 28th. It was a quick harvest, but it was not the earliest in Eric’s history at d’Issan. In 2003 and 2011 they started a few days earlier. As Eric mentioned: the harvest’s day does not have a big impact on the vintage quality because vines had completed their cycle and the vineyard was very healthy. There were no difficulties like there were in 2003. The heat arrived early in 2022, already in June we had a week of heat wave, and the vine was able to prepare itself immediately for excesses. Contrary to what people might think, the exchange between plant and fruit went very well. In addition, old vines resisted the heat and the drought very well. Our beautiful parcels of old malbec and very old petit verdot (planted in 1948) are also very promising this year.<\/p>\n

I tasted 2 vats of Merlot with Eric. Despite high alcohol level, the wine remains light as the balance is present and supported by a nice tension. I am looking forward to discovering the blend in April 2023 for the en primeurs tasting week.<\/p>\n

As Eric and I left the winery, he laughed and said, “2022 is the only year I’ve hoped for rain, but the vines are incredibly resilient on our exceptional Issan terroir.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The brand d’Issan today and tomorrow<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gerda: What positioning(s) do you want for your brand(s)?<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Augustin Lacaille<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span>Work on all the details to continue to gain in precision, at all levels, and to make the singularities of Issan shine through. We have a historic terroir that has been alive for over 8 centuries. A vineyard in great shape thanks to the attention given by our teams of faithful winegrowers, who were rewarded by coming second in the pruning competition that took place at Ch\u00e2teau Margaux.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the Cruse-Lorenzetti vineyards, there are strong values that we apply at all levels and which are shared by the men and women who embody our estates:<\/p>\n