Post by Martin Sinkoff

In fond memory and appreciation of Jean-Eugene Borie Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. The 14th of July is modern France's "birthday," Bastille Day. It is also the birthday anniversary of Jean-Eugene Borie, whose wisdom and hard work laid the foundation for the brilliance of Chateaux Ducru-Beaucaillou, Grand-Puy Lacoste and Haut-Batailley today. Jean-Eugene's family were not aristocrats such as the Segur family or the Foix-Candale lineage. Nor were they northern European (Protestant) merchants such as Beyerman, Barton, Lawton, Johnston, Schroder and Cruse; nor were they financiers like Rothschild, Pereire, Dillon, … more recently Mentzelopoulos, Pinault, and Bouyges. The Borie family, like the Moueix and Cazes families, emigrated to Bordeaux from the mountains of central France (Correze) or the Ariege region. They were merchants first and often worked in the vineyards they later purchased. Unlike the aristocrats, the northern Europeans and the financiers, the Borie (and Moueix and Cazes) families were hands-on vineyard managers. The Borie family arrived in Bordeaux at the turn of the 19th century from Meymac in Corrèze, . Francis Borie, Jean-Eugene's father and the grandson of Pierre-Eugène Borie who emigrated to Bordeaux, expanded the family's business and moved from merchant to proprietor with the purchase, in 1924, of Chateau Batailley, later split into Chateau Batailley and Haut Batailley to avoid inheritance problems. In 1941, at the height of World War II, Francis purchased Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou from the Desbarats family. Francis died in 1953 and Jean-Eugene took control of Ducru, Haut-Batailley and in 1978 Grand-Puy Lascoste. Jean-Eugene is widely credited for raising the quality level of each estate along with his son Francois-Xavier (who joined him in 1978). He, Jean-Eugene, was a man of absolute modesty. And when I visited Ducru he was always the person who would open the bottles to taste and talk about the wines and the vintage. When Jean-Eugene managed the properties we would taste all three estates, the Pauillac duo and Ducru, at Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. Jean-Eugene and his beloved wife, Monique, lived at Ducru-Beaucaillou and Jean-Eugene loved to tell people, “I live above the shop”. In 2003 Bruno-Eugene Borie took over management of the estate. Bruno is a perfectionist. No detail is too small for him. His passion and work to bring Ducru to the highest level of quality in Bordeaux includes meticulous work in the vineyards (Bruno calls the vines, "my girls"), a state of the art winery was inaugurated this year; and public and press relations. Bruno always states that he works to honor his father and the history of Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou. May Jean-Eugene's legacy endure, his reputation grow, and may his memory be a blessing for all who knew and loved him. Photo: Jean-Luc Chapin