Decanter World Wine AwardsThierry Manoncourt dies
- Sunday 29 August 2010
Manoncourt died peacefully at home on Friday (27 August). He had run the family property for 63 years.
After serving in the French army during World War II, he studied agriculture and took control of the estate in 1947.
Although he delegated the running of Figeac to his son-in-law Comte Eric d’Aramon over 20 years ago, he and his wife Marie-France remained highly visible at Figeac itself and at dinners and other events during Vinexpo and the en primeur tastings.
To many, Manoncourt personified all that is best about Bordeaux: acting as a steward of the historic estate, opening its doors to interested visitors, and participating in the communal life of the region. At a dinner in St Emilion in 2007, the oldest wine poured was the 1950 Figeac. The wine prompted the guests to give the Manoncourts a spontaneous ovation.
It was a disappointment to him in recent years that he failed to win promotion of Figeac to Premier Grand Cru Classé (A), alongside Ausone and Cheval Blanc.
His petition was rejected not on grounds of quality but of price, and he felt acutely the irony that Figeac was penalized for its lack of greed.
Tim Hartley, one of the British chancellors of the Jurade de St Emilion, said, ‘I know that everybody who loves Saint-Émilion is going to miss him. He was in many ways the embodiment of all that is best there: the warmth of welcome, and the combination of tradition and pride in history, with the modern world.’
Have your say!
Duncan Murray
September 03 10:45
I remember a very warm and generous man.
I visited the Chateau along with about 80 other students on a wine trip that had been organised by Gloucestershire College of Arts & Technology back in 1989 where I was doing my final year of Hotel Management and I was so impressed by the generosity of the Manoncourt family in allowing us in and for answering my questions; we tasted a wine from the late 1970’s which was stunning and I think one of the main reasons for getting me mixed up in the wine trade.
Thank you so much Monsieur Manoncourt, you were an inspiration.
Ronnie Kole
September 03 10:45
Thierry was a great friend to my wife Gardner an me and I so enjoyed playing the piano for him every year in the Chateau and also at our home near New Orleans when he and Marie-France stayed with us...He was a true gentleman and his passing is the end of an era... Thierry, you will truly missed by Gardner and me plus many others throughout the world...
Jeremy Ramsey
September 03 10:44
My Singapore friends and I have on many occasions enjoyed the wonderful hospitality and kindness extended by Thierry and his family. Thierry had a great sense of humour and was a marvellous story teller. He was a very gentle and considerate person who will be sadly missed by his many friends. Thierry was fiercely proud of his superb Figeac wine and the great tradition of St Emilion wine making.
We will all miss him greatly and extend to Marie-France and his family our condolences at his passing.
Tom McQuary
September 03 10:42
This is sad news. One of the nicest Bordeaux wines I’ve tasted with the 1970 Chateau Figeac.