Philippe Dourthe, former owner of Chateau Maucaillou, dies aged 72

Philippe Dourthe, owner and director of Chateau Maucaillou in Moulis-en-Medoc from 1982 to 2008, and part of the Dourthe family of negociants, has died in Bordeaux aged 72.

Born in 1941, Dourthe was an oenologist and ampelographer who worked as winemaker at Dourthe Freres negociant house in the 1960s, before leaving for Chile where he became a viticultural expert for the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture.

When he returned to France he worked as general manager of CVBG Dourthe Freres et Kressman as it was known at the time, from 1969 to 1982, and then moved to running Chateau Maucailllou, which his father Roger Dourthe had owned since 1929.

Dourthe was president of the Moulis-en-Médoc wine syndicate for 15 years, from 1990 to 2005, as well as being a rugby player and keen sailor who sailed across the Atlantic three times, once on a solo trip.

Following his retirement, his son Pascale Dourthe has been running Chateau Maucaillou since 2006 along with his sisters Caroline and Magali.

Written by Jane Anson