Jacques Boissenot, wine consultant to four of the five First Growths, was named Winemaker of the Decade last night in a ceremony at Chateau Rauzan Segla, Margaux.
The award was given by Ch’ng Poh Tiong of the Chinese Bordeaux Guide to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the publication.
Poh Tiong, who is also a Decanter columnist, said, ‘Winemaker of the Decade may be a bold award, but I feel very confident because have tasted his many wonderful wines again and again. And it is impossible to achieve greatness if you are not genuine, and nobody would doubt that about M. Boissenot.’
Boissenot, who today works alongside his son Eric, has been a consultant in the Medoc for over 40 years, and trained under Emile Peynaud.
He works with around 180 properties (90% on the Left Bank of Bordeaux) including Latour, Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Leoville-las-Cases, both Pichon Longueville and Pichon Comtesse, Leoville Barton, Gruaud Larose, Cos d’Estournel and Rauzan Segla.
Despite having played a role in many of the most celebrated wines of the past four decades, he is renowned for his low-key, understated approach, and is little known outside of Bordeaux.
Jacques Boissenot told decanter.com, ‘It’s a great honour, and very moving, for an old man on the verge of retirement.’
Jacques and Eric Boissenot are profiled in the Bordeaux Supplement of the current (July) issue of Decanter magazine
Written by Jane Anson
