Thank you to our dear friend Bernard Légland for this moving speech on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of our Domaine.
“I’d like to say a few words to you.
Céline, Frédéric, as soon as you decided to celebrate the 10th anniversary of your estate and to invite us to join you, my mind went into overdrive because, as you will see, the number 10 is linked to a number of circumstances.
The first may not mean much to you, but it’s exactly 10 years and 10 days since I stopped making wine. I must confess that I would have liked you to take over my estate, because the great emptiness that overtook me would have been less brutal. But life decided otherwise, and history cannot be rewritten.
However, Frédéric, you noticed my distress and offered me the job of receiving the musts in your winery at La Chapelle Vaupelteigne.
The first year, I transported some 250 HL of must with the lorry and the 10 HL tank.
Ten years later, in September 2022, I took delivery of 2,500 hectolitres. This time it was Christian Boudvillain and the 50 HL tank were in charge of the transfer. You don’t need to be a great mathematician to analyse the situation. 250 HL……2500 HL, multiply by 10.
Incredible progress, a sustained work rate, but above all this way that you have, Frédéric, of going ever higher, ever better. With you, everything is calculated and meticulously controlled, with the aim of achieving excellence.
You’ve managed to optimise the vat room in a wonderful way, and the same goes for the pressing facility. I won’t even mention the place where we’re staying today, because it’s so popular.
You and Céline make a remarkable, formidable couple, as evidenced by your latest acquisition of the Hôtel Bergerand.
Very often in our country, we hear that nothing is moving, that nobody wants to work, to undertake, to take risks. You are proving that this is not the case. Our region is innovating, changing and adapting, and having worked with you on a regular basis, I have no hesitation in saying that you are among those who, through your wine exports, are flying the flag for our country, France.
So, Céline, Frédéric, well done! You are a credit to our profession and we need entrepreneurs like you.
To conclude, I have just one request, which is easy for me, but more complex for you.
Don’t wait ten years for the inauguration of the new Hôtel Bergerand. We can’t wait to see the metamorphosis of this iconic CHABLIS landmark.”
Bernard Légland, 10 June 2023
