NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR

 

    It is a very rare thing in tradition-bound Bordeaux new winery is born, especially when it is on land that has been there for millennia. So it was unusual when a former airline industry entrepreneur named Arjen Pen decided to make a 100% Merlot called Marpaout on a small plot of land of Bordeaux’s Left Bank, where estates always blend varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and others with Merlot. Only on the Right Bank, called Pomerol, do châteaux like the illustrious Pétrus, Certan-de-May and Clinet produce 100%  Merlots.

Nevertheless Pen and a partner persisted  and are about to release their 2022 vintage, with only 900 bottles and 50 magnums made. Those few who have tasted the wine have been amazed by its quality, as was I when Pen visited this month and had dinner with me in New York for an interview. I found it a wine that would rank with the best in Pomerol and priced accordingly.

 

How were you involved in the wine business before becoming an estate owner and winemaker?

My family background is in agriculture, and I always knew that one day I would become a farmer and winemaker. The first 15 years of my professional life were spent in the airline industry, heading sales and marketing teams across Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands. My most senior role was as a board member of Swiss International Airlines – which made it particularly gratifying, 20 years on, to see them serve Château Branas Grand Poujeaux in its First-Class lounges in Geneva and Zurich.

I spent a year at KLM before Air France acquired the company. This was in 2004 – a career crossroads and the ideal moment to return to my roots and search for my first terroir on which to grow grapes. My parents had moved to France when I was 18 and were living in Jurançon, but having grown up drinking red wines from Saint-Estèphe, my focus was firmly on Bordeaux, a region I have called home for the past 20 years.

The first property where I made wine, from 2005, was a small estate called Château Richelieu, in the under-the-radar Right Bank appellation of Fronsac. I co-owned it with a group of wine-loving shareholders, including my parents, before it was sold to an investor in 2011.

Château Branas Grand Poujeaux came into the picture shortly afterwards. I had long heard about the exceptional quality of the Grand Poujeaux plateau and had met Justin Onclin, owner since 2002,  who had invested heavily in both vineyard and cellar with the guidance of his friend, the late, great Michel Rolland.

Some background on Château Branas Grand Poujeaux: Grand Poujeaux is the name of the local village that several wineries have incorporated it into their labels. The word “Poujeaux” derives from Old French for “stony hill”; the land is slightly elevated. Justin Onclin purchased the estate in 2002, when it was comprised of just five parcels across six hectares. In 2006, following the death of a neighboring estate owner who had no heirs, he was able to acquire an additional seven exceptional hectares, including the prized Marpaout plot.

In 2019, a merger with Château Granins Grand Poujeaux brought the total to 25 hectares. The estate now consists of 25 individual parcels, each fermented separately in its own vat to preserve the distinct identity of each terroir. Justin Onclin has since retired and now serves as brand ambassador in Belgium. Today, I run the estate alongside Dutch businessman and majority shareholder, Hindrik Gommer.

All the vineyards lie on the celebrated Terrace No. 3 (T3) – the same geological platform as the vineyards of Lafite and Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac. The terrace, in geological terms, is a deep seam of Garonne gravel deposited roughly two million years ago. Topsoil and subsoil composition varies considerably from parcel to parcel, which is precisely why we ferment each one separately, to capture the distinct profile of each plot. On a map, our holdings resemble those of a Burgundian domaine: many small parcels scattered across the Moulis appellation. 

Marpaout is a new Merlot from the Left Bank, which has a soil rich in gravel and limestone, whereas the Right Bank, where most of the finest Merlot is made, is rich in clay. What is the composition of your vineyards?

The Marpaout parcel occupies what is sometimes called the “rooftop” of Terrace No. 3: at 25 meters above sea level, it occupies one of the highest positions in the area. The Marpaout vineyard was replanted in 2000 with Merlot, a variety that proved an ideal match for the terroir. With 4.5 meters depth, the parcel conceals a thick layer of blue clay, which gives the vines access to moisture during the hot summer months – critical for Merlot, a variety sensitive to water stress. Above that lies a layer of brownish clay, a small layer of grey sand with small river stones, and more than three meters of deep gravel and river stones, threaded throughout with a high concentration of oxidized iron – in French, “crasse de fer”. This iron plays a key role in photosynthesis, contributing to tannin quality and ripeness, as well as lending the wine its distinctive minerality.

Until recently, terroir specialists believed that the combination of blue clay and oxidized iron was unique to a small corner of the Pomerol plateau, but we now know that the rooftop of the Médoc’s Terrace No. 3 shares similar parameters, with a slightly higher concentration of iron. Marpaout also benefits from a cool microclimate, moderated by the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde Estuary. 

 

How was this small parcel of 1.7 hectares brought to your attention?

Hubert de Boüard and his team of oenologists have been working with Branas since 2012, before I joined the estate. Hubert and Philippe Nunes are both passionate winemakers and excellent sparring partners, helping us optimize decisions in the vineyard and cellar. With nearly 45 vintages at Château Angélus behind him, Hubert is an invaluable authority on Merlot.

In 2018, I was walking the vineyards with Hubert to discuss the optimal picking window for each parcel and variety (we grow Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot). In the Marpaout vineyard, as he tasted the berries, Hubert told me that this Merlot was from another planet. At the time, I was still bound by the long tradition of blending, and it took time to appreciate that single-vineyard wines can also offer a true and maybe purer expression of a place.

Four years later, in a moment of conviction, I selected four barrels from the Marpaout vineyard. After 12 months in French oak, I decided to age the wine for a further 12 months in an Italian amphora, a choice that proved transformative. The amphora’s gentle stirring together with its micro-oxygenation fully integrated the oak tannins with those of the fruit, achieving something that barrel ageing alone could not.

The reception from critics and fellow winemakers has been beyond my wildest dreams.

 

There are many Bordeaux wineries owned by non-French. Did you find any resistance to being a foreigner and a newcomer?

Bordeaux has a long and international history, with many of its oldest estates developed and owned by Dutch, German, Scottish, Irish, and English families. That heritage dates back to the 17^th century,  when, as it happens, my own ancestors were among the Dutch engineers who drained much of the Médoc – and it means that both foreigners and newcomers are well received here.

 

Early on some significant wine collectors and masters recognized the quality of Marpaout. Tell me of some of their remarks.

 

One early champion was Oliver Dixon, Fine Wine Director of MMI and Emirates. He  organized a dinner for ten private clients around the theme, “The Best Merlots in the World”. Having been poured alongside Masseto and Petrus, there was no question that Marpaout held its own among these greats.

Xavier Thuizat (former Head Sommelier at Hôtel de Crillon, Best Sommelier of France 2022, MOF 2022, Michelin Guide Sommelier Award 2024), was equally taken with the wine, writing that “We believe in the potential of Marpaout to become the next icon wine from Bordeaux.” 

It is these comments that reaffirm my conviction in the potential of this plot.

 

You seem to have sold most of your 2022 without the buyers even tasting wine. How did you achieve that and how can you ration out such a small supply of 900 bottles and 50 magnums?

 

Not all buyers purchased blind. A group of private collectors in Dubai tasted the wine before purchasing, as did a group of private collectors in Hong Kong. The majority of our other customers have placed their trust in their wine importer or distributor, and all exclusive importers had tasted Marpaout before committing to offering it to their clients. In smaller markets such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, allocations are as few as 24 bottles. Larger markets such as China and the USA have received allocations of 200 bottles.

 

 

Why did you not make a 2023 vintage?

In 2023, we lost more than half of our Merlot crop to the most severe mildew pressure in a century, compounded by a hailstorm. We decided not to produce Marpaout that year. There will definitely be a 2025. The 2024 is currently ageing in amphora, and we will make a decision at the end of the year as to whether we will release Marpaout.

 

Petrus makes 30,000 bottles on average per year, and L’Église-Clinet makes about 18,000. Won’t you have to increase production at least double or triple to make it profitable, and how much can you actually get from such a small parcel?

For now, we are content with the current volume – 900 bottles and 50 magnums. For the moment we do not plan to increase the production, we select the best barrels from the block. 

 

Where did you sell most of the 2022 wines––restaurants, wine stores, individuals––and in what countries?

We have sold Marpaout to a mix of private clients, leading restaurants and hotels, and premium retailers – across the China, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, UAE, UK.

 

How did you come up with a price for the 2022s?

Following comparative tastings against its peers and conversations with several London-based wine merchants, we settled on a release price of €1,500 per bottle ex-VAT. This is a price we intend to hold across future vintages. Marpaout is not offered en primeur. Instead, it is released after bottling to a carefully selected group of fine wine importers and distributors. Private clients may join an allocation list.

 

 

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