Finding Fontenil: Château Fontenil, 1990 – 2024
The knock on the door had come at exactly on the hour, as expected. This was not the first time this agent immobilier had visited, and Madame Godrie had known he would be on time. He always was.
She shuffled through the hallway and opened the door, before ushering her visitors inside. The agent was accompanied by a young couple this time, both professionals working in wine, not really a surprise in this corner of the world. They were surely only in their thirties. She quietly sighed. Such youth! Madame Godrie could not even remember those days, they were so long ago.
The agent immobilier showed them around the house, while she followed dutifully behind. It was clear the young couple adored the old residence, despite its rather derelict state, which she knew they had not failed to notice. She was not so sure how they felt about the 7 hectares of vines though; listening in she learnt they were already in charge of a vineyard in Pomerol, and they had also taken over the running of the Labo Chevrier. So old Chevrier had finally retired! Madame Godrie remembered him starting up, many years ago now. All the vignerons had been accustomed to taking their samples to the pharmacist in Lugon for analysis, but they had soon come around to using the new wine laboratory in Libourne. Before long, Chevrier had been swamped with work.
“These young guns will have their work cut out, filling those shoes,” she had chuckled to herself.
She therefore doubted that they would be interested in her rather run-down parcel of vines, in the Bordeaux backwater of Fronsac. But their reaction to the house had been positive. Might she finally have a buyer on her hands?
