A Glass Half-Full: Château du Tertre, 2010 – 2022
Pierre Mitchell reined in, bringing his heavy steed to a stop at the end of a patch of grassy scrubland. He paused in the saddle for a few moments, taking advantage of his elevated position to survey the little patch of Bordeaux he hoped to purchase, before dismounting in a singular sinewy and fluid movement.
Born in Ireland, Pierre’s father Jean, a Jacobite esquire, had left the family home for France in 1691, following the defeat of James II (1633 – 1701). Pierre was barely four years old at the time, and remained in Ireland. As a teenager, however, he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he was now a naturalised French citizen. And a successful one at that.
Pierre had first established himself as a barrel maker, a wise move in a city which had an endless thirst for this product, at the time used not just for the fermentation and maturation of wine, but also for long-term storage and transportation. Barrels of wine left the city on cargo ships from the port near where he stood, largely bound for England and the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic, principally Holland of course. The barrels rarely came back. In terms of generating wealth Pierre regarded the manufacture of barrels second only to printing his own money.
And now, in 1723, aged 37 years, Pierre was on the cusp of launching a new venture, here on this scrubland, a short distance from the port and its great piles of barrels.
Pierre had spotted an unmet demand and, with the support of the French government, his intent was that he would be the one to meet that demand. And, with any luck, make even more money than he was doing with his barrels.
Pierre was going to supply the winemakers of Bordeaux with a product they needed, even if they did not all yet realise it.
