MODERNISATION AND INDEPENDENCE

SERGE ALARD MODERNISATION AND INDEPENDENCE

Serge Alard (born in 1921) reconsidered his father’s production strategy. With his daring and pioneering nature, he decided to return to the family foundations: to be an independent winemaker.

This determination had its origins during the Second World War. In 1941, he sided with General De Gaulle, abandoned the estate and fled to Casablanca to join the Free French Army. He took part in the first landing in Marseille. Demobilised in 1945, he took the same path as his ancestors, the succession of the estate. Having lived abroad for more than three years, he developed his palate and his knowledge of wine, whether Italian, Spanish or French. Drawing on this experience, his know-how and his modern mind, he worked hard to achieve his goal of creating his own wines.

His goal was delayed for a while by the catastrophic frost of 1956. With temperatures of -25°c for several days, followed by three more years of spring frosts, the vineyard was decimated for the second time. Serge, not too dismayed by this situation, actively participated in replanting his vineyard with high vines (less sensitive to the cold because it is less intense above 50-60 cm from the ground). From 1960 onwards, the estate was modernised, and the wooden vats were replaced by concrete vats, which were better adapted to the evolution of wine-making techniques. With this innovation, Serge decided to separate from the Monbazillac cooperative and set about producing a quality wine according to his own wishes and tastes.