Vignobles Laplace & Patrick Ducournau

The estates run by the Laplace family are Chateau d’Aydie, Chapelle Lenclos, Domaine Moureou, Vignobles Laplace and Chateau Perron.


Andrew Jefford (The New France ) says about Aydie "This is one of the most immaculately and professionally run domains in the whole of France."

La Revue du Vin de France says, "The wines made here offer very beautiful harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and the firmness of the tannins."

Chateau d’Aydie and the Laplace family are widely regarded as one of the foremost quality producers of Madiran. Frédéric Laplace was recognised as one of the pioneer winemakers.  He was first to bottle Madiran wines and to sell them under his own name when the appellation was created in 1948,  when there was just 50 hectares of vineyard under production, compared to the 1650 hectares which now produce AOC Madiran wines Today Frédéric's son Pierre and his 4 children form one of the most dynamic and influential families in Madiran. This last decade has been decisive for the estate; reorganisation of the vineyard and optimisation of extracting and aging methods.  Francois is in charge of the business side; Jean-Luc is in charge of wine-making; Bernard manages the vines; and Marie presides over the office, whilst Pierre is in semi-retirement but still very much involved. When we visited they showed great hospitality and a deep pride in their endeavours.

From A.O.C. Madiran to the Vins de Pays they launched in 1995, they fit the eclectic tastes of their customers… with a complete palette of flavours.

They also run the estate of their cousin Patrick Ducournau, one of the most influential French oenologists of his generation. Patrick invented the world famous technology of micro-oxygenation. His technological knowledge and the Laplace family  know-how are key elements for the success of their wines and of the whole appellation.

Micro-oxygenation is the technique by which red wines in tank are exposed to a steady but very fine stream of oxygen bubbles. This process softens tannins and develops structure in young tank-matured reds by enhancing their exposure to oxygen during fermentation, giving it a rounded quality (the same thing happens when wine is decanted or left to breathe). The process has been widely adopted world-wide, including in NZ. It is a very precise science however and apparently it has been adopted by some winemakers without sufficient knowledge with the result the wines are over oxygenated and spoilt.

It was very inspiring to hear the winemakers talking about their vineyards. They know the characters of all the plots and their grape harvest. So at harvest they have already decided how each plot’s crop will be treated and into which cuvees it will go. This style of family operated vineyard and their intimate knowledge of the crops is what contributes to their reputation as craftsman wine makers.

On the older and the best vines Laplace reduce their crop, by green harvesting, down to 4 bunches per vine. The result is concentrated wines of great power and structure.