Pierre Gattaz
Enraciné dans le Luberon pour un challenge de passion
By Clotilde Roux
Pierre Gattaz, former chair of the French national employers’federation (MEDEF), has always loved Provence. So it seemed only natural when, in 2017, he bought a seventeenth-century stately home in the Luberon. Along with the 1603 mansion came a 70ha estate with vines, olive groves, a windmill, a lake and a formal garden. A wonderful playground for a man with a passion for French excellence. He’s devoting that passion to the estate’s wines and means to boost their renown. “A glass of wine embodies everything I love: the climate, the land, its history and geography, the vines, biodiversity, heritage, craft skills and creativity,” he says. Pierre Gattaz took 300 hours of oenology lessons when he took over the estate. He’s proud, having started from scratch just four years ago, to be able to present his tasting cellar, the new ageing cellar, an organic vineyard, nine workers and local craftsmen and five wines (reds, whites and rosés), some of which have already won medals. Alongside the wine project, he offers cultural activities like yoga, an introduction to sylvotherapy, themed wine trails, afterwork drinks and tasting concerts.