Tuesday, 30 June 2026 was the last working day for Daniel, our vineyard manager. Remarkably, he’s been at Château Bauduc for over forty years and of course he’s been with us since our first harvest in 1999. We said our goodbyes this morning (below).

2025 was his final harvest and when people talk of Bordeaux 2025 being another in the series of excellent vintages that end in five or indeed zero, it is extraordinary to think that Daniel was here at the very start of that sequence in 1985 (1980 not having been a good year).

We celebrated his last day with a fine lunch in our garden with his partner Christine, a few Quinneys and some of his closest colleagues. We kicked off with our Crémant de Bordeaux 2021, and it’s appropriate that our photo at the top of the page is of Daniel with the baskets of grapes for that wine. It’s also timely that Victoria Moore described our 2021 as ‘excellent’ in her review in The Telegraph last weekend of ‘the best (and worst) crémants of the summer’.

Victoria wrote, “Note that if you’re willing to spend more than £15, then Château Bauduc Crémant de Bordeaux 2021 (Château Bauduc, £16.65 in a case of six, though if you get on the mailing list you’ll be offered regular discounts) is excellent.”

It’s fitting too that we should put together a photo journal of Daniel’s (close on) 27 years with us. This started out as a recently compiled collection of pictures for a physical photo album which we gave him as a retirement present. We all laughed at some of the photos in the book after lunch. He loved it.

We’ve had to split the photo journal into two to do him justice. The second part will be published next week.

If you have any questions or comments, please email Georgie, Angela and Gavin by clicking this link, or simply reply to this email. Georgie’s at home holding the fort so we’re well covered.

All the best

Gavin & Angela Quinney

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Daniel’s leaving lunch, 30 June

A gathering of Quinneys and old colleagues of Daniel for his last day lunch.

Beef from ‘the man’, our local butcher Monsieur Salinier at ‘Tout le Monde s’y retrouve’. A reverse sear on the vines for a few minutes only, after 2 hours in the oven at just 50˚C, as recommended by the butcher. Simple and delicious, and even Daniel is convinced.

The team for the lunch included Nicolas, right, who joined us in mid-May to replace Daniel. He and Nelly (opposite him) will share responsibility for the vineyard and winery. Meanwhile, Daniel was chuffed with his photo album.

Daniel – a photo journal, part one

When we moved to Château Bauduc from London in late August 1999 with Georgie, 4, and Sophie, 2, Daniel was already living here. He and Christine and their beloved alsatian, Giga, had an apartment next to the winery. Nelly, on the left, started working for us as a trainee for the 1999 harvest. We’ve kept hold of her ever since.

Benoit, on the right, was the winemaker who had joined the year before. He was a nice guy and he stayed with us for a few years. We did though, have to part with Jackie, in the hat, after not too long, while Serge left in 2000.

Giga was very good with children, although she could be quite frightening for unwanted visitors.

Stéphane Defraine, left, who owns and runs Château de Fontenille nearby, had been the onsite manager at Bauduc in the 80s and 90s, but he had departed a year or so before we stumbled upon the château. It was Stéphane who had employed Daniel in 1985, after placing an ad in the Sud-Ouest paper. On the right is Daniel with Christine, and Benoit and his wife Corinne, at our ‘Blue Is the Colour’ party in June 2000.

Here was Daniel in his green zipper jumpsuit, which was de rigeur for him and many others who worked in vineyards at the time. He was quite proud of the fact that he kept ripping the sleeve by the armpit.

Daniel usually made sure I performed the important roles.

He was patient with visiting school children, even if the classroom scissors were ill-designed for cutting bunches of grapes.

Within a couple of years, we had a new team: Samira is next to Daniel and Francois, left, and Freddo, right.

Nelly with the first of her two girls, with her husband Philippe, centre, who also came to work here for a couple of years. (Nelly and Fifi, as she calls him, came to the lunch.)

Our 2002 harvest team. ‘Big team’ plus ‘small crop’ wasn’t what the accountant asked for.

Amazingly, I don’t think Daniel and I have ever had a cross word. Disagreements, yes, but no harsh words in anger. Perhaps it’s because Daniel has steadfastly refused to learn any English. (Or if he has, he’s kept it very quiet.)

Daniel just gets on with it rather than being in the limelight. (That’s him behind the leaves in the row, on the right.)

That’s not to say he doesn’t like to be at the centre of things when the occasion demands.

At harvest parties, when it was all over, I would prepare medals for the prize winners with tricolore ribbons. Daniel would, of course, embrace all the winners.

Nelly, Philippe, Daniel, Benoit and Samira. The Stelvin screwcaps had become fashionable, though this couldn’t be said for deeply coloured rosé or, in our case, a ‘clairet’.

Daniel with Emmanuel, who worked with us for a few years. Metal box pallets would soon completely replace the wooden ones, incidentally.

Hot work. Daniel working with Philippe, Nelly’s husband.

At the end of the 2003 harvest, both Angela and Nelly were expecting. Crikey, we had a lot of staff then.

Soon after our son Tom was born in October, we were clearing the land for what would become the crémant vineyard.

We planted the Sémillon vines there in 2004.

Nelly was soon back at work, helping Daniel to pack a selection of wines in wooden cases.

Daniel in a parcel of young Sauvignon Blanc vines.

With some handsome Merlot bunches.

We’ve hosted precious few tastings in England, but Daniel did accompany us to those that we held in 2005. He looked smart in his Château Bauduc apron with a shirt and tie.

He’s probably more at home when he’s closer to the grapes. Though possibly not when Georgie’s class were visiting.

Fair play to the teachers for bringing the schoolchildren to our vineyard though.

Less chaotic with fewer people and all adults. I suspect we arranged the bunches of grapes for this pic.

The harvest machine, left. Right – Daniel, Samira and Nelly, with our friends Mike and Liz, helping to stuff our newsletter into envelopes with order forms and our covering letter. This was actually La Gazette number 17, entitled ‘As good as it gets’, referring to the 2005 vintage.

With a young fellow called Sebastian, all kitted out with battery powered secateurs for the winter pruning.

Trainee Jonathan with Patrick, a cellar master at a leading château who came for a season to learn English.

Lord knows how many vines Daniel and Nelly have pruned over the years.

Driving lesson for Bugs, who was born in 2001.

With Seb, our assistant Monique, Samira and Nelly.

Steve Blais is a terrific oenologist who advised us from 2006, before he moved to the USA a decade or so later.

Alex Hall worked with us for a year and met Emma when she came to stay with her dad in our farmhouse.

With Monique at Alex and Emma’s wedding reception at the château in 2007.

Summer 2007, with Nelly.

Nelly, Seb, Jonathan and Hafid.

From left to right: Samira, Ange with Tom, Monique, Mozitz, Nelly, Daniel, Guy, Seb and Hafid. Moritz Bak worked as a trainee for the harvest and later went on to set up his own winery in the south of France called Res Fortes.

Autumn fertiliser.

Daniel with our good friend Ronan Sayburn, who’s stayed with us many times. We first met Ronan when he was the head sommelier at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

With the team from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in our farmhouse, including two of their head sommeliers, Jean-Marie Pratt and, later, Jan Konetski. Clare Smyth, the chef stayed too, right. (Clare would later open her own restaurant in London which would also achieve three Michelin stars.) We made a special red for them called Les Trois Étoiles from 2003, and this morphed into Les Trois Hectares rouge. At this tasting back in 2008, we tasted the young 2006 – and this was the wine we had at Daniel’s leaving lunch, from one of the last magnums.

With Jacques Thienpont at Le Pin in Pomerol.

Daniel helped us replant much of the vineyard.

With Hafid and a chap from the nursery from whom we bought the young vines.

Planting young Sauvignon Blanc behind the winery or ‘chai’ (pronounced like ‘chez’ or ‘shay’). Late May 2008. The year before we’d planted a big parcel nearer to the château. Daniel’s names for these blocks have always been ‘Sauvignon chai’ and ‘Sauvignon château’. We should have come up with something more original before the names stuck.

And later, some posts.

This image might mislead you into thinking that Daniel is comfortable with computers and information technology.

With Tom Quinney and Billy Gilbey. The Gilbeys have been regular visitors to our farmhouse, especially when the children were younger.

This is Billy and Tom last summer. And Billy’s dad, Tom (who is our Tom’s godfather), when he had less hair many years ago, looking after the vine trellis wth Daniel.

Daniel, by now, had taken over the wine making responsibilities with Nelly.

A little blending.

We’d virtually rebuilt the barrel cellar when we first arrived, some years before.

We’d been hit by hail in June 2003, but nothing like the double whammy of May 2009.

The Merlot by the château after the first hailstorm, 13 May 2009.

Loosely translated as ‘this looks a bit f*cked’.

The second hailstorm was on 25 May 2009.

This is the look of a vineyard manager who’s just had his crop taken out by the elements.

This is the look of a vineyard manager who’s been told that we should take out a temporary lease on another vineyard quite far away to make up for the hideous shortfall in the crop. What could possibly go wrong?

Pascal, on the left, was a vigneron who leased us some parcels of white vines. Daniel, Frédéric (a grower in Créon who was helping us out), Nelly and Papi ready with the tractors and harvest trailers.

Daniel surveys our burnt out Massey Ferguson after it had caught fire carrying a heavy load of grapes back from Pascal’s vineyard to Bauduc.

Bugs and Angela harvesting white grapes at Bauduc, along with our nephew Freddie’s mates who’d come for his 21st birthday party.

What with the hail and all the young vines, it was a small harvest. Still, our white was later picked out by Jancis Robinson as a Wine of the Week. “For 10 years this has been the house wine at Gordon Ramsay. 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, much of the fruit from a leased vineyards because the Quinneys lost 80% of their own grapes in two hailstorms in May 2009. Crystal clear piercing nose. Attractive smokiness and good palate weight. Just a tiny hint of the oiliness of some white Graves (and much cheaper). I would chill this quite heavily. Excellent value. 16.5/20”

2009 was to be heralded as one of the great Bordeaux vintages. Only for us, it was a very small one.

And then came the excellent 2010 vintage. Fortunately for us, no gremlins.

It was a very dry and warm vintage.

Cleaning out the stainless steel vats with Tom and Bugs.

We had Hugo McMullen as a trainee staying for the harvest. He went on to work for Goedhuis wine merchants, and he’s still there, 15 years later.

Work and family seems to be consistently intertwined.

We celebrated Daniel’s 25 years at Bauduc in 2010.

The 25-year dinner at our local restaurant in Créon.

Then it was back to spreading fertiliser for Daniel.

Longstanding customers will remember that we had a ‘sponsor a barrel’ offer for our 2010 red. That’s because the wine showed real potential, and at the same time we’d dropped out of the cycle of having enough quality barrels after the weaker 2008 vintage and the hail-hit 2009. So we needed to buy a stash of new French oak barrels. The offer ended up being extremely popular. We drank a magnum of Les Trois Hectares 2010 at Daniel’s leaving lunch, and it was on fine form.

We’ve always picked the white grapes for the Crémant by hand as that’s a legal requirement, but to be fair, Daniel’s always preferred to harvest the rest by machine if the quality of the fruit is sound. It’s quicker, easier, at the right time of day (early), just as good and a fraction of the price. And no teams of people to organise.

This was the 2011 vintage.

Our nephew Freddie worked with us for about six months. Before he went on to get a proper job.

Ange, Tom and Bugs on the sorting table.

Chilling down the Merlot grapes with ‘dry ice’ for a pre-fermentation cold soak. Just one of the many techniques that Daniel thought were largely a waste of time and money. He was often right, but hey…

Thanks for reading this far. Part two will follow.

Onwards and upwards.