Our Story
We lived a fairly international life before settling here in the Médoc region. We spent 23 years on the East Coast of the United States, where we initially moved for work. After more than two decades in America, we lived near Zurich in Switzerland for three years, then spent six years in Spain near Madrid. When it came time to return to France in 2021, we chose the Bordeaux region because it offered easy connections to Paris and London, where Jacques still has to travel from time to time for work, and we loved being so close to the Atlantic beaches. Although neither of us is originally from this region, we quickly fell in love with the Médoc and its wine culture.
Our Little Vineyard
When we were house hunting in the Bordeaux area, we fell instantly in love with Château Papounan. A major deciding factor was the 0.2 hectare vineyard that came with the property - we couldn't resist the opportunity to try our hand at winemaking. We decided to continue the bed and breakfast activity that the previous owners had developed, and it's been a wonderful way to share our new home with travelers from around the world. We closed on the house on October 3rd, 2022, and welcomed our first guests just three months later for New Year's Eve on December 31st. Since then, we've been learning the rhythm of both hospitality and viticulture, from winter pruning through the September harvest, when our grapes join those of the local cooperative to produce the "Marquis de Saint-Estèphe."
Akyra & Amarok
We share our home with two wonderful dogs who each have very distinct personalities. Akyra is our 6-year-old Patou (Pyrenees Mountain Dog), and she's an absolute delight - gentle, kind, and wonderfully cuddly. Her only "flaw," if you can call it that, is her instinct to bark and let people know they should move along - it's simply in her DNA as a breed that traditionally protects sheep from wolves in the mountains.
