Ronan Laborde
‘A simple lunch of niçoise salad gives another clue that this is someone who does things differently’
HOW BORDEAUX CHATEAU owners choose to spend their spare time can be weirdly illuminating. The late Denis Dubourdieu of Château Doisy-Daëne was both a horse rider and a boatsman, spending his weekends sailing down the Atlantic coast or practising dressage, that very specific sport where the horse follows a series of prescribed movements that need total communion between horse and rider.
Pauline Vauthier at Château Ausone takes a different approach with her horse-riding, and is a (pretty much professional) show jumper, while Daniel and Florence Cathiard are (actual former professional) skiers, likely to be found in the Alps if not at Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Gérard Perse of Château Pavie prefers cycling, heading out into the hills of St-Emilion Ducium most days , while Nicolas Audebert of Châteaux Canon and Rauzan égla used to be something of a polo player , particularly when he lived in Argentina working for Cheval des Andes.
