Frédéric Le Clerc

The Training The education behind Le Clerc is not framed by a school so much as by a place, a family, and a philosophy. His grandfather Marc Pagès shaped the estate’s modern identity, and Le Clerc follows that winemaking approach at the property in Bégadan, where the Gironde River and gravel terroir are central to the wines’ character. In 2005, Le Clerc joined Château La Tour de By. After Pagès’ death in 2007, he led the house, and from 2009 he was supported by his cousin Benjamin Richer de Forges. The succession reads less like a change of management than a continuation of a family hand: one generation’s choices becoming the next generation’s standards. That continuity is practical. The estate’s specialty is Médoc red wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, grown on gravel near the Gironde River. The craft is measured in balance rather than excess: fruit, structure, and elegance, with wines that can age for years yet remain enjoyable young.

The Lineage The family has owned the estate since 1965, and Pagès remains the central ancestral figure in Le Clerc’s story. His influence is explicit in the way Le Clerc works: the same insistence on quality, the same preference for precise cellar practice, the same regard for traditional technique. One bottle makes that line especially visible. Héritage Marc Pagès Médoc, an Exceptional Cuvée first elaborated in 1982 by Marc Pagès and Professor Emile Peynaud, was created to highlight the qualities of the vineyard and now serves as a tribute to Pagès. It connects a family name, an oenological partnership, and a parcel-driven ambition in a single cuvée. The presence of Benjamin Richer de Forges adds another branch to the story. Since 2009, Le Clerc’s cousin has supported him in leading the house, keeping the estate’s direction within the family circle that began its ownership in 1965.

The Table The signature work is Château La Tour de By Médoc, the estate’s Great Wine, made from the best vines of its gravelly terroir 200 meters from the Gironde River. It is described as elegant and fine, with great freshness, fruity taste, tannic structure, and the ability to age up to 20 years. That grand vin gives the clearest expression of the house style: Médoc fruit carried by structure, freshness held in tension with tannin, and a wine built for both youth and patience. Château Cailloux de By, identified as the estate’s second wine, completes the family of bottles around the central grand vin. For Le Clerc, the Managing Director’s role is therefore also a custodial one. The work links vineyard, river, gravel, grape varieties, and memory, preserving a philosophy received through Marc Pagès while keeping the Bégadan estate active in the hands of the next family generation.