Frédéric Tach

The Training In 1988, Tach joined Paul Tach in wine production at the estate in Saint-Pierre-de-Mons, a commune within the Graves appellation of the Bordeaux wine region. That practical beginning matters to the way the domaine is read today: not as a résumé assembled across houses, but as a son entering the daily rhythm of a family property already shaped by generations. Since 1993, he has led Château Les Clauzots. The role places him at the head of an estate whose wines belong to Graves, where white blends are based on Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris, and red blends are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The vineyard is certified High Environmental Value, a credential that fits the estate’s emphasis on vineyard work, yield control and precision in the cellar. For the whites, the Tach family focuses on careful vineyard work, low yields and precise vinification to bring together Sauvignon Blanc freshness and aromatics with the structure and depth of Sémillon.

The Lineage The Tach family settled at Les Clauzots in the early 1900s, first raising cattle, growing cereals and planting the first white grape varieties. Marceau Tach produced the estate’s first wine in 1920, giving the family story a clear first vintage to gather around. In 1960, the family abandoned mixed farming and planted its first red grape varieties. That turn did not erase the earlier white-wine thread; it widened the language of the property within Graves, allowing red blends to stand alongside the estate’s long connection to white varieties. Under Frédéric Tach, the domaine is presented as particularly strong in Graves white wine, with an emphasis on terroir focus, craftsmanship and a clear quality ambition. The inheritance is therefore both agricultural and technical: land first worked as a farm, then shaped into a wine estate, then carried forward through cellar decisions that keep the family name attached to place.

The Table The Graves Blanc is made with 24 hours of cold skin maceration before pressing, then aged 6 to 8 months on fine lees. The method gives a concrete view of the house style: aromatics drawn early, texture built slowly, and the Sauvignon Blanc–Sémillon relationship treated as a matter of balance rather than volume. The Graves Rouge follows its own path, using cold pre-fermentation maceration to extract aromas. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels and stainless steel vats, followed by 16 to 18 months of aging in new and one-wine barrels. Cuvée Maxime marks the selective end of the range. Made only in the best vintages and in very small quantities, it carries the idea of family judgment: not every year, not much of it, and only when the vintage merits the name.