A Bordeaux & Argentina Wine Dinner

  Château Malartic-Lagraviere  & Bodega DiamAndes

Having enjoyed an excellent reputation from the beginning of the nineteenth century, Château Malartic-Lagravière is one of only six properties to be classified in both red and white wines in the 1953 Graves classification. Since its creation in the 18th century, only four families have owned Malartic. The taste for adventure still flows in the veins of the men and women who steer its destiny.

The Brussels couple Alfred-Alexandre and Michèle Bonnie fell in love with the estate and purchased it in 1997. They quickly began an entire facelift, with the idea of restoring the sleeping beauty to its former glory. They completely overhauled the estate, building a new winery and restoring the château. The couple also bought over former plots of vines, giving the vineyard its current dimension. In 1998, the new winery received its first harvest. The building, designed by the architect Bernard Mazières, was built on Malartic’s hillside to enable the transport of the grapes by gravity. At that time, this was a pioneering, highly innovative approach.
“La Minerve”, Admiral Malartic’s ship, became the symbol of the property, and still appears on the wine labels today.

Since their arrival at Château Malartic-Lagravière, a Grand Cru Classé in Léognan, the Bonnie family has been working with inspiration to sublimate their wines. They commit every day with their teams to manifest their overarching agroecological vision, with measured human intervention. Respectful of the living world, horse plowing cares for the soil, and green cover is maintained through pastoralism. Renowned since decades as one of the jewels of the Bordeaux region, the estate is producing finest red and white Classified Growth wines, with depth, precision, balance and great elegance.

The Bodega DiamAndes is a single estate nestled in the foothills of the Andes Mountain, at an altitude of 1,100 meters. The vineyard is located in the heart of the Uco valley, one of the best quality vineyard areas in Mendoza, Argentina. Bodega DiamAndes has gained international recognition across the world, and is increasingly appreciated for its excellent quality and value for money. The fabulous terroir and the ideal climate, combined with expertise and experience, has resulted in the outstandingly long-living wines.

In 2005, the Bonnie family, owner of the renowned Château Malartic-Lagraviere (Grand Cru Classe de Graves) and of the Château Gazin Rocquencourt (Pessac-Léognan), decided to leave France in search for new horizons in the world of wine. It all began with the acquisition, along with their partners, of a single 130-hectares (321 acres) block of land in the heart of the Uco Valley, to the south of the city of Mendoza. That is where Bodega DiamAndes was born, as a member of the prestigious Clos de los Siete group. The winery’s architectural design blends harmoniously into the stunning Andean scenery. In this context, the winemaking process has taken place under exceptional conditions since the 2007 vintage.

Véronique Bonnie

Born in 1971, Belgian, I’ve been raised in Paris (France). After a scientific bachelor’s degree, I entered the EDHEC Business School and also graduated with an MBA from the University of NOTRE-DAME (Indiana, USA) in 1993.

I then started my professional life with 4 years in the COOPERS & LYBRAND auditing (PWC group).From 1997, I then joined different international corporations as PERKIN-ELMER (US Analyticalfirm), SERONO (swiss pharmaceutical lab) and DANONE increasing my expertise in various areas such as manufacturing, finance and international management before joining the family business of VIGNOBLES MALARTIC, started by my parents in 1997. Since 2015, I’ve co-managed the 3 wineries (two of them being located in Bordeaux : Château Malartic-Lagravière (Classified Growth of Graves) and Château Gazin-Rocquencourt (Pessac-Léognan) and one in Valle de Uco,
Argentina: Bodega DiamAndes) and their 200 hectares with my brother Jean-Jacques. I have three grown children (27, 25 and 20 years old). This allows me to actively travel to the USA, one of our greatest markets, to promote our wines with our National Sales Manager based in NY.