Etienne Besancenot becomes chairman of the small Cru Boutenac appellation

fter David Latham suddenly passed away last October, winegrowers in Cru Boutenac met on April 8, “with much emotion” to elect their new chairman, says a press release. Winegrower and lawyer Jean-Paul Serres (Château Ste Lucie d’Aussou) and Jean-Marc Reulet (Château Hauterive le Haut) served as temporary chairmen in the interim.

By a unanimous vote, the director of Château de Caraguilhes, Etienne Besancenot, was elected as chairman. The 45-year-old agricultural engineer manages the property owned by Pierre Gabison since 2007, after making wine in Alsace and South America. Seventy hectares out of the property’s 110 ha under vine are classified as Boutenac, making Château de Caraguilhes a major producer in the diminutive Corbières appellation which covers a total 220 ha under vine and produces 6,500 hl annually.

After a renewal of the members of the board, two new vice-presidents were appointed: Jeanne Fabre of Château de Luc Famille Fabre (chair of Millésime Bio) and Emma Bertrand representing Domaine de Villemajou owned by her father Gérard Bertrand.

2025 marks the twentieth anniversary of an appellation first recognised as a complementary designation of the Corbières, then as the stand-alone appellation AOP Boutenac by the European Union in 2024.