Buitenlands nieuws: Bordeaux glitterati unveil stunning wine cellars

Construction cranes are as ubiquitous as wine critics in Bordeaux's prized vineyards as leading chateaux brand their estates by transforming their cellars into architectural show pieces.

In the case of Chateau Clerc Milon, located across the road from the illustrious vineyards of Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Lafite Rothschild, the wine scored with critics but it sorely needed an identity with consumers.

It lacked a proper chateau, the onsite vat room was rudimentary and the cellar was located three kilometers away in the lackluster village of Pauillac.

"Clerc Milon was nothing to be seen, nothing to look at," said Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, owner of both Mouton and Clerc Milon, at the unveiling Monday of the new 3,582-square-meter winery, which included a spectacular firework display set to Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola."

"It will give Clerc Milon an aura, a prestige that the wine already had. Today, it is something to look at," she told 300 guests, including many from the beau monde of Paris such as former first lady Bernadette Chirac, ex-minister Bernard Kouchner and U.S. filmmaker and winemaker Francis Ford Coppola.

Rising from a crest called Mousset, the clean lines take the form of a temple. A vast deck looks out over Mouton and Lafite. Inside, scenographer Richard Peduzzi has created an elegant and vibrant space. Even the bottle has had a face-lift.

"It's radically different packaging," said Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy of the new label that sports a sketch of the winery by Peduzzi, famous for his theatrical design. Across the Gironde estuary bisecting Bordeaux's wine region, similar changes are afoot.

At first growth Chateau Cheval Blanc, director Pierre Lurton unveiled the stunning "cellar under the hill," designed by Christian de Portzamparc.

"It's ecological, it's chic, it's sober, no bling, bling. It's Cheval Blanc," said Lurton.

Eighty-meter-long white curves of concrete extend from the original 19th century edifice to support a roof garden, as if, according to de Portzamparc, "the ground rises, carried by cement sails, toward the light and the sky."

Inside, Italian, custom-designed curved cement vats line a vast, airy space of diffused natural lighting.

The colors are a muted palette of stone. A single, perfect white orchid stem rests in a crystal vase. The atmosphere is one of modern art gallery.

"When you arrive in the cellar, it is beautiful, aesthetic," explained technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet.

The entire project was certified for high quality environmental construction, the new underground barrel room uses less energy to maintain the ideal humidity and temperature, and the "green" roof provides insulation.

Bron: The Daily Star