Continuity at Haut-Bailly as Wilmer’s son takes over

Chris Wilmers has taken charge of Château Haut-Bailly and Le Pape following the death of his father ‘Bob’ last year.

The much admired American financier and owner of the two Bordeaux estates Robert ‘Bob’ Wilmers died in December last year aged 83.

His son Chris, a board member since 1998, has taken over fully now and promised to “write a new chapter” in the history of the Pessac estate that will “match the ambitions expressed by my father.”

Chris will continue to work alongside Véronique Sanders and a statement from the château said they were, “committed to continuing Bob’s work in the same spirit and energy as in the past 20 years.”

Chris is an Ecology professor at the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California in Santa Cruz and he has published numerous papers on subjects such as wildlife ecology and climate change.

His dissertation when he graduated from UC Berkeley was the now quite well-known study regarding the positive impact the reintroduction of wolves had on the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park.

He was named Conservationist of the Year by the Santa Cruz Land Trust in 2014.

He is married with two sons.