Cazes leaves Pichon-Lalande and UGC

Sylvie Cazes, co-owner of Château Lynch-Bages and president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, is stepping down as director of Pauillac second growth Château Pichon-Lalande.

“I was very happy to work at Pichon for the last two years, it was a wonderful experience, but I’m leaving to concentrate on political projects and projects with my immediate family,” Cazes told the drinks business.

She refused to divulge further details of her personal projects, but confirmed that they will be wine related but different to anything she’s worked on before.

“I’ll tell you about them later, it’s too early to say right now, otherwise people will start to talk,” she told db.

Leaving Pichon-Lalande on 31 December, Cazes will also step down from her role as president of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) at the same time.

According to the association’s laws, the president of the UGC must officially represent a member château.

Cazes told db that she wasn’t disappointed to leave the UGC: “It was all part of the plan to step down from the UCG at the same time as Pichon. It was a great experience but it’s time to move on,” she said.

Château Pichon-Lalande is owned by the Louis Roederer Group, which bought the property in 2006 from May-Elaine de Lancquesaing.

Cazes was taken on as director of the estate in February 2011.

Louis Roederer Group director Frédéric Rouzaud sent out a letter this week to the property’s key clients explaining that Cazes would be leaving to pursue other commitments in Bordeaux.

“We want to express our gratitude to her for the work she has accomplished, and the dynamism that she has brought to the estate. We extend our warmest wishes for success in her future projects,” Rouzaud said.

Artistic impression of the Bordeaux Wine Culture Centre

Cazes remains on the advisory board for Château Lynch-Bages, and works as a councillor in the Bordeaux local government, where she is president of the Bordeaux Wine Culture Centre, due to open in 2014.

The £50 million project promises to create 750 jobs and inject £30m annually into the local economy.

“The project is going great. We’ve just signed up a number of producers and merchants to sponsor it,” Cazes told db.

“The aim of the project is to attract tourists from around the world and to tell the story of the great wine producing countries of the world. It won’t just be about Bordeaux,” she added.

New heads for both Pichon-Lalande and the UGC have yet to be announced.

Cazes, who has three grown up children, also owns Bordeaux Michelin-starred restaurant Le Chapon Fin and luxury wine tourism agency Bordeaux Saveurs.