‘Cuvée du Chat’ label designer dies

French political cartoonist and wine label designer for the Lapierre family, “Siné”, has died at the age of 87.

Maurice Sinet, better known by his moniker “Siné”, was a well known French cartoonist who was a long-standing columnist at Charlie Hebdo until his sacking in 2008 after being accused of anti-semitism.

His work is perhaps best known to wine drinkers from the labels of some of the wines from the Lapierre stable.

He was a friend of Marcel and Marie Lapierre in Beaujolais and “La Cuvée du Chat” from Marie’s property, Château Cambon, is perhaps his best known work for them.

Cats were something of a motif for Siné. An intensely and occasionally vicious satirist who was strongly anti-establishment, his series of cat drawings – each one with a pun – helped him find initial fame and are a considerably more gentle and humourous part of his portfolio