Domaine de Sédouprat is a small family owned, vineyard set amongst the lush, rolling countryside of Gascony, 4km south of the historic market town of Eauze. It dates back to 1802 when the house was built amongst an existing agricultural culture (the ‘prat’ at the end of Sédouprat is an old French word for prairie). In the mid 20th century vines were planted and the focus became grapes for Armagnac and wine sold "en vrac" - mostly supplying the local cooperative in Eauze. Nowadays it produces high quality red, white and rosé wines, all made from grapes grown from just 6ha of the estate.

Philosophy

Nick was trained in New Zealand, where he studied Oenology and Viticulture. He also had the wonderful opportunity to get some work experience at Cloudy Bay, working under the legendary James Healy (now at Dog Point). After returning from New Zealand, Nick was employed for 5 years as head winemaker at Denbies Wine Estate, in Dorking, Surrey. This gave him the perfect winemaking background (especially being really up against the odds in the English climate) and the opportunity to make a wide variety of wine styles - most notably the IWC silver medal winning 1997 Noble Harvest dessert wine. In March 2003, after much searching he discovered, fell in love with and bought Domaine de Sédouprat.  His dream was to really create his own wines; quality wines with their own identity and character; wines that display both the local terroir and his own winegrowing ethos.

The Vines and Winery

The vines are grown on a clay sand mixture which provide good moisture retention during the long hot summers. They are trellised in rows running north to south, thus shading the fruit from the sun during the hottest time of day and taking advantage of the cooler morning sunrise. Most of the growing season is spent manually keeping canopy density down to encourage airflow thus preventing disease and encouraging healthy fruit. Also, when required excess fruit is removed in order to increase ripeness and flavour concentration in the grapes. The varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Colombard. This year 2ha of Sauvignon Blanc will be planted to add another wine to the range. Domaine de Sédouprat wine is made in an old agricultural building, converted and insulated to form a simple winery using only the most gentle production machinery and therefore allowing for smooth style wines that display their terroir and primary fruit characters.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2007: "Domaine de Sédouprat Les Routiers 2004 – Unusual, attractive basil aroma. Juicy, herbal palate. Savoury flavour.”