Patrick Léon (born 1943 in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, died 2018 in Bordeaux) was a French winemaker. He worked for

Alexis Lichine Alexis Lichine (December 3, 1913 – June 1, 1989) was a Russian wine writer and entrepreneur. He played a key role in promoting varietal labelling of wine, was a masterful salesman of wine, had interests in two Bordeaux wineries, owning Chât ...

Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by N ...

, and Sacha Lichine. Léon studied

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

at Bordeaux University, where he was taught by

Émile Peynaud Émile Peynaud (29 June 1912 – 18 July 2004) was a French oenologist and researcher who has been credited with revolutionizing winemaking in the latter half of the 20th century, and has been called "the forefather of modern oenology". Biogr ...

, graduating in 1964. He started an oenology laboratory at the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture with Jacques Blouin in 1967. By 1972, he was technical director for Alexis Lichine, working at

Château Lascombes Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen ''Seconds Crus'' (Second Growths) in the origi ...

Margaux Margaux (; ) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.Lesparre-Médoc Lesparre-Médoc (; , ), commonly known as Lesparre (), is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Lesparre is on the Médoc peninsula about 80 km ...

. He joined Mouton Rothschild Group in the early 1980s, becoming technical director in 1984 and finally group managing director. He left in 2003 or 2004. He became a wine consultant, working for clients such as Château Biac in

; from 2006 at Château d'Esclans in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

for Sacha Lichine; at Opus One in Napa; as well as clients in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town and commune in the department of Cher, Centre-Val de Loire, France, overlooking the river Loire. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association, no ...

, Rioja,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He bought Château Les Trois Croix in Fronsac in 1995. He was married to Yvette and had three children. He died in 2018 aged 75. His son Bertrand became technical director at d'Esclans in 2011, and also took over the management of Les Trois Croix.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Léon, Patrick 1943 births 2018 deaths French winemakers People from Bordeaux