The team
United by a common goal: excellence!
Owner of several estates in France and abroad, such as Château Malescasse in the Haut-Médoc, Quinta Da Côrte in the Douro Valley and Tenuta Casenuove in Tuscany, Philippe Austruy acquired the Commanderie de Peyrassol in 2001, determined to restore its century-old reputation.
Today the goal has been achieved: the estate, managed by Philippe Austruy’s nephew, Alban Cacaret, is one of the jewels of Provence. To supervise the operations, he has surrounded himself with the best experts and a competent team.
Philippe Austruy
Owner
+
The son of doctor parents, Philippe Austruy has built his career in the healthcare sector and has become a committed player. His market-leading companies have made a significant contribution to restructuring the private healthcare offering. Specialised in dependency care for all ages in life, he has built an enduring family group based on strong values of respect and better living.
Passionate about wine and dreaming of one day having his own estate, he acquired La Commanderie de Peyrassol at the age of 50. A great Côtes de Provence estate in need of total refurbishment. Later, having restored it to its former glory, he decided to add a wine centre: other properties followed and because this born entrepreneur does not like ready-made solutions, he wisely chose reputable albeit sleepy estates.
Alban Cacaret
Manager of La Commanderie de Peyrassol and the Château Peyrassol vineyard
+
After graduating as a pharmacist, Alban Cacaret, Philippe Austruy’s nephew, radically changed direction. He arrived at the estate in 2002, where a vast building site awaited him: everything had to be rebuilt, from the buildings to the vineyards! At the same time as the renovation work, he obtained a baccalaureate in viticulture-oenology to learn the basics of the trade. He learned the rest over the years, with the help of the vineyard team. For the past 10 years, he has been running La Commanderie de Peyrassol, which he knows by heart, with method and tact.
The wine
The excellence of Peyrassol’s wines is not only a question of climate, geographical exposure, and soil: the know-how of man is also of paramount importance.
Fouad Essoualeh
Technical Manager
+
After studying factory management, Fouad Essoualeh changed his career. He went back to what he had always known: the vine. His parents were agricultural workers in the Var region. He spent most of his career as a production manager at Château Verez, in Vidauban, a beautiful property owned by the Rosinoer family (Clarins). He arrived in mid-April 2018 at La Commanderie de Peyrassol and applied his methods to his team: “participative” management. Direct, educational for seasonal workers, very involved in his task, he has already made his mark on the estate’s 850 hectares and the numerous vineyard plots. His credo is to adapt and practice “intelligent responsibility”.
Fabien Burani
Winery Technical Director
+
As the son and grandson of a winegrower in Provence, Fabien already knew what his profession would be from an early age. The adventure began as soon as he finished his studies, as he very quickly took on the role of cellar manager. After 14 years of experience, he is now in charge of all Peyrassol wines thanks to his know-how and high standards. Alongside two oenologists, Pierre Guérin and Derenoncourt, he works on the production of white, rosé and red wines, with the greatest respect for quality.
Pierre Guérin
Rosé and White Wine Oenologist
+
To supervise the preparation and blending of rosé and white wines, Peyrassol has enlisted the help of Pierre Guérin. An expert in biodynamics, this oenologist from the Cabinet d’Agronomie Provençale is one of the great specialists in wines and terroirs in the Var Region.
Stéphane Derenoncourt
Red Wine Oenologist
+
Since 2013, Peyrassol has entrusted the development of its red wines to Derenoncourt Consultants. In close collaboration with all the players on the estate, his mission is to develop and optimise working methods to obtain the best from the different red terroirs. The aim? To make the vineyard the undisputed benchmark in Provence.