During the 2002 Paris Agricultural Fair (Concours Général Agricole), the new owner of Château Saint-Jean d'Aumières, Paul Tori, was awarded a silver medal for his first production of Coteaux du Languedoc red wine.

Fallen under the charm of the Languedoc region, this young banker recognized the great potential of the Saint-Jean d'Aumières vineyard. The dream became a reality at the end of 2000 when he bought the 23 hectare property -situated 25 kilometers west of Montpellier, between the Cévennes mountain range and the sea- to become a vintner, thus following the footsteps of his winemaking grandfather.

With the help of Jean Natoli, one of the most talented oenologists from Southern France, 2001 will be remembered not only as Paul Tori's first year as a winegrower but as the beginning of his plan to rejuvenate an old wine-making property lost in the past. Together, they have implemented an ambitious qualitative upgrade program which introduced intensive pruning, de-leafing and " green harvesting " for reduced production yields, as well as the restructuring of the existing varietal mix and the launching of an oak-barrel aging program to achieve premium quality wines.

The next step in the rejuvenation process will be to generalize manual harvesting (already begun on 1/3 of the parcels) and integrate a sorting table to select the very best grapes, once again, in order to further improve quality.

Château Saint-Jean d'Aumières possesses some of the oldest Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons of the region. Like the neighboring Mas de Daumas Gassac which produces some very prestigious wines from similar vines, Paul Tori has the ambition to produce wines of the highest caliber.

While there remains much to do, progress today is constant. Paul Tori has begun his march toward quality to create a name and, more importantly, a following for his wines. This award is indeed an encouragement for the future.

Saint-Jean d'Aumières, july 2002