Marc Delienne

At the ripe old age of 56, Marc Delienne made an incredible sea (or vine) change.

He left his life in Paris working in IT & banking and moved himself to Beaujolais. In 2015 he purchased Château de l’Abbaye Saint Laurent d’Arpayé in the centre of Fleurie. Mentored by the likes of Alain Graillot and Eloi Dürrbach at Domaine Trévallon in Provence, he came to town with the fiery passion of a man many years his junior.

A conversion of his 40-80-year-old vines to organic farming was immediate. A vat room was built in short order. Gorgeous, elegant wines made with meticulous attention to detail emerged in what seemed like no time at all.

Now entering his sixth decade on this planet, Marc thinks of himself as a young winemaker, and well he might. His wines have the edginess and energy that you would associate with the finest vanguard producers in the French wine community today.