A second Michelin star for La Grand`Vigne restaurant

Press release
February 2015
A second Michelin star for La Grand’Vigne restaurant
and chef Nicolas Masse at Les Sources de Caudalie
After being cited in 2010, a second star has been attributed by the Michelin guide to Les Sources de
Caudalie's gourmet restaurant, La Grand’Vigne. The Michelin guide thereby recognises the efforts of talented
Chef Nicolas Masse, who has been in charge of the restaurant kitchens for the past 6 years, as well as the
wait staff, headed by Guillaume Carpel, and sommelier Aurélien Farrouil.
Located in the heart of the Bordeaux wine country, on the Château Smith Haut Lafitte estate, La Grand’Vigne
features excellent regional cuisine using the finest local ingredients. Chef Masse has forged close links with
producers from the Atlantic coast to the Graves vineyards who supply top quality fish, produce, meat, etc. in
keeping with seasonal availability. Subtly combining products of the earth – including top-notch vegetables,
many of which come from the restaurant's own kitchen garden – and the finest seafood, his dishes reflect the
best of the Aquitaine region in a gastronomic voyage of discovery going from the ocean to the wine country.
Originally from Cherbourg, Nicolas Masse began his career in Normandy. He then proceeded to work in
such prestigious establishments as the Landmark in London and the Villa Belrose in the Var department that
gave him the possibility of expressing his creativity and developing his own style.
However, his discovered his true passion in Southwest France: "The Basque Country was a revelation to me",
he acknowledges. "I must thank Christian Parra and Martin Berasategui, two great chefs who instilled my
love for the cuisine of the Southwest France and shared their expertise".
After 7 years running the Rosewood restaurant at the Grand Hôtel Loreamar in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where he
earned his first Michelin-star in 2007, he went to work for Alice and Jérôme Tourbier at Les Sources de
Caudalie in 2009. "I have found this restaurant in the middle of the vines a true source of inspiration because
we're very close to the land here", he points out. "I immediately felt that I could give free reign to my
inutitions". For over 15 years, Les Sources de Caudalie have celebrated the art of living in the heart of the
Bordeaux wine country and the area's wonderful lifestyle.
The fruits of this fertile region are highlighted season after season by Chef Nicolas Masse. "I decide how to
cook something once I've seen the raw material. That is the start of everything," confides Nicolas. "I am not
into abstraction. Sometimes I have an idea for a recipe in the middle of the night, but the dish will only ever
get off the ground once I've tested it in the kitchen, pan in hand”. His ideas have led to such surprising
associations as free range eggs with smoked eel and caviar from Aquitaine with carpaccio of Bazas veal, as
well as blood sausage from the nearby Basque country, tuna from the Basque fishing port of Saint-Jean-deLuz, and Provençal tapenade… His fine cuisine featuring unusual contrasts has been richly rewarded in the
just released 2015 Michelin guide.
HOTEL – RESTAURANT LA GRAND’VIGNE – LA TABLE DU LAVOIR – ROUGE – CAUDALIE SPA – AND MUCH MORE …
*****
Chemin de Smith Haut Lafitte 33650 Bordeaux Martillac T. +33(0)5 57 83 83 83
www.sources-caudalie.com