Thénac – Bergerac's de luxe wine estate

Owned by Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler, most famous for being Roman Abramovich’s best friend, Ch Thénac must be Bergerac’s best-funded wine property. I visited it the weekend before Bordeaux 2014 primeurs week (in fact the picture of a glam chai that illustrates our guide to Bordeaux 2014 coverage was taken at Ch Thénac) for reasons outlined in Friday’s article on the L’Église-Clinet vertical tasting that took place there.

We were given a tour of the property, including its enviable (and not dauntingly grandiose) château building, one of the Shvidler family’s holiday homes based on a 12th-century Benedictine priory, complete with infinity pool...