No wonder they have made a film about him. Hugh Ryman’s life contains all the essential elements for high drama: a multi-millionaire father, fine wines, family feuds and, most essential to the plot, a 16th-century chateau in France.
Ryman’s experience making wine in Provence was the inspiration for Sir Ridley Scott’s film A Good Year — based on Peter Mayle’s novel of the same name — which opened this weekend. The film, starring Russell Crowe, tells the story of a young City banker who moves to Provence, creating a successful wine business, while at the same time discovering there are more important things in life than money.
“I hadn’t heard about it until three weeks ago,” laughs Ryman, 45, standing on the pebbled, yew-lined drive in front of the Château de la Jaubertie, seven miles from Bergerac, where he spends his weekends with his biologist wife, Anne, 42, and their four children Alienor, 17, Maud, 15, Edwin, 12 and Hortense, 10. “When I was told by a friend, I thought she was joking. But I’m very flattered to hear I’m being played by Russell Crowe.”
The real story of Ryman’s life differs from the screen version, which was inspired by an interview he gave to a British newspaper 10 years ago. Scott read the story and, seeing the potential, suggested to Mayle that he write a novel loosely based on it, which in turn became the basis for the film.
It was Ryman’s father, Nick, the stationery tycoon, who came to France in 1973 after selling his business for £8m to the Burton Group. “My father had always said to my mother they would end up in France one day,” says Ryman. “He loves wine and said that he had drunk a lot of bad wine in his lifetime and wanted to do a better job.”
Ryman senior travelled across France looking for a suitable property. The Rhône was too windy, Bordeaux too flat, but then he spent a night near the medieval town of Bergerac, 60 miles east of Bordeaux, and an estate agent showed him the chateau.
“He fell in love with the place,” says his son. It is easy to see why. The chat-eau, believed to have been built by King Henry IV for his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrée, is not immense but is beautifully proportioned and very elegant.
The main three-storey building has seven bedrooms; on either side there are small pavilions. At one stage it was owned by Marie Antoinette’s favourite doctor, and she provided him with the parquet for the main salon.
The purchase was not easy: the chat-eau was owned by a divorcing couple, and the wife did not want to sell. “It took my father two years to buy it,” says Ryman. “Maybe he should have seen the difficulties as a warning.” He ended up paying about Ffr4m — twice the original price — and the day he took possession, he was told the grapes had to be harvested the next day.
They lost 80% of the harvest in a hailstorm. “That was our welcoming present,” says Ryman, who was 13 at the time and had chosen to move with his parents and two sisters rather than stay at boarding school in England. “To break up the clouds, the locals were firing rockets, which narrowly missed us. It was not an ideal beginning.”
Things did not get easier and, with cash-flow problems looming, Ryman Sr found the only way to finance the chateau’s renovation was to raise £1m by selling bonds in the winemaking business. The investors, initially friends and relatives, each put in between £1,500 and £4,000, and in return received five to 10 cases of wine a year.
His son, meanwhile, was hooked on winemaking, studying in Bordeaux and in the great French chateaux of Yquem and Latour before attending Australia’s leading wine school near Adelaide. In 1985, he returned to work at Jaubertie, building on his father’s use of New World winemaking techniques.
Father and son did not get on, however, and three years later Ryman left to work as a “flying winemaker”, creating a range of wines at vineyards around the globe aimed at average consumers.
In 1992, Ryman, by then living in Bordeaux, heard that his father, who was due to undergo a heart bypass operation, was on the verge of selling Jaubertie. “I desperately wanted to keep it in the family,” he says. “So my business partner and I put together a package to buy it.” They bought the chateau for Ffr18m — £1.8m — minus debts of Ffr6.7m. “The original bondholders were swayed by the fact that I wanted to keep it in the family,” says Ryman.
In 1996, Ryman’s property, wine and consulting business — which he ran with Esme Johnstone, the man behind Majestic Wines — was running into trouble, too, and the pair realised the only solution was to sell some of their properties — among them, Jaubertie. “The thought of it was heart-breaking, but there was no other choice,” he says.
It was easier said than done, not least because his father was still living in the chateau and trying to buy it back himself. Ryman was also embroiled in a dispute with bondholders over wine deliveries. Two buyers signed contracts, but then pulled out.
Then, in 2000, Ryman’s father-in-law intervened, buying 65% of the chateau from the holding company; a local French investor with an interest in the wine industry bought the other 35%.
Ryman Sr finally moved out, but, according to his son, took almost everything with him. “Most of the furniture was owned by my father and some things did belong to the property,” Ryman says. “But when you start taking the doors, that really is going too far.
“We are still trying to refurnish Jaubertie, but it’s very expensive. I spend a lot of time wandering around antique shops looking for furniture. Once I actually came across a table that used to be in Jaubertie. The top floor, which needs to be restored, will be for the children. They can have their own kitchen here and be totally independent.”
Some of the restoration work will be paid for by grants, as the chateau is now classified as a monument historique. Ryman has begun renovations: this summer he redid the pool, and in the spring he plans to landscape the garden around it and plant plum trees with the help of a British landscape gardener.
Ryman still lives in Bordeaux during the week, but spends as much time as possible at the chateau. “We all love it here,” he says. “I was very lucky my wife is as keen to keep it in the family as I am.” His father, who has also remained in France, is writing a book about his experiences and is reluctant to comment on his dealings with his son.
When not travelling the globe, Ryman makes wine from Jaubertie’s 128 acres of vineyards, most of which is sold locally for from £4.20 to £10 a bottle. The estate is finally making money.
“If I had my time again I would do everything I did, but I’d pay more attention to overheads and working capital,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve had a very tough ride, but I think I have perhaps gained a little too much experience.”
On the market
- Set in 35 acres close to the village of Vergt, 18 miles from Bergerac, this six-bedroom farmhouse with outbuildings, a pool and tennis court has 7.4 acres of vines producing 15,000-22,000 bottles of wine per year. It is for sale for £430,500 with Domus Abroad, 020 8455 0015, www.domusabroad.com
- A 15-minute drive from Bergerac, this attractive two-bedroom 18th-century farmhouse has a number of barns and outbuildings, as well as 47 acres of working vineyards. Agents VEF (020 7515 8660, www.vefuk.com) are selling the property, with winemaking machinery, for £715,000
- On the market for £905,000, this five-bedroom stone-built maison-de-maître with plenty of original features is 20 minutes from Saint Emilion. The property comes with a swimming pool and terrace, 54 acres of vines and two fishing lakes. Leggett Immobilier, 0870 011 5151, www.frenchestateagents.com
- A 10-bedroom chateau (in need of some work) with vaulted cellars, two six-bed guest houses, two swimming pools and 27 acres of working vines. The estate, near St Foy la Grande, 30 minutes from Bergerac, is for sale for £2.3m. Classic French Homes, 00 33 553 233 213, www.classic-french-homes.com
