Thierry Manoncourt, the owner of Château Figeac in St Emilion, has passed away. He was 92.

According to a decanter.com report, Manoncourt died peacefully at home on 27 August. He had successfully run the family business for 63 years.

After serving in the French army during World War II, he studied agriculture and took control of the estate in 1947.

Manoncourt played an integral role by acting as a steward of the historic estate of Château Figeac and opening its doors to the curious visitors. At a dinner in St Emilion in 2007, the oldest wine poured was the 1950 Figeac. The wine prompted the guests to give the Manoncourts a spontaneous ovation.

Tim Hartley, one of the British chancellors of the Jurade de St Emilion, said, “I know that everybody who loves Saint-Émilion is going to miss him. He was in many ways the embodiment of all that is best there: the warmth of welcome, and the combination of tradition and pride in history, with the modern world.”