Jean-Paul Jauffret

Jean-Paul Jauffret (22 August 1930 – 27 June 2026) was a French oenologist, business manager, politician, and tennis player, the eldest child of a famous French tennis family

Jauffret was a veteran team world champion on several occasions, French university champion in 1951, and French cadet champion in 1946.

One of the key figures of Bordeaux wine of the second half of the 20th century, he devoted a large part of his life to the wine sector. In particular, he managed the CVBG-Dourthe-Kressmann trading house and created the Vinexpo. trade fair in 1981. He was elected president of the Bordeaux Interprofessional Wine Council and a permanent member of the Bordeaux Wine Academy.

He helped the bring French Prime Minister Alain Juppé to the city as the mayor of Bordeaux and in 1995 became his deputy for Finance, with a legacy of reducing the city's debt, and played an important role in the transformations of the city (tramway, pedestrianization of the city center, rehabilitation of the quays, opening of the city on its right bank). He also brought the world of wine closer to the city by relaunching the wine festival in 1998, which had previously ceased operations in 1909.

Professional career

Dourthe Jauffret began his career in 1952 at Château Maucaillou after a law degree taken at the University of Bordeaux, then managed the Dourthe Frères trading house, which he developed and which later became CVBG-Dourthe-Kressmann.

In 1988, he launched Dourthe number 1 with oenologist Denis Dubourdieu. Initially a research project, aiming to create a quality white wine at an affordable price by selecting plots throughout Bordeaux's vineyard environs and aging the wine in oak barrels, in the manner of great châteaux wines. This vintage, subsequently named “Dourthe no 1” and available in red and rosé. Two million bottles are produced each year, half of which are sold abroad, where it is marketed in 56 countries. During the wine crisis, when he was president of the merchants, but also particularly appreciated by winegrowers for his successive positions in favor of a "decent" price for Bordeaux wine, He also negotiated a lighter regime for wine within the framework of the Évin law. Following his mandate, he was named honorary president of the institution. champagne. He was then elected honorary president of the show.

Cité du vin Jauffret reiterated his ambition to make Bordeaux the world capital of wine during the creation of the Cité du Vin, for which he helped to raise the funds. This museum of wine civilizations was inaugurated on May 31, 2016, in the presence of Alain Juppé and François Hollande in an emblematic building in the shape of a vine designed by architects Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières and by the British scenography agency Casson Mann.

Bordeaux Wine Academy Jauffret was a permanent member of the Bordeaux Wine Academy from 1990 on.

Other functions Jauffret was vice-president of the supervisory board of Château Ducru-Beaucaillou from 1999 to 2020.

A graduate in oenology from the Faculty of Bordeaux in his first class in 1965, he was president of its alumni association. alongside his brothers, including François who would become a professional tennis player and French number one male tennis player for multiple years.

Jauffret was a member of the board of Villa Primrose since 1987, and honorary president since 1995.

Titles Jauffret was the French junior champion in 1946 and a university champion in 1951. He made it to the second round of the French Open in 1953. . He was also a member of the Federal Arbitration Commission of the French Tennis Federation since 2012.

Jauffret was also the president of the board of directors of Bordeaux's Creps.

Political, civil and diplomatic engagement Bordeaux Deputy Mayor As the end of Jacques Chaban-Delmas' final term as mayor approached, Jean-Paul Jauffret worked to bring Alain Juppé, then Prime Minister of France, to the mayorship of Bordeaux. party, thus obtaining more votes than Mayor Alain Juppé.

Public establishments Jauffret was a director of the Bordeaux National Opera and president of the mixed economy company Gaz de Bordeaux. He was also vice-president of Bordeaux municipal credit.

Other mandates Jauffret was also a judge at the Bordeaux commercial court and honorary consul of the Republic of Hungary in Bordeaux from 1990 to 2012 and treasurer of the Gironde food bank.

He was also president of the Banque populaire du Sud-Ouest between 1988 and 1998, of which he was honorary president from 1999 on, as well as president of the Defense and Promotion Association of Pyla-sur-Mer.

Personal life

Family Jean-Paul Jauffret's younger brother, François Jauffret, is a retired professional tennis player, who holds the record for selection in the French Davis Cup team (35 caps), and was France's tennis champion nine times, reached the finals of the French Open twice, and winner of several international titles in the 1960s and 1970s. His granddaughter Capucine Jauffret played for Team USA at the Under 14 Lacoste World Championship.

His brother Pierre (1937–2023), was also French cadet and junior champion and participated in the second round of the 1963 edition of the French Open.

His sister Christine was a teacher and school principal before founding the Plateaux school, intended for students excluded from the school system, which then became the farm school of the village of Plateaux and also welcomes juvenile delinquents entrusted by the Ministry of justice.

His brother Marc was the financial director of the French Mobil Oil.

Jean-Paul Jauffret died on 27 June 2026, at the age of 95.

Distinctions

Knight of the French National Order of Merit Commander of the French Order of Sports Merit Commander of the Commanderie du Bontemps du Médoc, Graves, Sauternes, and Barsac (1969) Fellow Sworn Officer of the Confrérie du Guillon of the Vaudois vineyard (1972) Knight of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin of Burgondy (1977) Honorary Hospitaller of the Order of Hospitallers of Pomerol (1976) Commander of the Bontemps Commandery of Sainte Croix du Mont (1978) Prud’homme de la Jurade de St Émilion (1979) Grand Bailiff of Honor of the Baillis of Lalande de Pomerol (1985) Honorary alderman of the College of Aldermen of Lussac and Puysseguin (1989) Knight of the Buzet Wine Brotherhood (2004) Honorary Shepherd of the Brotherhood of the Lamb of Pauillac (2004) Musketeer of the Company of Musketeers of Armagnac Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite