|
Hotel Introduction
Everything started in 1990, when Florence and Daniel Cathiard
fell in love with
Château Smith Haut Lafitte and its charming, 18th-century house,
during a flight over the Bordeaux vineyards.
Daniel Cathiard, founder of the Go Sport chain, and Florence
Cathiard, Vice-
President of McCann Europe, decided to give up their stressful
careers and start a new life by buying Château Smith Haut Lafitte.
Florence and Daniel Cathiard observed that a low-lying area in
the vineyard
produced lower-quality grapes than the rest. A water diviner was
called in and
discovered a natural spring in that spot. Analyses revealed
that, 540 metres underground, there was a naturally hot spring
with a high concentration of minerals and trace elements.
This discovery facilitated the development of the first
Vinothérapie® Spa in the world Internationally-renowned Caudalie products are used together
with water from the hot spring in a series of treatments devised by Mathilde and
Bertrand Thomas.
The sub-standard vineyard was pulled up to make room for a
luxury "hotel de
charme" alongside the Spa, opened in June 1999: Les Sources de
Caudalie.
"Caudalie", a term borrowed from wine-tasting, describes the
persistence of a
wine on the palate: the longer a wine's aftertaste, the higher
its "caudalie" rating.
|
|