Cyril Bardot, sorter man at Maison Charlois, narrated by Stéphane Ebel

The Sorting Teacher

One by one, they are leaving the house—their house, our house: the Charlois House—to enjoy a well-deserved and peaceful retirement. Cyril Bardot is one of the company’s historic figures. After 34 years of loyal service, Cyril retired on December 31, 2024. He returned to Murlin to have his portrait taken.

Whether by coincidence or not, it was on January 2, 2025, that we met Cyril—his first official day of retirement since January 1 is a public holiday. The meeting was at Murlin, in the house where Denis Charlois and his family once lived. Cyril arrived early. “I don’t like being late,” he said. While waiting for me to join him, he chatted with Audrey at the reception desk and then with Laurence. After all, not much had changed in just a few days.
I didn’t know Cyril very well, the man the old-timers affectionately call “Popov” (a nickname given to him by Dédé Jouannin that stuck throughout his 34 years at Charlois). He is a discreet man, modest and unassuming. Like many back then, no one could have predicted that he would stay at Murlin for over three decades. And understandably so—Cyril’s career began as an apprentice florist. He worked in Fourchambault at Machecourt, across from the Morini establishments.

A Taste for Flowers

After finishing his florist apprenticeship and earning his CAP certificate, Cyril began looking for his first job. “In my field, jobs weren’t easy to find,” he recalls. “So I took odd jobs here and there until I landed a contract with a probation period at an SNCF subcontractor.” The seventh of eight siblings (five brothers and three sisters), Cyril enjoyed peaceful days in the railway town of Varennes-Vauzelles, where he grew up. “Those were the good years, I think. We never lacked for anything, and there was a lot of mutual support in the community.”
But at just 19 years and three months old, Cyril suffered a work accident that left him blind in one eye. “Protective equipment wasn’t mandatory back then like it is today. It was just bad luck for me.” He took it in stride, but the accident inevitably impacted his daily life and future. Between periods of unemployment and short-term gigs, Cyril struggled to find his place.

Everything Began with an Internship

During a training session at the AFPA (French Vocational Training Association), Cyril was offered an internship at the Maison Charlois merranderie. “I’d heard the name vaguely before,” he admits. It was 1990, and Cyril was 29. “I showed up at the Givry sawmill (in Cher), which belonged to the Charlois family. I ran into Lionel Charlois, who told me, ‘It’s not here; it’s in Murlin.’ So I went to Murlin the next day, and there was Lionel again. That’s how I started my three-week internship.”
At that time, the workshop was still near the Charlois family home. The current merranderie didn’t exist, nor did the building now used for sorting and stacking. Cyril’s internship was at the planer, receiving staves. Back then, Pascale (now General Secretary) and Patrick (recently retired head of the merranderie) were also newcomers to the company. “Tonio was already there, as were Pino and Tito…those were good times. There aren’t many of us left who remember ‘the workshop.”».

Sorting in His Blood

“I felt at home here right away. I found great colleagues, and we enjoyed working and spending time together. Lionel ran the company with Denis, and my internship supervisor was Philippe Grillot. One day, I’ll never forget, Lionel came up to Philippe and said, ‘We need someone for the planer—we should hire someone.’ Philippe quickly responded, ‘There’s a guy here doing an internship. Why not hire him?’ That’s how I started working here and never left. I was 28.
“The workshop was what we called ‘the hotel of drafts.’ In winter, it was freezing cold—we’d use a blowtorch on the pipes to thaw them. Things are much different now.
“I still remember all the old-timers, or their fathers, who worked here—Pino, Tito, and more. Some are still around, like Tonio, Gérard, Pascale, or Patrick. I spent my whole career at the merranderie, in sorting and stacking. I learned from the older workers how to read the wood, how to understand it. Sorting staves might not seem like much, but it’s an essential step, just like the others, to get the best value from the raw material and ensure the quality of the barrels.
“This company was like a second home, a second family to me. It feels strange to think I won’t be coming here every day anymore. After 34 years, you get into certain habits. The alarm clock will still go off in the morning, just probably not as early.”

Three Questions for Cyril:

34 years have passed since you joined Charlois—a lifetime.

“That’s true. 34 years is no small thing. Those years flew by. I have only good memories here. I could’ve retired sooner if the pension office hadn’t miscalculated. I worked an extra year to make up the missing quarters, but now I have five quarters too many. It’s not a big deal.”

You’re one of the old-timers who worked with Denis and experienced the ‘workshop’ era.