Château Reynon
A brief history
Reynon is in Béguey, near Cadillac, on a south-facing slope of the right bank of the Garonne. Part of this estate straddles the neighbouring commune of Laroque which consists of magnificent south east facing slopes and the ancient limestone terraces of the small tributary of the Garonne, the Oeuille.
The origins of this property go back to the XVth century. It was known as the Chateau de Béguey.
Towards the end of the XVth century, the Estate is still considered to be a ‘noble house’. It belonged to Jean de la Roque who also owned property in Barsac.
In the XVIIIth century, the vineyards belonged to the Carle de Trajet family who emigrated at the time of the revolution. Around 1850 the state then sold it to the Laspeyrère family who built the current neoclassical stately home where the chateau once stood.
Just before 1900, the property, at that time called Chateau Peyrat, was purchased by Emile Pollet, a Paris wine merchant.
In 1958 Jacques David, from a neighbouring village, Omet, acquired this land. He too had ancient vigneron origins. In turn, he inherited a vineyard from his father, Jean David, in the nearby commune of Laroque. The two vineyards have since been joined.
In 1976 his daughter, Florence, and his son-in-law, Denis Dubourdieu, agronomist and oenologist, took over. The growth has been called Chateau Reynon since 1979. As of the 1980’s its fame grew ; especially for the dry white sauvignon wines. The Reynon cellar at that time was Denis Dubourdieu’s favourite place for experimentation. As a young researcher he specialised in the vinification of dry whites. The techniques of skin maceration and maturing on lees in tanks of the semillon and sauvignon varieties were perfected at Reynon. Subsequently they were to be widely recommended worldwide. Reynon, thus was first known for its dry white wines.
Reorganisation of the vineyards started in 1988. Low density vine planting of the late 1950’s was gradually replanted to 5500 vines per hectares. This transformation brought out the remarkable potential of the clay terroir for the red wines at Reynon. Ten years later with the widely recognised success of the 1998 vintage, red Reynon wines fell firmly in the category of Bordeaux best bets.
At Reynon an ancient tradition of cultivating vines on the right bank hillsides is revived. As of 1996, when the years are conducive to noble rot, a surprisingly impressive Cadillac wine is produced. It is made predominantly from the Sauvignon variety which formerly was characteristic of sweet wines only.
The origins of this property go back to the XVth century. It was known as the Chateau de Béguey.
Towards the end of the XVth century, the Estate is still considered to be a ‘noble house’. It belonged to Jean de la Roque who also owned property in Barsac.
In the XVIIIth century, the vineyards belonged to the Carle de Trajet family who emigrated at the time of the revolution. Around 1850 the state then sold it to the Laspeyrère family who built the current neoclassical stately home where the chateau once stood.
Just before 1900, the property, at that time called Chateau Peyrat, was purchased by Emile Pollet, a Paris wine merchant.
In 1958 Jacques David, from a neighbouring village, Omet, acquired this land. He too had ancient vigneron origins. In turn, he inherited a vineyard from his father, Jean David, in the nearby commune of Laroque. The two vineyards have since been joined.
In 1976 his daughter, Florence, and his son-in-law, Denis Dubourdieu, agronomist and oenologist, took over. The growth has been called Chateau Reynon since 1979. As of the 1980’s its fame grew ; especially for the dry white sauvignon wines. The Reynon cellar at that time was Denis Dubourdieu’s favourite place for experimentation. As a young researcher he specialised in the vinification of dry whites. The techniques of skin maceration and maturing on lees in tanks of the semillon and sauvignon varieties were perfected at Reynon. Subsequently they were to be widely recommended worldwide. Reynon, thus was first known for its dry white wines.
Reorganisation of the vineyards started in 1988. Low density vine planting of the late 1950’s was gradually replanted to 5500 vines per hectares. This transformation brought out the remarkable potential of the clay terroir for the red wines at Reynon. Ten years later with the widely recognised success of the 1998 vintage, red Reynon wines fell firmly in the category of Bordeaux best bets.
At Reynon an ancient tradition of cultivating vines on the right bank hillsides is revived. As of 1996, when the years are conducive to noble rot, a surprisingly impressive Cadillac wine is produced. It is made predominantly from the Sauvignon variety which formerly was characteristic of sweet wines only.
