Chateau Le croix de Gay

A family in Pomerol since 1477

The vineyard of Chateau Le croix de Gay is currently being developed by the Raynaud-Lebreton family, descendants of a line of Pomerolais winegrowers dating back to 1772, but established in the commune since at least 1477.

The ancestors of the Raynaud-Lebreton family, Mathelin and Michel Barraud, actually received on this date from the order of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem, for exploitation, land in the center of the Pomerol plateau.

This barrauderie rental house corresponded to the grounds of the current Pétrus, châteaux l'Evangile, la Conseillante, Gazin, Petit Village

and Vieux Chateau Certan 2

The creation of the Chateau Le croix de Gay brand in the 19th and 20th centuries

During the 19th and 20th centuries, exploitation was transmitted by women.

From generation to generation, their husbands have passed on the expertise and knowledge of the Pomerol terroirs in family viticulture, a guarantee of the consistency and quality of the estate's wines.

Followed like this:

Barthélemy Larroucaud (mayor of Pomerol from 1871 to 1874 and then from 1876 to 1883),

Jean Angle (founder of the Pomerol wine association, cellar master of Chateau Gazin (M Quenedey), Rouget (M Cabanes), Certan (Demoiselles de May) and of Abbot Antoine Faure, parish priest of Pomerol from 1861 to 1905,

Jean Marie Barraud (mayor of Pomerol from 1912 to 1919, first deputy secretary and founding member of the Pomerol wine association).

Jean Angle developed the estate in particular, imposing the Château La Croix de Gay brand at the end of the 19th century and only agreeing to sell his wine at prices equal to those classified by Médoc 1855.

A family of winegrowers since 1772

While the 18th century marked the arrival of quality vineyards in Libourne, in 1772 the parish registers of Pomerol describe the wine-growing activities of Jean Brugnet, sixth-degree ancestor of the current owners of Château La Croix de Gay.

This probably makes the Raynaud-Lebreton family one of the oldest to directly emphasize the exceptional winemaking qualities of the Pomerol terroir.

The recognition of quality in the second half of the 20th century Noel

Raynaud (1923-1997) and Geneviève Ardurat-Raynaud (1925-2009)

The confirmation of the quality of Château La Croix de Gay's wines after the Second World War owes much to Noel Raynaud. Perfectionist; wanting the best for his wine; succeeds “surprisingly enough, thanks to a perfected vinification, in average vintages” 4 ; This hard worker won numerous gold and silver medals during the General Agricultural Competition in Paris in the 1970s.

In 1982 Chateau Le croix de Gay was admitted to the prestigious institution of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, a great reward for Noel RAYNAUD who always considered his property an icon of Pomerol and would not have had some of the most obvious denied. comments about his wine:

However, in 1997, after 51 harvests (1947-1997) and a life dedicated to his property and the Pomerol appellation (active member of the union and founding member of the Brotherhood of Knights Hospitaller of Pomerol (1968)), Noël Raynaud permanently closed to this country he loved so much.

His wife Geneviève Raynaud, née Ardurat, then entrusted their daughter Chantal Lebreton with the responsibility of running Château La Croix de Gay. For the 2009 and 2010 harvests, she was joined in this task by her brother Alain Raynaud.

The 21st century

After the death of their mother Geneviève Raynaud in 2009, Alain Raynaud and Chantal Raynaud-Lebreton took different paths. Alain sold his interest in the property; Chantal, supported by her husband and children, chose to continue the family work.

Reoriented on the historic heart of the vineyard, benefiting from restructured facilities in our hamlet of Pignon, surrounded by a team that accompanies us every year in the expression of the terroirs and continues with us the gesture of the winegrower, the intimate history of our family, with this Pomerol terroir that it loves so much, and continues to do so.

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Chateau La Croix de Gay