Chateau Reysson
AOC Haut-Médoc
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
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While the origins of Château Reysson date back to the Middle Ages, Dourthe only takes over operations on the estate in 2001 and takes on its ownership in 2014. Located at the summit of a magnificent plateau, the vineyard is planted on soils comprising clay, limestone and fossilised shells. On this quite unique Medoc terroir, Merlot is seen to thrive and develops its true finesse. Château Reysson is awarded Cru Bourgeois Supérieur status in 2020.
Château Reysson, an original terroir unlike any other in Haut-Medoc.
Key facts
93/100
Wine Enthusiast
100%
ploughing in the soils
Planting
45 Ha Merlot
5 Ha Cabernet Franc
3 Ha Petit Verdot
1 Ha Cabernet Sauvignon
Soil profile
Clay-limestone plateau and slopes, limestone with fossilised shells.
Total surface area
54 Ha
Terroir
Having managed operations on the estate since 2001, Dourthe acquires the estate from Japanese wine and spirits company Mercian in 2014. Dourthe is committed to establishing Chateau Reysson as a benchmark of quality and affordability among Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois wines.
The estate sees a number of changes over the years in order to tease the full potential from this magnificent terroir that is so unusual for the appellation, including introducing integrated viticulture across the entire vineyard, raising the canopy surface and rigorous canopy management.
Further to extensive soil studies on the estate, a vast replanting programme ensues, retaining only the premium plots. Located on an enviably sun-drenched slope, this clay-limestone terroir is quite exceptional in Medoc and ideally suited to Merlot, which has always been the dominant grape variety at Reysson.
The clay terroir, rich in limestone and fossilised shells, is quite exceptional in Medoc.
Viticulture
In the vineyard, a quality programme is introduced in line with Dourthe’s tried and tested practices to obtain the best quality fruit.
Interventions in the vines are managed sustainably to control vine vigour and cropping levels:
– integrated crop protection across the estate
– sustainable cover planting depending on vine vigour on each plot
– manual budstripping
– secondary shoot removal
– leaf plucking
– and green harvesting to promote uniform ripening.
For 15 years, the combined effect of an in-depth understanding of the terroir and vineyard practices rigorously tailored to each parcel has meant that harvesting can be managed selectively as each plot reaches optimum ripeness.
Guyot Poussard.
Traditional ploughing, mechanical weeding. Manual budstripping, secondary shoot removal, deleafing and lateral shoot removal.
Organic and biological-control agents as a priority. CMR pesticides banned. Sustainable cover planting.
Removing bunches or grapes of inconsistent ripeness from mid-veraison onwards as required. Selective harvesting plot by plot. Optical sorting.
Winemaking and ageing
Significant investment is ploughed into the estate to provide the necessary facilities to meet Dourthe’s high-quality standards.
First, the construction of a new winery, together with renovations to the existing ageing facilities. The vast barrel hall, equipped with temperature and humidity control, provides the ideal conditions for ageing the wine for a 12-14 month period.
The grape receival area is updated and equipped with an ultra-efficient “Viniclean” sorting system to remove any remaining plant matter.
The tank room is equipped with 22 temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks of varying capacity to vinify the grapes in separate batches.
A high-performance cooling system now allows pre-fermentation cold maceration for the most premium batches.
A small winery, inaugurated in 2019, is devoted to malolactic fermentation and small batch ageing in amphorae or barriques.
The team
Joachim Gilbert, Estate Manager
Frédéric Bonnaffous, Chief Winemaker
Our History
2020
Cru Bourgeois Supérieur
Due to the hard work and dedication of the Dourthe team, Château Reysson is granted Cru Bourgeois Supérieur status in 2020.
2014
Dourthe ownership
After 13 years dedicated to the care of its magnificent vineyard, Dourthe is proud to take on the ownership of Château Reysson.
2012
A coat of arms
To celebrate Château Reysson’s outstanding terroir, from the 2012 vintage the label features a coat of arms symbolising one of the many fossils often discovered in small blocks of limestone scattered across the property.
2001
Dourthe manages the estate
The estate changes hands several times between 1933 and 1988, and gradually fades out of the limelight. Japanese company Mercian Corporation buy the estate in 1988 and in 2001 entrust Dourthe with its management.
1932
Cru Bourgeois
Already a regular feature as a “Cru Remarquable” in various editions of the Feret Bordeaux wine guide since 1850, the chateau is officially awarded Cru Bourgeois status in the first classification in 1932.
1891
Auguste Dreyfus
Wealthy financier Auguste Dreyfus acquires the estate, which would be known once and for all as Château Reysson. And it is this name that features in the 1898 edition of the Féret wine guide, ranked second “by order of merit”, in the Cru Bourgeois category.
1860
Reysson
Still listed under the name ‘Le Batiment’ in the Napoleonic Land Registry, the estate is renamed Rayson in 1860, before taking the name Reysson in 1891, after the vast area where traces of an ancient site – which first bore the name Reysson – can still be found.
1750
‘Le Bâtiment’
The estate features on the first map of the Kingdom of France, established in 1750 by geographer Cassini, under the name of ‘Le Batiment’, possibly due to its large winery. It still goes by this name when listed among the ‘remarkable crus’ in the first edition of the Feret wine guide in 1850.
Gallery
