Château Reysson

In the very heart of the Médoc, near Vertheuil, lies the estate of Château Reysson. The lands of the château have had a long and eventful history that has always been intimately linked with that of Bordeaux. Under the vestiges of the medieval castle that was the first to bear the name Reysson, archaeologists have discovered the remains of the theatre of Noviomagus, the ancient town of the Bituriges Vivisques tribe who founded Burdigala (Bordeaux) in the 3rd century B.C. The quality of its wines was recognised at an early date, with Château Reysson featuring in 1850 among the Crus Remarquables de Vertheuil ranked by Charles Cocks, author of the famous work “Bordeaux et ses Vins” edited by Michel Féret.

Out in the vines, a quality programme was applied in line with the practices implemented on the Dourthe estates to obtain the best possible grapes: limits on yields with a gradual move from 5,000 vines/ha to 6,700 vines/ha, leaf stripping, green harvesting, and rational vine protection methods.

Major investments were made in the winery to install winemaking and maturing facilities in line with the quality ambitions of the estate. A newharvest reception system was installed and the vats were all replaced. A harvest-reception ramp leads to a de-stemmer that crushes the grapes only very slightly before they are transported by gravity onto a 4-metre long vibrating sorting table. Once sorted, the grapes are transferred into the fermenting vats using a pump that does not damage the harvest and just pushes the grapes gently into the vats. The vat-house now has 22 new, small-capacity stainless steel vats with temperature control (from 140 to 230 hl). The installation of a highperformance refrigeration system means that pre-fermentation maceration can be conducted on the highest-quality batches. The winery building has also been extended by about 200 m2 to make space for a new pneumatic press.