Great terroirs were not born yesterday

When taking over the estate in 2017, I had found some traces of a Messire de Castelnau owning the estate in 1700. But hardly any more information. In June, I met Loïc Mansencal, a historian passionate about local history. He kindly shared several documents with me, enabling me to piece together the history of the estate. Listen to this! Regarding the terroirs of Cazebonne: well before 1700, the property belonged to the de Castelnau family, lawyers, mayors of Langon, and notables of Guyenne. Pierre de Castelnau (1676–1740), mayor of Langon, lived and died in the family residence at Cazebonne. His descendants, including François de Castelnau (1706–1766), carried on the Cazebonne name through the generations. On the Peyron side: in the 17th century, these lands belonged to Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie (1625–1709), the first Lieutenant General of Police of Paris appointed by Louis XIV. The man who lit the streets of Paris, fought organised crime, and investigated the famous Affaire des Poisons. His street lighting in Paris earned Paris the title of the ‘City of Light’! On the Bouché and Darche side: the parcels were 100% planted with vines, demonstrating the quality of these historic terroirs. If we go back a little further, we discover through the will of Jean de Grely that 41,739 tonneaux were loaded onto ships at Langon in the year 1312 for export. I like to imagine (and it is indeed very likely) that the wines of Cazebonne and Peyron were part of that cargo. Here, we are replanting all the grape varieties that once existed. It is our way of reconnecting with history.