Château d'Issan

From the earliest times, two estates have dominated the region of Margaux, that of La Mothe-Margaux and La Mothe-Cantenac, which today have become Chateau Margaux and Chateau d'Issan.

In fact, Chateau d'Issan is one of the oldest in the Medoc. It was first called Teobon in the fifteenth century. It was in the hands of different families, the Segur, the Salignac, the La Vergne, until the coming of d'Essenault, a knight and a member of the parliament of Bordeaux, who had the old castle demolished and constructed the present building in the seventeenth century.

With the Revolution, the Candale goods were confiscated. Under the able administration of Gustave Roy, a magnificent vineyard on gravel, the great cru Classe of 1855, was maintained in excellent condition about 50 years.

Remarkable cellars and vat-houses were constructed, making Issan a unique entity cited as a perfect example everywhere. After the estate was sold by Monsieur Roy's heirs just before the 1914 war, Issan underwent an eclipse for nearly 40 years, and it is in 1945 that Monsieur and Madame Emmanuel Cruse took an estate in pitiful condition and a Chateau ravaged by the elements.

At the time, it was an urgent matter to replant the vineyard. The cellars, too, had to be reconstructed, the vat-house fitted out with modern equipment and finally the wine-workers house had to be modernized. Even today, fifty years later, improvements are still being made to perfect the vineyard's upkeep and to obtain the most efficient vinification techniques.