Château Castera

In the heart of the Médoc vineyard, on a high point of the commune, Château Castéra is one of the oldest estates in the Médoc, with 190 hectares of land and woodland with centuries-old trees.
It is impossible to speak of Château Castéra without first presenting the nine centuries of fascinating history that surround it.
According to Abbé Baurein (whose writings are a reference on the history of Bordeaux), the origin of this château goes back to the beginning of feudalism. In the middle of the 14th century, members of the d’Arsac family had received Castéra as a fief, in the person of Amanieu d’Arsac on 10 June 1352, from the hands of Sennebrun de Lesparre.
The possession of such a lordship was far from negligible for this family of wine exporters, especially as shipments of wine from the Bordelais to England tended to grow.
Château Castéra remained their property until the middle of the 15th century.
In 1559, Étienne de La Boétie, famous humanist and councillor at the Parlement de Bordeaux, received Castéra through his marriage to Marguerite de Carles, widow of Jean d’Arsac. Unfortunately, in 1563, he died at Germignan while on his way to the estate. Some historians think that he is in fact buried there.
Thomas de Montaigne, brother of the philosopher, then became its owner until the beginning of the 17th century.
Then it was Marie-Anne de Verthamon who in 1733 bequeathed it to her nephew François-Martial de Verthamon d’Ambloy. He died under the Empire in 1809, leaving the property to his brother and to his nephew Martial-Maurice, heir to the title of Marquis de Verthamon. “Maurice”, as he was called, can be considered the creator of the “modern” wine château of Castéra. Moreover, Charles Cocks, in the first edition of Bordeaux et ses Vins, credits Château Castéra with a production of 75 tonneaux. Under the Second Empire wine production developed, reaching 150 tonneaux in 1868, the date at which the property was classified Cru Bourgeois in the aforementioned work.
After 166 years of loyalty, Château Castéra left the Verthamon family for Monsieur Destanque.
His son, who succeeded him, had the château and its outbuildings restored, rebuilt the vineyard and, thanks to meticulous care, kept very old vines in perfect condition.
On taking possession of the estate in 1973, the company Alexis Lichine restructured the whole in a more rational and modern way, giving Château Castéra a new commercial boost by developing exports, but somewhat neglecting the buildings.
In 1986, two German wine lovers, Dieter Tondera and Carl E Press, fulfilled their dream by acquiring this property steeped in history.
The two men, who believed in its future, gave it a new dynamism by embarking on major investments.
Asserting their ambition, Carl Press and Dieter Tondera renovated the vineyard and called on Jacques Boissenot, the oenologist of the Crus Classés, to give direction to the conception of the wine.
Not being able to be present on the estate all the time, they enlisted two wine professionals to run the property.
For administration and sales, Jean-Pierre Darmuzey, who came from the Bordeaux négociant Alexis Lichine. For the technical side and management of the vineyard, Philippe Grynfeltt, holder of the DNO (National Diploma of Oenology) in
Montpellier and trained at Château Margaux.
In 2008 Thomas Press, Carl’s son, bought out the shares of Dieter Tondera, his father’s partner, to become the sole owner of Château Castéra.
Having spent his teenage holidays running through the park and the vines, he is very attached to the estate. He therefore continues the work of his elders with passion.
His priority is focused on the quality of the wines. Particular attention is paid to the selection of plots, the demanding sorting of the grapes and the rigour of the blends.
The name Castéra is known worldwide and carries the banner of the crus bourgeois in many countries.