Château de Crain

The present Château de Crain is built on the site of an old construction dating back to the Middle Ages. Located in the Prévôté de l’Entre-Deux-Mers, then the front line of the wars of Guyenne, this construction was erected under English rule as a fortified house or fortress. Referred to in texts under the name “Crenx” or “hostau de Cren”, it was pillaged and burned…
Subsequently the seat of a small seigneury, it belonged among others to the Ségur family for nearly two centuries, then to Louis de Mallet, lord of Rochemores, before passing to the wealthy family of Bordeaux parliamentarians, the Belciers, who kept it until the Revolution.
Crain was sold as national property on 17 Floréal of the year V. Its estate of 279 journaux, 94 of them under vine, consisted of “a former château with its cellars, vat rooms, barns and other farm buildings, gardens, water mill, and the Noulet farm” etc.
Renovated in the 19th century, a few traces of architecture from this prestigious past can still be seen here and there. A little apart, a fine 16th-century dovecote watches over the lands of Crain.
Today, owned by the Fougère family since 1930, Château de Crain comprises a fine vineyard of about fifty hectares. Of respectable age and harmoniously distributed, red and white grape varieties carefully cultivated (Michel Fougère is an agricultural engineer) ensure the production of quality grapes.
These, harvested at good ripeness, sorted and destemmed, are vinified and aged according to the best methods and traditions of the Bordeaux school, under the watchful eye of Anne Fougère, Michel’s daughter, a graduate of the University of Oenology of Bordeaux.
The white wines of Château de Crain, A.O.C. Entre-Deux-Mers, present a pretty pale yellow colour with sometimes golden nuances. On the nose, they develop fresh and intense flavours that are found again on the palate.
The red wines, A.O.C. Bordeaux Supérieur, with a deep, sustained colour and fine, elegant aromas, show on the palate nuanced, fine and harmonious tannins that foretell good ageing.
These qualities, recognised in agricultural competitions, are particularly appreciated by the trade, which faithfully follows the wines of Château de Crain, and by a private clientele, French and foreign, regular and attentive.