Château la Croix

As Professor Henri Enjalbert points out in his work Les Grands Vins de Saint-Émilion, Pomerol et Fronsac: “the magnificent estate of Château La Croix is fortunate to have a 10-hectare vineyard in a single block, located on the gravel of the high terrace and its southern edge. Together with some ten other properties, it forms the very heart of Pomerol”.
As the name indicates, there has always been a stone cross in this place, erected near the vineyards and always venerated by pilgrims on their way to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. The wine-growing antiquity in the present appellation is well established: Château La Croix once belonged to the de Sèze family, one of whose members was the defender of Louis XVI before the Revolutionary Tribunal. This family introduced to Pomerol, as their successors on the property later did, the concept of great wines and winegrowing techniques focused on quality and the ageing of wines. In 1960, the Joseph Janoueix family acquired it.
The château, full of elegance and refinement, has been renovated in the pure 18th-century style. The cellars have been enlarged with perfect taste. Distinction and organisation emanate from this splendid property, not to be confused with any other La Croix in the Bordeaux region. A museum, devoted to the pilgrimage of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle and also containing fireplace plaques on the subject of the vine and wine, has been specially fitted out for visitors.
The harvest is done by hand. The wine is aged in oak casks made by the master coopers Demptos and Darnajou, 40% renewed every year. Jean-Luc Pouteau, best sommelier in the world, writes: “this wine has an elegant bouquet and an exquisite finesse”. It is vinified and aged by the cellar master Olivier Dumond, advised by Michel Rolland, oenologist. Connoisseurs will not be surprised that it was chosen for the official dinner at the Élysée on the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The 1970 vintage of this cru delighted the palates of the President of the Republic, as well as that of Mr Bill Clinton, President of the United States of America.
La Maison Joseph Janoueix also distributes the family properties, Châteaux La Croix Saint-Georges and La Croix Toulifaut in Pomerol, Châteaux Haut Sarpe, Le Castelot, Franc-Cantenac and La Confession in Saint-Émilion, Château Saint Genès, Château La Gasparde in Côtes-de-Castillon, Châteaux Croix-Mouton and Le Conseiller in Bordeaux Supérieur and Château La Rose Saint-Georges in Saint Georges Saint-Émilion, as well as Château Cap St-Georges.