History of the domain
1717 : The family history of Chateau Guimberteau most probably dates back to 1717. Authentic registry acts confirm the Guimberteau family, proprietors of vineyards and land, already in the 18th Century.
From father to son, the Guimberteau have been successful in keeping the family estate intact for almost three centuries. Not unlike several vineyard estates back then, the Guimberteau domain was cultivated in polyculture. We cultivated grains, raised cattle and finally ensured the winemaking of 2 or 3 hectares of vines in Lalande de Pomerol, always by the family. Formerly the vineyard work was very arduous.
We sold all of the wine in barrels to the Bordeaux wine merchant trade.
Right up until the 1990’s the wine was sold to the wine merchant Etablissements Moueix.
1983: Jean-Luc, who became manager, decided to stop all other forms of culture in order to devote his entire efforts to winegrowing, winemaking and expanding the estate.
Ever since, he has consistently bought parcels here and there around the vineyard to extend Chateau Guimberteau to 8.5 hectares in 2010.
This family property has always cultivated under 10 hectares, to keep the human dimension of the estate alive, as much as possible. It is by and within the family that the vines are cultivated and the wine is crafted. This permits to master the quality throughout the entire production chain.
2000 : After winegrowing studies, Jeffery joined the winery together with his parents and grand-parents.
Upon his arrival he changed the visual aspect of the bottle by adopting the now-famous blue label.
Up until June 2016, the wine was vinified in the locality of “Les Eymerits” (commune of Saint Denis de Pile) right beside the family residence.
2016 marked an important year for the enterprise, it was the moving into a new and better adapted structure. The decision was taken to construct a winemaking cellar on the appellation grounds only a few hundred meters away, in the middle of the vines, in the gentle hamlet of Laborde in Lalande de Pomerol.
The Cellar is brand new but the approach will always remain the same: The love and respect of the terroir, that is always manifested by a reasoned cultural method.
Finally, it is in the alliance between tradition, experience and modernity that the wines are crafted.
One must not forget that a good wine always starts with healthy vines. It is our motto at Chateau Guimberteau.
