Thanks to documents attesting to its existence, “les Vieux Papiers du Libournais”, the origins of the Château du Domaine de l’Église vineyard can be traced back to 1589, at the beginning of the reign of the Good King Henri (Henri IV). The manor house, built on two levels (ground floor and first floor), has limestone walls and a tiled roof.
Formerly known as the “Domaine de la Porte Rouge”, this property on the route to Santiago de Compostela was a church property. In the Middle Ages, it belonged to the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, an order that cared for the sick, particularly lepers. The Order of the Hospitallers was a Catholic religious, hospitaller and military order.
Their aim was to welcome, defend and care for pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The property’s red door was intended to identify this place as an isolation centre for lepers. At the time, leper houses were often painted red to discourage visitors.
During the French Revolution, the public authorities seized the estate. In 1793, the estate was sold to the Bertin family at the national property sale.
In 1893, the Bertin family produced ten barrels of wine, rising to twenty barrels by 1949.
Simon Landard, Laure Bertin’s nephew, ran the estate a few years later.