Owner

The Lurton family

Winemaker

Marc Lurton

Distribution Area

Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

Varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon

Vineyard

Limestone and clay with asteria limestone subsoil

Farming

Organic

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About Reynier

Chateau Reynier is one of the oldest operating wineries in Bordeaux. The Lurton family has been making wine here since the mid-19th century. Marc Lurton’s great grandfather Léonce Récapet bought 15th century manor Chateau Reynier in 1901. In 1956, Marc’s father, Dominique, inherited Chateau Reynier. Since 1980, Marc has managed his father’s estate and took full control in 1997. Marc and his wife Agnes now run Vignobles Marc and Agnes Lurton, a company which includes Château Reynier and Château de Bouchet, with their daughter Pauline.

Marc is an oenologist by training and oversees all vineyard and winery operations. He studied oenology at Bordeaux University. Agnes was a teacher prior to 1993 when she joined Marc at Chateau Reynier full time. Their second daughter Pauline was introduced to wine making and viticulture at an early age by her father. She always helped him in the vineyard and cellar, especially during harvest. Pauline grew up a trained ballet dancer and performed with the Boston ballet until she went to business school in France. She worked for five years as a Brand Ambassador and Sales Manager in the United States before coming home to the family business in 2019. Pauline now develops sales for Chateau Reynier and continues to be trained by her father in the cellar and vineyard for when she will eventually take over the winery.

When Marc took over in 1997, he made some major improvements. He modernized the winemaking facilities, invested in a bottling line and labelling equipment, installed a system to protect the grapes from frost in spring and a natural wastewater treatment plant. He restored the underground stone caves for aging the wine in oak barrels and replanted the vines to bring them up to date with modern norms (started in 2001 and continues today).

The vines are planted with high density at around 5,000 vine plants per/ha. Each vine gives around 5 to 6 grape bunches (one bottle of wine per vine plant). To keep healthy vines and help concentrate the fruit and structure in the grapes, the yields are small. The 99 acres of vines are made up of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, and are planted on slopes in outstanding clay-limestone terroir.

The terroir at Chateau Reynier is similar to the terroirs of the first growth in Saint Emilion located 10km north on the other side of the Dordogne River. The vines of Reynier grow on a very thin layer of clay (one to two feet maximum). The roots live deep down in the soft limestone where they find minerality and humidity.

Each plot of land and each grape variety is vinified separately. No sulfur is added before fermentation. Natural yeasts and bacteria from the grapes start and end the fermentations. Long macerations (4 weeks minimum) with pump overs and punch downs extract all the potential of the grapes. Cold temperature fermentation and maceration keeps the fruitiness of each grape variety. After fermentation, some sulfur is added to stabilize the wines. The quantity of sulfur will be calculated very precisely and will depend on the structure of the wine. The total sulfur of the wines of Chateau Reynier is less than half of the maximum allowed. Total Sulfur on the red wines is 70 mg/l instead of the permitted 150 mg/l. Total sulfur of the white wine is 90mg/l instead of the permitted 200 mg/l.

The Lurtons control every stage of the winemaking process from vineyard to bottling, and they use a the DIAM natural cork which prevents cork smell, leaking bottles and oxidation in the wine. They are also deeply involved in the natural development of the vines. They started to grow sustainably in 1980 and started practicing organic viticulture in 2014. In 2021, their entire estate was converted to Organic and in 2024, the vineyard will be Certified Organic. Since 2019, the estate is certified HVE (meaning “high environmental value). Their wines are also Certified Vegan by the Vegan society.

Additional Resources

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September 19, 2019

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