Origin of Château La Croix Taillefer
Our vineyard in Pomerol, Château La Croix Taillefer, shares the history of the oldest winemaking in Bordeaux region. The date 1090 was found engraved on a boundary stone in the middle of the vineyards, defining the territory of the Commandery of the Hospitallers of Saint-John of Jerusalem.
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HISTORY OF POMEROL
It was initially the Romans and later the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem who cultivated the vineyards in this parish. Pilgrims of Saint James of Compostela, following the traditional route through Pomerol, found hospitality and comfort here. For them, Pomerol remained a memorable stop. The generous wines of the terroir undoubtedly contributed to giving them the courage needed to continue their pilgrimage and traverse the many stages on both sides of the Pyrenees. Referred by the Pomerol Syndicate.
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The history of the family-owned winery
In 1977, the Rivière family acquired a few hectares of vineyards in the hart of the Pomerol appellation. The estate expanded with parcels ranging from "Toulifaut" to "Plince", and "Taillefer". It was back in 1994 that Rivière family has taken over the Château La Croix Taillefer from the previous owner.
En 2000, Romain Rivière rejoint le vignoble et propose à ses parents de se tourner vers l'agriculture biologique. Après des essais encourageants en Bordeaux supérieur, la conversion de tout le domaine est entreprise à partir de 2002. La certification Écocert est obtenue en 2005 pour les appellations Pomerol et Lalande de Pomerol, puis en 2010 pour le Bordeaux supérieur.
The organic winery
Today, this family-owned estate has about 6 hectares of vineyards in the Pomerol appelation, complemented by 15 hectares in Bordeaux Supérieur in north of Libournais and 13.50 hectares in Lalande-de-Pomerol and Néac Plateau.
Since 2019, the family started taking care of Château Beau Soleil Pomerol*.
Since the beginning, the link between the vigns and the terroir has always been the priority to Marie-Claude and Claude Rivière. This spirit was taken over by their son, Romain Rivière who did the lot of research of organic wine making after graduating the oenologue school, then the family could finally shift to organic winery. They started from Bordeaux Supérieur in 2001, Pomerol and Lalande-de-Pomerol in 2002. After the three years of conversion duration, Ecocert certification was certified in 2005 for all the three AOC. *As of today, the château keeps expanding the vineyards and shifting them to organic, therefore there are some millésime are not certified yet.