It was here, one the very doorstep of Bordeaux, that the vine first found its place in the Gironde during ancient times.

In 1152, the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to the King of England brought with it solid opportunities for prosperity ; all the more solid for being allied to the granting of the famous Privilege to the " Banlieue " (" Greater Bordeaux "), which prohibited all trading in other wines as long as a single barrel of town wine remained unsold.

The Golden Age began in the 14th century with the development of the English passion for "claret".




Vineyard properties multiplied in every direction.The Privilege granted to the " Provost's Banlieue " was extended geographically to the Jalle de Blanquefort, Mérignac, Pessac and far to the south west, reaching the outskirts of Martillac and La Brède, following the annexation of Léognan.



Between 1531 and 1551, Jean de Pontac patiently created, parcel by parcel, the first real vineyard business, in the locality called Haut-Brion. This prefigured perfectly the great Bordeaux "château" and gave birth to the idea of a "Grand Cru".

From the 15th to the 18th century, a family of large vineyard properties developed devoted to the production of high quality wines. These wines came to be known as " GRAVES wines ", a name considered to represent the quintessence of the wine of Bordeaux. Exports to England and Northern Europe flourished. The market price of GRAVES wine dominated the trade until the end of the 18th century, despite the rise in power of the Médoc during the course of this century.
In the second half of the 19th century, the GRAVES vineyard was extended towards the south and joined up with the traditional vineyards of the southern hills where sweet white wines were produced.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, damage caused by the outbreak of certain diseases (oidium, mildew…) and especially of Phylloxera, caused many owners to plant pine trees in the place of their vines. The pressure of urbanisation from an expanding Bordeaux accelerated the process of vineyard destruction and the GRAVES region went into recession. The Depression and two World Wars further aggravated the situation and the GRAVES vineyard which had extended to some 5,000 hectares in the second part of the 19th century was reduced to a mere 1,500 in 1935.
After the Second World War and the winter frost of 1956, the sweet white vineyard area largely changed over to red wine production.
The economic rebirth of the wines of Bordeaux launched in the 1970s, brought the GRAVES region vigorously back to life and replanting has restored the vineyard to its historic area of 5,000 hectares.
Lasting fame and an outstanding reputation for the appellations GRAVES and PESSAC-LEOGNAN are the reward for the energy and craftsmanship so long in evidence among the vine growers.

The Commanderie du Bontemps du Médoc et des Graves

Todays Commanderie is heir to a centuries old tradition.


A little history... In the Middle Ages a religious Commanderie founded a church at Benon, near Saint-Laurent de Médoc, then shortly afterwards, a second at Arcins. Growing vines, producing and selling wine soon became the principal source of income of these soldier/peasant monks.



The present organisation of the Commanderie only dates back to the end of the Second World War, but it has nevertheless retained the spirit of its predecessors.

The Bontemps - a wooden dish - in which the cellar master beats the eggs that will be used in the fining and clarification process, is the emblem of the Commanderie. It was used as a model for creating the hat worn by the Commandeurs, a tall hat of burgundy-red velvet and white organdie, which evokes the wood reddened by the new wine and the whisked egg whites.

The robe is a simplified version of the ceremonial costume worn by the ancient Commanderies. Generous folds of burgundy-red velvet, embellished with a hood, green for the Médoc Commandeurs, green and gold for Graves. The clasp which holds it all together is in the shape of the Bontemps.

The Commanderie is a gathering, a partnership, of the three main wine activities : vineyard workers, wine brokers and wine merchants. The vineyard workers contribute their presence, their learning, their land and installations, the brokers their knowledge of the product and of men, the merchants their contacts, their market experience, their opening onto the world at large.

The Commandeurs work to spread the fame of all the wines of the Médoc and Graves, and on behalf of all the wines of Bordeaux.

They participate in three main annual events : Saint-Vincent, in January, a celebration of vineyard workers and those who work in the cellars and wineries ; the Flower Festival in June ; the announcement of the opening of the grape harvest in September. The Commanderie also organises numerous meetings, receptions and enthronements, both within the Bordeaux vineyard area and outside it.

The activities of the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et du Graves are not limited to France. Through the " Grand Conseil de Bordeaux " which it created in order to unite the various wine brotherhoods of the region, it is in contact with the " Commanderies de Bordeaux " throughout the world. These exist in many countries, the United States, Canada, Japan, Senegal, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, bringing together many famous people, all of whom have a common interest in Bordeaux wine.



" In all places and before all people " is declared during the enthronement ritual : thus the Commanderie represents, celebrates and defends not only wine, but also all the other values that are closely connected with it, friendship, happiness, fidelity to the land.