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The
Middle Territory
The term Médoc, whose origins would appear to pre-date the Roman
Conquest, means quite simply the middle territory or "pagus
medulorum", whose original inhabitants were a tribe of Celts, the
ancestors of the Gallo-Romans whose history is recorded by René
Pijassou the Médoc historian.
The
vine-growing Médoc's ancient past remains a mystery. At a time when the
vineyards were essentially in towns, Ausonius writes of marshes, hunting
and fishing, but not a word about vineyards.
 In
the middle Ages, we find a desolate region of moor lands on the extreme
north side, and further south, forests, marshy meadows and particularly
land producing rye.
In the middle
of all this, a few sparse, isolated areas of vines around priories
(Macau, Cantenac, Vertheuil, the Abbey of l'Isle) and seigniories (Castelnau,
Lesparre, Latour, and perhaps). What rare texts there are mention a
border of vineyards in the south from Blanquefort to Saint-Médard.
Land under vines
From
the sixteenth century, merchants and leading personalities from the
Bordeaux Parlement established real estates. Created on the alluvial
deposits termed "palus" - low-lying marshy land - they reached
the gravelly ridges at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
When the marshlands in the north of the Médoc were drained by Dutch
engineers, this created land for growing
corn
and pastureland.
In the second half of the seventeenth century, the old seigniories of
the Médoc fell into the hands of the Bordeaux judiciary and became
great estates reigned over by such families as the Ségurs, the Pontacs
and the Branes. Practically all the Médoc vineyards were established by
about 1760.
A Land of Quality and
Traditions
The
seventeenth century development of viticulture resulted in a deeper knowledge of the terroirs. In 1677, the
Englishman, John Locke wrote about the Médoc's experience which
established a direct link between the soil and the wine. Around 1720, a
memorandum concerning Château Margaux records that the best parcels
were used for making the proprietor's own wine. And at the end of the
eighteenth century, the correspondence of estate managers shows that
people had finally become totally aware of this link.
The alignment of the vines facilitated the care with selecting the
different grape-varieties as well as the possibility of ploughing with
the horse or the ox. This same period ushered in improvements in
vinification techniques.
In the first decade of the eighteenth century, a new type of wine
came into being which the English, the principal importers, called
"New French Claret". As from 1730, several procedures, which enabled wines to be kept longer,
became standard practice: topping up casks to compensate for ullage,
racking, and fumigating (introduced by the Dutch). Anxious to select the
best wines, the practice began of separating the first wines from the
second. It was at this time that aging techniques were developed in the
cellars in the Chartrons area on the River bank in Bordeaux.
In the middle of the eighteenth century, the idea of Grand Cru and Château,
such as we think of them today, became firmly anchored. Since then, they
have been based on a policy of long term investment aimed at the upkeep
of the vineyard, its restoration, improvement of terroirs and
techniques, and a new concept in chais.
A Land Reborn
This
prosperity came to a brutal halt one century later with the arrival of
phylloxera, mildew and oidium. These diseases resulted in the vineyards'
being restructured and the appearance of American graft-stocks.
Although there were nearly 25,000 hectares of vines in 1880, exports
were at a standstill. The crisis of the thirties arrested a slight
recovery brought about as a result of the four great vintages 1921, 24,
28 and 29. After the Second World War and the severe frosts of 1956,
there were no more than 6,000 hectares of vineyards at the beginning of
the sixties.
A tremendous effort to start afresh began with the renovation and
modernization of estates, through the progress made in ænology* and
most particularly, by the sheer determination of the men involved. Despite the
formidable increase in the surface area of vines during the last
twenty-five years, the Médoc has not yet regained the surface area,
which obtained before the invasion of phylloxera.
Over thirty years, surface areas and harvests have doubled and estates
have been restructured and modernized. During the last ten years, the Médoc
vine-growers have invested milliards of francs in renovating buildings,
constructing or re-equipping ultramodern cellars, installing vat-houses
and cellars for aging, creating reception points and extending the
vineyards.
These colossal investments all go to prove the confidence the Médoc
vine-growers have in the future of their appellations.
 In
1949, a small team of dynamic vine-growers and merchants joined forces
with Henri Martin and decided to create a Wine Order specifically for the Médoc. The Graves vineyards
joined them in 1959.
This Wine Order took the name of Commanderie, for in the Middle Ages, a
religious Commanderie founded a church at Benon near Saint-Laurent de Médoc,
then a little later a second seat at Arcins. Vine-growing, aging and
selling wine soon became the principal means of subsistence for these
militant, peasant monks.
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