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The Cruse family is a well-known
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
wine-merchant family from the Bordeaux region of France. Family members also own several renowned
wine estate A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kn ...
s.


History

In 1815 Herman Cruse, a Danish
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
merchant from
Segeberg Segeberg (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ostholstein and St ...
, now in
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but then part of the
Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...
under the Danish Crown, settled in the Bordeaux region of France, where he co-founded the firm ''Cruse et Hirschfeld'' in 1819. With financial support of his wife, he
corner Corner may refer to: People *Corner (surname) *House of Cornaro, a noble Venetian family (''Corner'' in Venetian dialect) Places * Corner, Alabama, a community in the United States *Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia * Corner River, a tributary o ...
ed the Bordeaux market in 1847; that year's harvest turned out to be excellent, and he made a fortune. In 1850, the firm ''Cruse et Hirschfeld'' came under the sole control of the Cruse family and was renamed to ''Cruse et Fils Frères''. Cruse developed the firm with the help of his three sons to one of the major wine-trading companies in Bordeaux.


Wine estates

Next to the flourishing wine-shipping business, Herman Cruse set out to diversify and invest in wine-growing estates.


Château Laujac

The first winery acquired by Herman Cruse, in 1852, was Château Laujac in Bégadan,
Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.
, in the heart of the
Médoc The Médoc (; ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the '' département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, northwest of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''( Pagus) Medullicus'', or "country ...
area. The estate has remained in the hands of the Cruse family since; from 1962 it was managed by Herman's great-great-grandson Bernard Cruse, as is the adjacent estate of Château Laffitte Laujac.


Château Pontet-Canet

In 1865, Herman Cruse purchased Château Pontet-Canet, a renowned wine estate that had seen better times. He quickly modernized the facilities at Pontet-Canet and built a subterranean wine cellar. The wine was not bottled at the estate, and sold in large quantities without vintage label to the French railways company. In 1973, the Cruse family lost Château Pontet-Canet when a
wine fraud Wine fraud relates to the commercial aspects of wine. The most prevalent type of fraud is one where wines are adulterated, usually with the addition of cheaper products (e.g. juices) and sometimes with harmful chemicals and sweeteners (compensatin ...
was discovered in which cheap
table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fort ...
was turned into expensive red
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
by falsifying the records. The ensuing scandal forced Cruse to sell the estate in 1975 to Cognac merchant Guy Tesseron, owner of
Château Lafon-Rochet Château Lafon-Rochet is a winery in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten ''Quatrièmes Crus'' (Fourth Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classificatio ...
.


Château d'Issan

Emmanuel Henri Georges Cruse (1892 - 1968) purchased the
Château d'Issan Château d'Issan is a castle and winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classificat ...
winery in 1945. There was much work to be done, including replanting the vineyards and re-equipping the dilapidated cellars, work which was duly undertaken; it was some time before the château received its long-overdue restoration. In 1998, the grandson of Emmanuel Cruse, also named Emmanuel Cruse, became proprietor at the young age of 30. Under his proprietorship, the Cruse family still owns the property today, with Eric Pellon working as general manager. The effort and expenditure they have poured into Château d'Issan over the ensuing decades may be paying off, as some recent vintages have produced top quality wines.


Emmanuel Cruse

Emmanuel Cruse (b. April 7, 1968) is a winemaker, since 2008 Grand Maître of the Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc, Graves, Sauternes et Barsac, and since 2010 also President of the Grand Conseil du Vin de Bordeaux as well as Grand Maître of the Commanderie de Bordeaux worldwide.


Château Corbin

Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet manages the 15th-century Château Corbin in
Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...
, which she and her two sisters, the children of Bernard Cruse of Château Laujac, bought in 1999. This is one of only a few examples of women owning a winery in Bordeaux. Château Corbin is a ''grand cru classé'' Saint-Emilion.


Other estates

Other famous châteaux owned at some time by members of the Cruse family include Château la Dame Blanche,
Château Haut-Bages-Libéral Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classified as one of eigh ...
,
Château Giscours Château Giscours is a winery in the Margaux Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine O ...
, and
Château Rauzan-Ségla Château Rauzan-Ségla, or Château Rausan-Ségla, is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. Château Rauzan-Ségla is also the name of the red wine produced by this property. The wine produced here was classifie ...
.


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


History of Château Pontet-Canet

Château d'Issan

Château Corbin
French families French winemakers Wine merchants