The Cruse family is a well-known French wine-making family, as of 2011 consisting primarily of two cousins,[citation needed] Emmanuel Cruse II and Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet, who own the Chateau d'Issan[1][2] and Chateau Corbin,[3] respectively.
History
In 1815 Hermann Cruse, a merchant from Segeburg in Germany, settled in the Bordeaux region of France. In 1865, he purchased Chateau Pontet-Canet. Herman Cruse moved quickly to improve the situation at Pontet-Canet by modernizing the facilities and building a subterranean wine cellar.
Emmanuel Henri Georges Cruse purchased the Chateau d'Issan winery in 1945.[4] 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 chateau received its long-overdue restoration.
In 1998, the grandson of Emmanuel Cruse, Emmanuel Cruse II 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 Chateau d'Issan over the ensuing decades may be paying off, as some recent vintages have produced top quality wines.
In 1999 Emmanuel Cruse II's cousin[citation needed] Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet purchased the 15th century Chateau Corbin. Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet represents the 4th generation of the famous wine making family and one of the few women to own a winery in Bordeaux.
Wine fraud scandal
In 1973, the Cruse family lost Chateau Pontet-Canet when a wine fraud was discovered in which cheap table wine was turned into expensive red Bordeaux 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.
Notable members
References
- ^ "Overview". Forbes.com. Forbes Magazine. 2006-02-21.
- ^ "Overview". winetastetv.com. Wine Taste TV. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ "Overview". winetastetv.com. Wine Taste TV. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ "Overview". thewinedoctor.com. Site Editor. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-13.